September 23, 2025 • 31 mins
The white-tailed deer may be a single species, but hunting them across different regions of the United States reveals they might as well be different creatures altogether. In this eye-opening conversation with Russ Neal from Louisiana, we explore the fascinating contrasts between hunting whitetails in the Deep South versus the Midwest.
Russ shares his journey as a nomadic hunter who travels extensively to pursue mature bucks across state lines. He's developed a brilliant strategy – chasing the November rut in Midwestern states like Iowa and Kansas, then returning south to hunt the later rut in Louisiana and Mississippi during December and January. This approach effectively gives him two separate rutting seasons each year, maximizing his opportunities for trophy bucks.
What makes Russ's perspective particularly valuable is his innovative approach to mobile hunting. After years of limiting himself to familiar territories due to hotel costs, he transformed his Toyota Tundra with a custom truck camper complete with solar power and heating. This self-contained setup allows him to stay directly at his hunting locations, providing unmatched flexibility when plans need to change or hunting pressure becomes too intense in one area.
The regional differences Russ highlights are striking – from the smaller-bodied deer and dense cover of Louisiana to the agricultural landscapes and bigger-framed bucks of the Midwest. He explains how southern deer face extraordinary pressure from longer hunting seasons (up to three months of rifle season), multiple buck tags per hunter, and occasionally even dog-running seasons. These factors create entirely different hunting scenarios that demand unique strategies.
Whether you're planning your first out-of-state hunt or looking to expand your understanding of whitetail behavior across regions, Russ's experiences offer invaluable insights for any dedicated deer hunter. Check out his YouTube channel "High Pressure Hunting" to follow his adventures and learn more about his mobile hunting approach across America's diverse whitetail habitats.
Check us out on Facebook Hunts On Outfitting, or myself Ken Marr. Reach out and Tell your hunting buddies about the podcast if you like it, Thanks!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
this is sunset outfitting podcast.
I'm your host and rookie guide,ken meyer.
I love everything hunting theoutdoors and all things
associated with it, from storiesto howos.
You'll find it here.
Welcome to the podcast.
Hey, we are thrilled to haveyou listening in, as always, to
(00:32):
the podcast.
So this week we're talking toRuss Neal from Louisiana.
I came across Russ from hisYouTube channel, high Pressure
Hunting, and I found itinteresting.
Russ does some gear reviews.
He shows his neat truck camperthat he has for traveling around
, because what russ does is heis uh, he travels around to
(00:53):
different states hunting mostlyon public land, some private
after the white-tailed deer, andit's interesting talking to him
how he navigates throughunknown public land first time
on it and he is successful ingetting some nice deer and just
learning.
You know he's followingdifferent aspects of the rut,
from Louisiana to Kansas andIowa and all these different
(01:17):
places where the rut's different, the deer act different and we
also talk a bit of turkeyhunting and it's been.
Yeah, it's really interestingtalking to Russ.
I think that you guys willenjoy it as well.
If you're looking to get a holdof me for the podcast, you can
huntsonoutfitting at.
Gmailcom is the email or youcan find me on Facebook, ken
(01:38):
Meier, or also on Facebook Huntson Outfitting, to stay up to
date with all the latestpodcasts.
So, without further ado, let'stalk to Russ.
Yeah, so, russ, you know.
Thanks for coming on thepodcast.
I appreciate it.
And, like I was saying to youbefore we just started, I came
across you from your YouTubevideos.
You're down in Louisiana,correct?
(02:00):
Yeah, yeah, so, being up herein Canada, it's, it's.
I find it really interestingseeing different hunting, and
you know we're, we both huntwhite-tailed deer, but if we put
, you know, the deer from hereand the deer from there side by
side, it doesn't even look likethe same creature.
Um, so, it's, it's interesting.
How, uh, have you always beenhunting in Louisiana?
(02:22):
Is there ample, uh, opportunityto go after various game there?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Oh, yes and no, I mean there's.
I guess the main, the main oneswould be just, you know, white
tail and turkey and some smallgame, uh, dove and and um
squirrel and and a lot offishing, you know, down around
the Gulf and all.
But yeah, there's a hugedifference and the population is
(02:55):
good because we have a lot ofthick terrain.
It's not wide open like youknow, other parts of the country
.
We have a high population butwe don't have it.
It's.
It's tough to come across.
Uh, you know, upper age classof bucks, just because the um
the length of the rifle seasonand the length of the hunting
(03:16):
season and and the uhavailability of tags in the
south makes a lot of differenceright, yeah, do you guys know?
Speaker 1 (03:23):
do you have a lot of hogs and gator hunting near you?
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, yeah, yep, tons of hogs, for the most part, and
plenty of gators.
Yeah, that's something I'venever done, but there's plenty
of them around for sure.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So I mean, do you guys?
I know what domestic pigs cando and I couldn't imagine
dealing with feral hogs Do youguys do many food plots there?
Is it the right temperature andeverything for it?
And if so, is it hard to havethem with the wild boar?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Yeah, if you're hunting private, a lot of guys
are doing it Pretty much.
Everybody's doing food plots onprivate.
You know a lot of guys aredoing pretty much everybody's
doing food plots on private.
They don't as far as the hogsgo.
They're not bad on disruptingfood plots.
Unless you plant like a grain,like corn or something, they
(04:18):
will absolutely annihilate acorn field.
A lot of guys, if they'rehunting on, we can bait in the
south and most people do.
If you're hunting on private, alot of guys will do, like if
they have feeders or bait pilesor whatever.
If they have a high hogpopulation in that area they'll
actually put like a fence aroundit.
(04:39):
You know, tall enough that deercan jump over it, but too high
for hogs to get in Becausethey'll just come in and just
devour whatever you have.
You know, and if you have afeeder they'll knock it over.
Or if they can reach it, I meanthey'll empty 300 pounds of
feed out in one or two nights.
Wow, if you have a heavypopulation and you can't get
(05:01):
them under control, it's astruggle dealing with the hogs
down here.
A of guys trap them and and tryto keep them under control, but
it's a constant battle withthem in most of the areas down
south oh, yeah, yeah, it lookslike they would be a lot to
compete with in terms of tryingto keep the deer fed as well.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Yeah, yeah, um, so I want to talk to you.
I'm always curious and enjoypeople's youtube channels, but
I'm always curious what getsthem started in it.
So yours is high-pressurehunting.
Yeah, if you could just kind oftalk about what kind of sparked
the idea of doing it, and thenyou know, following through and
you're pretty consistent with it.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Well, I grew up hunting and I mean, that was
just the the main passion that Ihave.
Uh, my family was big into itand and I just started very
young and just grew up doing itwith a passion and I, you know,
we were always watching.
When I was younger we werewatching, uh, all kind of
hunting, hunting content on ontv.
(06:03):
You know, before there wasYouTube or internet or anything,
and so I just grew up watchingit and then it kind of entered
out and you had the outdoorchannel and then into YouTube
and different social mediaplatforms and I always liked
watching it and sometimes Iwould start filming with my
phone a little bit and I I justdecided one day that I thought
(06:25):
that maybe it would be somethingthat I would really enjoy.
I didn't know much aboutediting or much about cameras or
anything and I'm still kind ofan amateur on the camera side
there.
You know, that's kind of arabbit hole.
You can go down as far as youwant to.
Yeah, exactly.
But, uh, I kind of looked at theinitial investment and and it
(06:49):
was going to be to get into itto the level that I wanted to
get into it.
I was going to have to sinksome money into camera gear and
a and a good you know uh PC toedit it and everything, and and
it was one of those things, justlike man I'm talking about,
just to get started.
I'm going to wind up spending,you know, between five and seven
thousand dollars to get what Ineed, and I don't even know if
(07:10):
I'm going to like this or not.
I don't know what the workloadis going to be.
So I talked to a lot of friendsand family and my wife and they
all told me that they just feltlike it was something that I
would, you know, pursue andenjoy doing.
I mean, they know me well, sowho better to ask?
And I finally told my wife.
I said, you know, I think I'mgoing to do this.
(07:30):
If I don't like it, I'll justsell the stuff, but at least
maybe, if I can't get theediting or whatever, I'll be
able to do it, just to havememory, you know, just to have
stuff on video.
But I got into it for a coupleyears and uh really enjoyed it
and just sunk myself intolearning how to uh, edit and and
(07:50):
just get better, you know, andlearn more and more and more
over time.
And I mean I just I don't leavemy vehicle without some some
sort of camera gear now.
It's just something I love todo.
I really like the challenge ofit and uh, and a lot of people
you know they fight the editingprocess and the work, but it's,
(08:11):
I don't know, I really enjoydoing.
I just sit down for hours anddo it and I'm always just trying
to learn more about it.
I have a hunger for, forlearning about it yeah, exactly
too.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
I mean, it's hard enough to hunt, you know, let
alone there's definitely achallenge added to it with the
camera work.
It's, it's hard, it's difficult.
You're bringing extra stuff,you're trying to get that shot.
You're maybe waiting on aperfect shot that you could with
the rifle or the bow so you canget your camera on it.
I mean it definitely adds awhole other level to it adds a
(08:43):
whole other level to it.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
It does, it does.
It is definitely a challengeand it doesn't always work out
right, you know.
Sometimes it seems like it'sgoing to work out perfect and it
just doesn't.
But you know, it's somethingthat I just enjoy.
I do a lot of traveling, so Iget to see a white tail and you
know, from the south all the wayto the Midwest and I get to do
(09:05):
a lot of hunting.
I have, I have a good bit oftime to do it and I really enjoy
doing it.
And I've told some of myfriends there may be a point
where I wouldn't mind just goingand filming and not even
hunting, just filming, filmingfor somebody or someone who has,
you know, a really well-managedproperty or something.
I just I really enjoy doing it.
I got a lot to learn.
I'm not a professional by any,by any aspect, but but I really
(09:28):
enjoy doing it and learning, youknow, learning it.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Yeah, no, I have a friend that's like that.
He likes, you know, justtagging along and learn.
Yeah, again, he's learning,trying to run the camera.
He's actually out filming amoose hunt right now, yeah, but
you know, yeah, there is a lottoo, but I find your videos well
done.
I mean you've got stuff.
It's very informative, there'slots of information.
It's helpful.
You're doing reviews andshowing different things and uh,
I want to talk about.
You do do a lot of travelingfor hunting and, uh, exploring
(09:56):
different States and you know itis high pressure hunting the
channel.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
I mean, how, how do you navigate when you get to a
new state, new area, and how doyou navigate where you're going
to hunt and how you're going tohunt it?
It's uh, it's different things.
So, uh, there's, there's stateson my bucket list that I I want
to go to.
I have areas that uh, maybe Ifound on a map or someone's told
me about or whatever.
It's just various reasons thatI may go to a certain spot.
I really enjoy learning newground and the challenge of just
(10:34):
getting the new ground andtrying to find a deer to get on
and just breaking that ice ofsomething new.
It's something for when I firststarted traveling, I was going
to the same location you know,year after year for several
years and, uh, I just had for afew every year I would go and I
(10:57):
would be like, man, you know, Ireally want to go to Iowa or I
really want to go to Kansas, Ito go to this different spot.
But I was always seemed, feltlike I was tied to that ground
because I was familiar with itand, uh, and at those times I
was traveling with some familymembers, so we were splitting
the cost of a hotel room andeverything and I decided that I
(11:18):
just wanted to branch out, Iwanted to explore, I wanted to
find out you know what was overthe next ridge and just kind of
try different experiences.
So I decided to just startgoing alone and maybe camping in
a tent or sleeping in my truckor whatever.
(11:39):
And that's led me to now.
I have a camper on the back ofmy.
I got a Toyota Tundra and Ihave a camper on the back of it.
I got a Toyota Tundra and Ihave a camper on the back of it
and I've got a full setup, man.
I mean, I have a solar paneland a little solar generator, a
little Chinese diesel heater inthe back, so it's like a
portable hotel room.
I can kind of go anywhere Iwant to go and I'm just
(12:00):
basically, you know, paying formy gas and my tags and just a
little bit of food here andthere and my tags and just a
little bit of food here andthere.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Yeah, well, yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to
you about.
For those listening and notseeing, they can go to your
YouTube channel and check it out.
Your truck setup's neat, andthen I understand that you were
paying for hotels and motels andthat gets a little pricier.
Now with the truck, you're alot more versatile.
So, yeah, that's neat.
You have the solar panels andthe diesel heater in it and
everything, and you're all.
You're good to go.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Yeah, I'm, I'm good to go.
I don't, uh, the thing that Ireally like about it more than
anything I mean the number one,obviously is the cost,
especially me traveling alone.
But if, if I'm, if I decided togo to a new area and that and
I'm hunting public land, which Ido a lot, and that area is not
good or there's too many people,and my plan B may be, you know,
(12:54):
30, 40 miles from there orwhatever, I don't have to worry
about getting out of a roomearly or trying to find a place
to stay or a room in thelocation I'm going to next.
I just don't have to deal withany of that.
I can just kind of get up andgo and and, um, I can focus more
on the hunting aspect of it,you know, more so than than
(13:18):
trying to find somewhere to stayand afford it and and that
whole deal.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Yeah, exactly, um, you know.
And so what?
What is the difference?
Do you find there's a majordifference in hunting?
It's all it's whitetail deer.
But you know, hunting inLouisiana versus hunting.
Uh, did you say you're headingto Kansas right now?
Speaker 2 (13:47):
I don't really even fool with public land too much
in the South.
It's doable and I did it when Iwas younger.
I've hunted private and public,but they're so I don't know.
I guess as I've grown as ahunter I like to hunt the bigger
deer, bigger-bodied deer, anolder-age class of deer, and uh,
(14:10):
just have more opportunities.
And it is really tough in thesouth.
Uh, I'm not saying it's notdoable, but to come across
mature deer on public land inthe south, especially if you're
bow hunting, it's, it's duringthe bow season, it's, it's super
hot, they just don't move verygood.
And the whole I mean just thewhole, the whole enchilada is
(14:31):
just a totally different ballgame.
The rut.
The good thing about it is is Ican travel to somewhere in the
midwest and hunt the hunt, therut and the pre-rut at the
beginning of november and innovember, and then travel back
and I can hunt Louisiana orMississippi or somewhere in the
south, usually in that lateDecember to January time frame,
(14:54):
because that's the peak of therut there, depending on what
area you're in, because itdiffers a little bit.
So I'm able to kind of hit tworuts doing that.
Yeah, by the time it's over inthe Midwest it's just starting.
In the south you can even huntthe late rut.
You can hunt that earlyDecember time frame in the
Midwest, if you wanted to, andstill travel back and hit
(15:17):
sections of Mississippi andLouisiana and Alabama and all in
that later part of December andJanuary.
Most of the places that I huntin the South, uh, the rut is
around Christmas and then allthe way through January, uh,
some places even into, uh, the1st of February.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Okay, yep, um, so out of all these places that you're
able to go travel to and hunt,is there a favorite state that
really you know?
You have good luck there.
You enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
the weather's normally favorable um, out of
all the states I've hunted andI've only been there one time,
but hands down I would say iowaokay, yep, has been has been my
favorite and this will be mythird.
I have a kansas tag year, sothis will be my third year
hunting Kansas and I've had somestruggles in Kansas and they've
(16:14):
just been my fault.
It hasn't been Kansas' fault.
But out of all the places thatI've been, iowa was just.
It was just the Mecca for me.
It was great.
I can't wait to go back there.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
Yeah, I've never been there but from what I've seen
on tv that definitely, like yousaid, it's the mecca.
That seems to be the the buckcapital more or less, of of the
states and that's where you knowyou got all that egg.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Land you got seems to be really healthy, deer
population and big body, bigracked bucks yeah, yeah, just
the population and the agestructure and and I don't I
don't have a lot of experiencehunting in iowa, you know, I
haven't hunted there severalyears, uh, but the the place I
was in in the area was just, itwas fantastic, it was great and
(16:58):
I hear you know from fromtalking to other people that
it's just good pretty much allover that state.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
So yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
From what I've heard, I could see that yeah, they
definitely have the uhpopulation and age structure
yeah, and and better management,would you say.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
People are probably passing up more on smaller deer
and letting them grow.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Absolutely, absolutely yeah, it makes a big
difference I, I met man, I I mettwo guys when I was hunting
there and I became good friendswith them and I've actually had
some opportunities to open upthrough meeting those guys and I
believe that the friendships Imade with them because some of
(17:42):
the public I was hunting, theyhunted too, they were residents
and they passed younger deer anduh and hunting the older age
class of buck and and that wasmy goal for going to iowa, I
just had a goal in mind and Ithink that, um, hunting that way
there and being respectful tothem on the property, even
(18:02):
though it was public, I just Irespect their, I the the way
that Iowa manages, you know.
So I wanted to uh, to hold outand try to kill a bigger, older
buck and I think that opened upsome doors for me in talking to
some of the residents there.
And it's, it's actually um, I'mactually heading to Kansas
(18:25):
right now because I havepermission, if it all works out.
It's not 100% yet, but I'vegained permission on a private
farm through one of those guysthat I befriended in Iowa while
hunting there.
So it's, it's worked out, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Yeah Well, just you know how you have respect to try
to take the more mature animals, not just shooting.
You know little spike hornsthat come out.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Yeah, and I'm not saying there's anything wrong
with that.
Everybody has their own deal.
You know, that's just what Iwent into it with and I think
that helped me gain a fewfriendships on like-minded
individuals that are Iowaresidents, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Yeah, I mean.
Yeah, like I said, there'snothing wrong with that.
But if people want to have adeer population around where
they want to try to shoot biggerbucks, it's nice to have.
You got to have like mindedindividuals hunting that area in
order for that to be attainable.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Really, Right, right, and in a state like Iowa, I
feel like more people are ofthat mindset.
It's why they have what theyhave, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
So what is it like finding bigbucks in the south, in Louisiana
, I mean, is it much harder?
They just don't get to thatsize.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Well, they don't, unless you have some private
land where you can manage theage structure.
The issue is is we have areally long rifle season?
I mean we have a like a threemonth rifle season.
Wow, um, we have.
You know a lot of the southernstates.
(20:00):
You can kill three bucks, um.
And, and some of the states onpublic ground they run dogs.
I don't know if you're familiarwith that.
I'm not sure if they do that upnorth or not Just one spot they
do.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
It's about a two-week season, one province here.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Yeah, it's a pretty lengthy season.
They run dogs, so you've got avery long rifle season.
You've got multiple buck tagsand then you've got dog runnings
in different areas and you justhave.
So you have a higher populationof just humans in the south and
(20:41):
the east and all.
So you naturally have morehunters.
You naturally have more hunters.
So unless you've got someprivate land that you're able to
manage and get some bucks toreach maturity, it's tough to do
.
They are there on public butthey're rare.
(21:03):
You know.
It's nothing like any of thenorthern or the other Midwest
states and you have to, I don'tknow.
It takes a lot of work and it'slike finding a needle in a
haystack to find a big maturebuck in Louisiana, especially in
the southern parts of Louisianaand Mississippi in that coastal
(21:26):
range.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Right, yeah, yeah, that's what I was wondering.
I kind of figured that.
I got the gist of that fromsome other stuff I've seen and
read.
So, yeah, thanks for clearingthat up.
Yeah, and then you know, like,too, we were talking the bucks.
It's harder too, because theydon't need to put on that heavy
weight for winter and they'rejust smaller framed.
Yeah, smaller bodies, yeah,they are.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
They're much smaller and we don't have the
agriculture either down south,like a lot of places do yeah
that helps a lot.
It's a lot of native browse andacorns can have a big effect on
it.
If we have a low mass acornyear it can really really affect
the antler size the followingyear and uh that if you, if you
(22:12):
get like in the uh the Deltaarea, like the Mississippi Delta
and all where they have some ag, you can get some pretty good
sized deer.
But outside of that there's apretty big difference in in
antler quality and size of theanimal body.
You know body weight.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Yeah, Just being able to, you know graze, browse
through those, the the egg land,if it's readily available for
them in some other States andprovinces.
Yeah, it helps a lot.
Yeah, for sure, For sure.
So I know you're you're newerto Turkey hunting than you are
deer, even deer hunting longer.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
What do?
Speaker 1 (22:45):
you, what do you like better?
Speaker 2 (22:53):
deer hunting longer.
Uh, what do you?
What do you like better?
Um, well, you know, my familyturkey hunted and and when I was
growing up, um, my job positionI I worked two jobs a long time
.
I was kind of in theconstruction side of things for
a long time and income taxseason would roll around and my
phone would start ringing andspringtime was just a very, very
busy time for me and I justcouldn't do.
(23:15):
I just couldn't do it, I justdidn't have the time to do it.
And finally, as I've gottenolder, situations have changed
so I'm able to do it, oh and,and I really enjoy.
But they're, you know, I know Iknow a lot of guys that favor
turkey hunting over deer hunting.
But man, I'm gonna, I'll behonest with you sitting in a
tree in the midwest in novemberwhen there's a 300 pound buck
(23:40):
just with so much testosteronein him that he is just raging
out of his mind, there is noother feeling in the world like
that than drawing a bow back onjust a fired-up Midwest big, you
know, whitetail deer.
I don't think anything willever take the place of that,
whether it be duck hunting,turkey hunting or whatever.
But I really do enjoy itbecause I'm able to—deer season,
(24:07):
man, it is such a grind for me.
I hunt really hard.
I'm about wore out.
So turkey season, I feel likethat.
I'm like it's a little lowerkey for me and I'm just able to
relax and have some fun and getout there and just enjoy it and
do a little scouting and learnsome new ground for deer hunting
while I'm at it.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Yeah, I noticed here in the spring turkey season,
when I'm looking around forturkeys, that's usually when I
find sheds.
Yeah, yeah, so it kind of workshand in hand.
How long have you been bowhunting for?
Did you take that up at an?
Speaker 2 (24:41):
early age I did.
I don't remember exactly whatage I was.
I'm assuming I'm going to sayit was probably around I don't
know, 14-15 years old, maybesomewhere around in that time
frame.
I picked it up.
Not many people were bowhunting back then and I had an
(25:04):
uncle and a cousin that werereally big into it.
They were running aroundshooting some competitions and
stuff.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
And I was always hunting with them, so I picked
it up and just fell into itright off the bat.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
Yeah, because I noticed you have a lot of videos
with the bow hunting and you'rea good shot too, so I kind of
figured you'd been doing it atleast for a little while.
Yeah, yeah, I've been doing itfor a long time.
I rifle and bow hunt.
You know a lot of guys.
Rifle hunting is a big deal inthe South and you've got such a
long season, but I would muchrather be bow hunting than I had
(25:46):
rifle hunting at any day andtime, but I do both Right.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
yeah.
So just being down there, do doyou find that, say, in the
south compared to the midwestand stuff are bucks a little
more receptive to, uh say,rattling antlers or grunt tubes,
things like that?
Speaker 2 (26:01):
yes, absolutely.
Um, you have a?
Um, the the buck to doe ratiois different down South than it
is in in the in the North, inthe South, it just seems like
almost everywhere you go now,speaking outside of a managed
property, when I, when I, when Ispeak, when I speak about this,
(26:22):
it seems like almost everywhereyou go, the the doe ratio is is
much too, there's just too manydoes and um, so and and you
also don't have such a compactrut like you do in the midwest,
it's, it's more spread over alittle bit more time and and it
is uh, and you don't have thethe age class of bucks either,
(26:45):
which has a lot to do with it,so that there's several factors
that play into it.
I'm not saying you can't call aboat in the South, because I
have, I've called a few in, butit just doesn't work near as
good as it does in the Midwestand some northern states.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Yeah, no, I was curious about that.
That does make sense and Ifigured you'd be the kind to ask
.
Traveling around and trying it.
Yeah, it just depends on.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
That does make sense and I figured you'd be the kind
to ask, traveling around andtrying it, yeah, yeah, it just
depends on.
It really makes a differencewhere you have the age class of
bucks.
If you have an area where youhave an older age class of bucks
and you've got a betterbuck-to-dough ratio, it seems to
work a lot better.
It seems to work you know a lotbetter.
And then I don't know in mymindset also in the south you
(27:34):
have a lot more pressure put onthe deer and you have, you know,
you don't have a lot of wideopen country like you do up
north.
So I'm sure there's a lot ofbucks who have heard rattling
horns or grunt tubes or whatever, and they've circled downwind
in the timber and gotten youknow traces of human scent so
many times that that could beanother factor in why it doesn't
work very well in public in thein the South.
(27:56):
Right, yeah, and then you got a, you know, a three month long
gun season mixed in with thatand just so many hunters.
It's just uh, I just think ithas a big effect on it.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Yep, Do you ever?
Do you mess around?
You mess around much withminerals and things like that,
some licks and attractants tokind of help stack the odds in
your favor.
Do you find that works for you?
Speaker 2 (28:18):
I do, I've done it all.
I've hunted private.
I've been in some clubs in thepast I've had private land where
I baited and I've always putout minerals, usually just to
gain an inventory.
But nine times out of ten inthe south, it seems like because
(28:42):
our bow season opens Octoberthe 1st, it seems like about
that first part of Septemberwhen that velvet starts coming
off in the south.
Most of the time, whateverbucks you have on camera coming
to a mineral lick, if you don't,if you don't get a shot on the
first couple of days of season,they're changing their their
home range to their fall rangefrom summer to fall and, uh,
(29:02):
they're not going to be theremost of the time.
Every once in a while you'llget one.
You know that that's, that's inthere, or he may make a loop
back or whatever, but it seemslike the ones you have on camera
over those minerals a lot oftimes are not there come season.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
Yeah, yeah, no, um, it's kind of the same thing here
, I think, for the most part.
So, yeah, that's uh, that'sinteresting.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Um, a lot of times I'll have a good buck on a
mineral lick in the summer andhe'll be gone the first part of
both season or whatever.
But he may you know, I've hadhim come back during the rut a
few times and and maybe evenhang around there a lot during
the post-run and and I've killeda lot of them that way.
So not to say they're goneforever for the whole season,
but they will be gone for awhile usually yeah, yeah, uh, so
(29:51):
I know you're you're on a roadtrip right now.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Uh, what are your plans for for this upcoming
season and what can we kind ofexpect from your youtube channel
, high pressure hunting?
Speaker 2 (30:02):
um, for this season.
Um, I had planned on hunting abuck in mississippi on a piece
of private that I've beenleasing for a while and
unfortunately I lost that pieceof private this year.
So I will be hunting publicground in Mississippi.
I'm going to Kansas for a weeknow.
I am going to do some hunting.
There's a cold front coming innot a cold front but a cool
(30:24):
front and I'll have about threedays of north wind this week.
That's the reason I'm headingup here.
But I'm going to do a littlehunting, have about three days
of north wind this week.
That's the reason I'm headingup here.
But, uh, I'm gonna do a littlehunting and do a lot of scouting
and just kind of learn someareas.
I'm hoping to get permission onthis farm and if I do I'll be
able to put some cameras on.
I can't put cameras out onpublic ground here, but I can on
private.
And uh, then I'm going to comeback home and I'll be back in
(30:47):
Kansas in November and possiblyMissouri, if I can feel this
Kansas tag.
So it'll be Kansas, missouriand Mississippi, and, if I have
time, I've been thinking aboutgoing to Arkansas for late
season.
So that's in the plans.
And then Byron, who is mycousin.
(31:08):
That's on the channel also.
He actually has some land inthe Mississippi Delta.
There'll be a lot of footagewith some good hunts for him
because he's got a well-managedproperty and a good deer
population and age structurethere.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Wow, so you've got a full season and I'm really
looking forward to watching thevideos.
Yeah, russ, I don't want totake up too much more of your
time.
I know you're busy.
Thanks, it's been interestingand I'd definitely like to talk
to you again after the seasonand kind of recap how all it
went.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
Sure, sure, Kent, I appreciate you having me on man
and anytime, anytime, Just letme know.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
Awesome Thanks, well, best of luck.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Thank you Appreciate it.
this is sunset outfitting podcast.
I'm your host and rookie guide,ken meyer.
I love everything hunting theoutdoors and all things
associated with it, from storiesto howos.
You'll find it here.
Welcome to the podcast.
Hey, we are thrilled to haveyou listening in, as always, to
(00:32):
the podcast.
So this week we're talking toRuss Neal from Louisiana.
I came across Russ from hisYouTube channel, high Pressure
Hunting, and I found itinteresting.
Russ does some gear reviews.
He shows his neat truck camperthat he has for traveling around
, because what russ does is heis uh, he travels around to
(00:53):
different states hunting mostlyon public land, some private
after the white-tailed deer, andit's interesting talking to him
how he navigates throughunknown public land first time
on it and he is successful ingetting some nice deer and just
learning.
You know he's followingdifferent aspects of the rut,
from Louisiana to Kansas andIowa and all these different
(01:17):
places where the rut's different, the deer act different and we
also talk a bit of turkeyhunting and it's been.
Yeah, it's really interestingtalking to Russ.
I think that you guys willenjoy it as well.
If you're looking to get a holdof me for the podcast, you can
huntsonoutfitting at.
Gmailcom is the email or youcan find me on Facebook, ken
(01:38):
Meier, or also on Facebook Huntson Outfitting, to stay up to
date with all the latestpodcasts.
So, without further ado, let'stalk to Russ.
Yeah, so, russ, you know.
Thanks for coming on thepodcast.
I appreciate it.
And, like I was saying to youbefore we just started, I came
across you from your YouTubevideos.
You're down in Louisiana,correct?
(02:00):
Yeah, yeah, so, being up herein Canada, it's, it's.
I find it really interestingseeing different hunting, and
you know we're, we both huntwhite-tailed deer, but if we put
, you know, the deer from hereand the deer from there side by
side, it doesn't even look likethe same creature.
Um, so, it's, it's interesting.
How, uh, have you always beenhunting in Louisiana?
(02:22):
Is there ample, uh, opportunityto go after various game there?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Oh, yes and no, I mean there's.
I guess the main, the main oneswould be just, you know, white
tail and turkey and some smallgame, uh, dove and and um
squirrel and and a lot offishing, you know, down around
the Gulf and all.
But yeah, there's a hugedifference and the population is
(02:55):
good because we have a lot ofthick terrain.
It's not wide open like youknow, other parts of the country
.
We have a high population butwe don't have it.
It's.
It's tough to come across.
Uh, you know, upper age classof bucks, just because the um
the length of the rifle seasonand the length of the hunting
(03:16):
season and and the uhavailability of tags in the
south makes a lot of differenceright, yeah, do you guys know?
Speaker 1 (03:23):
do you have a lot of hogs and gator hunting near you?
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, yeah, yep, tons of hogs, for the most part, and
plenty of gators.
Yeah, that's something I'venever done, but there's plenty
of them around for sure.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So I mean, do you guys?
I know what domestic pigs cando and I couldn't imagine
dealing with feral hogs Do youguys do many food plots there?
Is it the right temperature andeverything for it?
And if so, is it hard to havethem with the wild boar?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Yeah, if you're hunting private, a lot of guys
are doing it Pretty much.
Everybody's doing food plots onprivate.
You know a lot of guys aredoing pretty much everybody's
doing food plots on private.
They don't as far as the hogsgo.
They're not bad on disruptingfood plots.
Unless you plant like a grain,like corn or something, they
(04:18):
will absolutely annihilate acorn field.
A lot of guys, if they'rehunting on, we can bait in the
south and most people do.
If you're hunting on private, alot of guys will do, like if
they have feeders or bait pilesor whatever.
If they have a high hogpopulation in that area they'll
actually put like a fence aroundit.
(04:39):
You know, tall enough that deercan jump over it, but too high
for hogs to get in Becausethey'll just come in and just
devour whatever you have.
You know, and if you have afeeder they'll knock it over.
Or if they can reach it, I meanthey'll empty 300 pounds of
feed out in one or two nights.
Wow, if you have a heavypopulation and you can't get
(05:01):
them under control, it's astruggle dealing with the hogs
down here.
A of guys trap them and and tryto keep them under control, but
it's a constant battle withthem in most of the areas down
south oh, yeah, yeah, it lookslike they would be a lot to
compete with in terms of tryingto keep the deer fed as well.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Yeah, yeah, um, so I want to talk to you.
I'm always curious and enjoypeople's youtube channels, but
I'm always curious what getsthem started in it.
So yours is high-pressurehunting.
Yeah, if you could just kind oftalk about what kind of sparked
the idea of doing it, and thenyou know, following through and
you're pretty consistent with it.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Well, I grew up hunting and I mean, that was
just the the main passion that Ihave.
Uh, my family was big into itand and I just started very
young and just grew up doing itwith a passion and I, you know,
we were always watching.
When I was younger we werewatching, uh, all kind of
hunting, hunting content on ontv.
(06:03):
You know, before there wasYouTube or internet or anything,
and so I just grew up watchingit and then it kind of entered
out and you had the outdoorchannel and then into YouTube
and different social mediaplatforms and I always liked
watching it and sometimes Iwould start filming with my
phone a little bit and I I justdecided one day that I thought
(06:25):
that maybe it would be somethingthat I would really enjoy.
I didn't know much aboutediting or much about cameras or
anything and I'm still kind ofan amateur on the camera side
there.
You know, that's kind of arabbit hole.
You can go down as far as youwant to.
Yeah, exactly.
But, uh, I kind of looked at theinitial investment and and it
(06:49):
was going to be to get into itto the level that I wanted to
get into it.
I was going to have to sinksome money into camera gear and
a and a good you know uh PC toedit it and everything, and and
it was one of those things, justlike man I'm talking about,
just to get started.
I'm going to wind up spending,you know, between five and seven
thousand dollars to get what Ineed, and I don't even know if
(07:10):
I'm going to like this or not.
I don't know what the workloadis going to be.
So I talked to a lot of friendsand family and my wife and they
all told me that they just feltlike it was something that I
would, you know, pursue andenjoy doing.
I mean, they know me well, sowho better to ask?
And I finally told my wife.
I said, you know, I think I'mgoing to do this.
(07:30):
If I don't like it, I'll justsell the stuff, but at least
maybe, if I can't get theediting or whatever, I'll be
able to do it, just to havememory, you know, just to have
stuff on video.
But I got into it for a coupleyears and uh really enjoyed it
and just sunk myself intolearning how to uh, edit and and
(07:50):
just get better, you know, andlearn more and more and more
over time.
And I mean I just I don't leavemy vehicle without some some
sort of camera gear now.
It's just something I love todo.
I really like the challenge ofit and uh, and a lot of people
you know they fight the editingprocess and the work, but it's,
(08:11):
I don't know, I really enjoydoing.
I just sit down for hours anddo it and I'm always just trying
to learn more about it.
I have a hunger for, forlearning about it yeah, exactly
too.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
I mean, it's hard enough to hunt, you know, let
alone there's definitely achallenge added to it with the
camera work.
It's, it's hard, it's difficult.
You're bringing extra stuff,you're trying to get that shot.
You're maybe waiting on aperfect shot that you could with
the rifle or the bow so you canget your camera on it.
I mean it definitely adds awhole other level to it adds a
(08:43):
whole other level to it.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
It does, it does.
It is definitely a challengeand it doesn't always work out
right, you know.
Sometimes it seems like it'sgoing to work out perfect and it
just doesn't.
But you know, it's somethingthat I just enjoy.
I do a lot of traveling, so Iget to see a white tail and you
know, from the south all the wayto the Midwest and I get to do
(09:05):
a lot of hunting.
I have, I have a good bit oftime to do it and I really enjoy
doing it.
And I've told some of myfriends there may be a point
where I wouldn't mind just goingand filming and not even
hunting, just filming, filmingfor somebody or someone who has,
you know, a really well-managedproperty or something.
I just I really enjoy doing it.
I got a lot to learn.
I'm not a professional by any,by any aspect, but but I really
(09:28):
enjoy doing it and learning, youknow, learning it.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Yeah, no, I have a friend that's like that.
He likes, you know, justtagging along and learn.
Yeah, again, he's learning,trying to run the camera.
He's actually out filming amoose hunt right now, yeah, but
you know, yeah, there is a lottoo, but I find your videos well
done.
I mean you've got stuff.
It's very informative, there'slots of information.
It's helpful.
You're doing reviews andshowing different things and uh,
I want to talk about.
You do do a lot of travelingfor hunting and, uh, exploring
(09:56):
different States and you know itis high pressure hunting the
channel.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
I mean, how, how do you navigate when you get to a
new state, new area, and how doyou navigate where you're going
to hunt and how you're going tohunt it?
It's uh, it's different things.
So, uh, there's, there's stateson my bucket list that I I want
to go to.
I have areas that uh, maybe Ifound on a map or someone's told
me about or whatever.
It's just various reasons thatI may go to a certain spot.
I really enjoy learning newground and the challenge of just
(10:34):
getting the new ground andtrying to find a deer to get on
and just breaking that ice ofsomething new.
It's something for when I firststarted traveling, I was going
to the same location you know,year after year for several
years and, uh, I just had for afew every year I would go and I
(10:57):
would be like, man, you know, Ireally want to go to Iowa or I
really want to go to Kansas, Ito go to this different spot.
But I was always seemed, feltlike I was tied to that ground
because I was familiar with itand, uh, and at those times I
was traveling with some familymembers, so we were splitting
the cost of a hotel room andeverything and I decided that I
(11:18):
just wanted to branch out, Iwanted to explore, I wanted to
find out you know what was overthe next ridge and just kind of
try different experiences.
So I decided to just startgoing alone and maybe camping in
a tent or sleeping in my truckor whatever.
(11:39):
And that's led me to now.
I have a camper on the back ofmy.
I got a Toyota Tundra and Ihave a camper on the back of it.
I got a Toyota Tundra and Ihave a camper on the back of it
and I've got a full setup, man.
I mean, I have a solar paneland a little solar generator, a
little Chinese diesel heater inthe back, so it's like a
portable hotel room.
I can kind of go anywhere Iwant to go and I'm just
(12:00):
basically, you know, paying formy gas and my tags and just a
little bit of food here andthere and my tags and just a
little bit of food here andthere.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Yeah, well, yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to
you about.
For those listening and notseeing, they can go to your
YouTube channel and check it out.
Your truck setup's neat, andthen I understand that you were
paying for hotels and motels andthat gets a little pricier.
Now with the truck, you're alot more versatile.
So, yeah, that's neat.
You have the solar panels andthe diesel heater in it and
everything, and you're all.
You're good to go.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Yeah, I'm, I'm good to go.
I don't, uh, the thing that Ireally like about it more than
anything I mean the number one,obviously is the cost,
especially me traveling alone.
But if, if I'm, if I decided togo to a new area and that and
I'm hunting public land, which Ido a lot, and that area is not
good or there's too many people,and my plan B may be, you know,
(12:54):
30, 40 miles from there orwhatever, I don't have to worry
about getting out of a roomearly or trying to find a place
to stay or a room in thelocation I'm going to next.
I just don't have to deal withany of that.
I can just kind of get up andgo and and, um, I can focus more
on the hunting aspect of it,you know, more so than than
(13:18):
trying to find somewhere to stayand afford it and and that
whole deal.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Yeah, exactly, um, you know.
And so what?
What is the difference?
Do you find there's a majordifference in hunting?
It's all it's whitetail deer.
But you know, hunting inLouisiana versus hunting.
Uh, did you say you're headingto Kansas right now?
Speaker 2 (13:47):
I don't really even fool with public land too much
in the South.
It's doable and I did it when Iwas younger.
I've hunted private and public,but they're so I don't know.
I guess as I've grown as ahunter I like to hunt the bigger
deer, bigger-bodied deer, anolder-age class of deer, and uh,
(14:10):
just have more opportunities.
And it is really tough in thesouth.
Uh, I'm not saying it's notdoable, but to come across
mature deer on public land inthe south, especially if you're
bow hunting, it's, it's duringthe bow season, it's, it's super
hot, they just don't move verygood.
And the whole I mean just thewhole, the whole enchilada is
(14:31):
just a totally different ballgame.
The rut.
The good thing about it is is Ican travel to somewhere in the
midwest and hunt the hunt, therut and the pre-rut at the
beginning of november and innovember, and then travel back
and I can hunt Louisiana orMississippi or somewhere in the
south, usually in that lateDecember to January time frame,
(14:54):
because that's the peak of therut there, depending on what
area you're in, because itdiffers a little bit.
So I'm able to kind of hit tworuts doing that.
Yeah, by the time it's over inthe Midwest it's just starting.
In the south you can even huntthe late rut.
You can hunt that earlyDecember time frame in the
Midwest, if you wanted to, andstill travel back and hit
(15:17):
sections of Mississippi andLouisiana and Alabama and all in
that later part of December andJanuary.
Most of the places that I huntin the South, uh, the rut is
around Christmas and then allthe way through January, uh,
some places even into, uh, the1st of February.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Okay, yep, um, so out of all these places that you're
able to go travel to and hunt,is there a favorite state that
really you know?
You have good luck there.
You enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
the weather's normally favorable um, out of
all the states I've hunted andI've only been there one time,
but hands down I would say iowaokay, yep, has been has been my
favorite and this will be mythird.
I have a kansas tag year, sothis will be my third year
hunting Kansas and I've had somestruggles in Kansas and they've
(16:14):
just been my fault.
It hasn't been Kansas' fault.
But out of all the places thatI've been, iowa was just.
It was just the Mecca for me.
It was great.
I can't wait to go back there.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
Yeah, I've never been there but from what I've seen
on tv that definitely, like yousaid, it's the mecca.
That seems to be the the buckcapital more or less, of of the
states and that's where you knowyou got all that egg.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Land you got seems to be really healthy, deer
population and big body, bigracked bucks yeah, yeah, just
the population and the agestructure and and I don't I
don't have a lot of experiencehunting in iowa, you know, I
haven't hunted there severalyears, uh, but the the place I
was in in the area was just, itwas fantastic, it was great and
(16:58):
I hear you know from fromtalking to other people that
it's just good pretty much allover that state.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
So yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
From what I've heard, I could see that yeah, they
definitely have the uhpopulation and age structure
yeah, and and better management,would you say.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
People are probably passing up more on smaller deer
and letting them grow.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Absolutely, absolutely yeah, it makes a big
difference I, I met man, I I mettwo guys when I was hunting
there and I became good friendswith them and I've actually had
some opportunities to open upthrough meeting those guys and I
believe that the friendships Imade with them because some of
(17:42):
the public I was hunting, theyhunted too, they were residents
and they passed younger deer anduh and hunting the older age
class of buck and and that wasmy goal for going to iowa, I
just had a goal in mind and Ithink that, um, hunting that way
there and being respectful tothem on the property, even
(18:02):
though it was public, I just Irespect their, I the the way
that Iowa manages, you know.
So I wanted to uh, to hold outand try to kill a bigger, older
buck and I think that opened upsome doors for me in talking to
some of the residents there.
And it's, it's actually um, I'mactually heading to Kansas
(18:25):
right now because I havepermission, if it all works out.
It's not 100% yet, but I'vegained permission on a private
farm through one of those guysthat I befriended in Iowa while
hunting there.
So it's, it's worked out, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Yeah Well, just you know how you have respect to try
to take the more mature animals, not just shooting.
You know little spike hornsthat come out.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Yeah, and I'm not saying there's anything wrong
with that.
Everybody has their own deal.
You know, that's just what Iwent into it with and I think
that helped me gain a fewfriendships on like-minded
individuals that are Iowaresidents, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Yeah, I mean.
Yeah, like I said, there'snothing wrong with that.
But if people want to have adeer population around where
they want to try to shoot biggerbucks, it's nice to have.
You got to have like mindedindividuals hunting that area in
order for that to be attainable.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Really, Right, right, and in a state like Iowa, I
feel like more people are ofthat mindset.
It's why they have what theyhave, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
So what is it like finding bigbucks in the south, in Louisiana
, I mean, is it much harder?
They just don't get to thatsize.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Well, they don't, unless you have some private
land where you can manage theage structure.
The issue is is we have areally long rifle season?
I mean we have a like a threemonth rifle season.
Wow, um, we have.
You know a lot of the southernstates.
(20:00):
You can kill three bucks, um.
And, and some of the states onpublic ground they run dogs.
I don't know if you're familiarwith that.
I'm not sure if they do that upnorth or not Just one spot they
do.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
It's about a two-week season, one province here.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Yeah, it's a pretty lengthy season.
They run dogs, so you've got avery long rifle season.
You've got multiple buck tagsand then you've got dog runnings
in different areas and you justhave.
So you have a higher populationof just humans in the south and
(20:41):
the east and all.
So you naturally have morehunters.
You naturally have more hunters.
So unless you've got someprivate land that you're able to
manage and get some bucks toreach maturity, it's tough to do
.
They are there on public butthey're rare.
(21:03):
You know.
It's nothing like any of thenorthern or the other Midwest
states and you have to, I don'tknow.
It takes a lot of work and it'slike finding a needle in a
haystack to find a big maturebuck in Louisiana, especially in
the southern parts of Louisianaand Mississippi in that coastal
(21:26):
range.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Right, yeah, yeah, that's what I was wondering.
I kind of figured that.
I got the gist of that fromsome other stuff I've seen and
read.
So, yeah, thanks for clearingthat up.
Yeah, and then you know, like,too, we were talking the bucks.
It's harder too, because theydon't need to put on that heavy
weight for winter and they'rejust smaller framed.
Yeah, smaller bodies, yeah,they are.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
They're much smaller and we don't have the
agriculture either down south,like a lot of places do yeah
that helps a lot.
It's a lot of native browse andacorns can have a big effect on
it.
If we have a low mass acornyear it can really really affect
the antler size the followingyear and uh that if you, if you
(22:12):
get like in the uh the Deltaarea, like the Mississippi Delta
and all where they have some ag, you can get some pretty good
sized deer.
But outside of that there's apretty big difference in in
antler quality and size of theanimal body.
You know body weight.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Yeah, Just being able to, you know graze, browse
through those, the the egg land,if it's readily available for
them in some other States andprovinces.
Yeah, it helps a lot.
Yeah, for sure, For sure.
So I know you're you're newerto Turkey hunting than you are
deer, even deer hunting longer.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
What do?
Speaker 1 (22:45):
you, what do you like better?
Speaker 2 (22:53):
deer hunting longer.
Uh, what do you?
What do you like better?
Um, well, you know, my familyturkey hunted and and when I was
growing up, um, my job positionI I worked two jobs a long time
.
I was kind of in theconstruction side of things for
a long time and income taxseason would roll around and my
phone would start ringing andspringtime was just a very, very
busy time for me and I justcouldn't do.
(23:15):
I just couldn't do it, I justdidn't have the time to do it.
And finally, as I've gottenolder, situations have changed
so I'm able to do it, oh and,and I really enjoy.
But they're, you know, I know Iknow a lot of guys that favor
turkey hunting over deer hunting.
But man, I'm gonna, I'll behonest with you sitting in a
tree in the midwest in novemberwhen there's a 300 pound buck
(23:40):
just with so much testosteronein him that he is just raging
out of his mind, there is noother feeling in the world like
that than drawing a bow back onjust a fired-up Midwest big, you
know, whitetail deer.
I don't think anything willever take the place of that,
whether it be duck hunting,turkey hunting or whatever.
But I really do enjoy itbecause I'm able to—deer season,
(24:07):
man, it is such a grind for me.
I hunt really hard.
I'm about wore out.
So turkey season, I feel likethat.
I'm like it's a little lowerkey for me and I'm just able to
relax and have some fun and getout there and just enjoy it and
do a little scouting and learnsome new ground for deer hunting
while I'm at it.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Yeah, I noticed here in the spring turkey season,
when I'm looking around forturkeys, that's usually when I
find sheds.
Yeah, yeah, so it kind of workshand in hand.
How long have you been bowhunting for?
Did you take that up at an?
Speaker 2 (24:41):
early age I did.
I don't remember exactly whatage I was.
I'm assuming I'm going to sayit was probably around I don't
know, 14-15 years old, maybesomewhere around in that time
frame.
I picked it up.
Not many people were bowhunting back then and I had an
(25:04):
uncle and a cousin that werereally big into it.
They were running aroundshooting some competitions and
stuff.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
And I was always hunting with them, so I picked
it up and just fell into itright off the bat.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
Yeah, because I noticed you have a lot of videos
with the bow hunting and you'rea good shot too, so I kind of
figured you'd been doing it atleast for a little while.
Yeah, yeah, I've been doing itfor a long time.
I rifle and bow hunt.
You know a lot of guys.
Rifle hunting is a big deal inthe South and you've got such a
long season, but I would muchrather be bow hunting than I had
(25:46):
rifle hunting at any day andtime, but I do both Right.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
yeah.
So just being down there, do doyou find that, say, in the
south compared to the midwestand stuff are bucks a little
more receptive to, uh say,rattling antlers or grunt tubes,
things like that?
Speaker 2 (26:01):
yes, absolutely.
Um, you have a?
Um, the the buck to doe ratiois different down South than it
is in in the in the North, inthe South, it just seems like
almost everywhere you go now,speaking outside of a managed
property, when I, when I, when Ispeak, when I speak about this,
(26:22):
it seems like almost everywhereyou go, the the doe ratio is is
much too, there's just too manydoes and um, so and and you
also don't have such a compactrut like you do in the midwest,
it's, it's more spread over alittle bit more time and and it
is uh, and you don't have thethe age class of bucks either,
(26:45):
which has a lot to do with it,so that there's several factors
that play into it.
I'm not saying you can't call aboat in the South, because I
have, I've called a few in, butit just doesn't work near as
good as it does in the Midwestand some northern states.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Yeah, no, I was curious about that.
That does make sense and Ifigured you'd be the kind to ask
.
Traveling around and trying it.
Yeah, it just depends on.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
That does make sense and I figured you'd be the kind
to ask, traveling around andtrying it, yeah, yeah, it just
depends on.
It really makes a differencewhere you have the age class of
bucks.
If you have an area where youhave an older age class of bucks
and you've got a betterbuck-to-dough ratio, it seems to
work a lot better.
It seems to work you know a lotbetter.
And then I don't know in mymindset also in the south you
(27:34):
have a lot more pressure put onthe deer and you have, you know,
you don't have a lot of wideopen country like you do up
north.
So I'm sure there's a lot ofbucks who have heard rattling
horns or grunt tubes or whatever, and they've circled downwind
in the timber and gotten youknow traces of human scent so
many times that that could beanother factor in why it doesn't
work very well in public in thein the South.
(27:56):
Right, yeah, and then you got a, you know, a three month long
gun season mixed in with thatand just so many hunters.
It's just uh, I just think ithas a big effect on it.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Yep, Do you ever?
Do you mess around?
You mess around much withminerals and things like that,
some licks and attractants tokind of help stack the odds in
your favor.
Do you find that works for you?
Speaker 2 (28:18):
I do, I've done it all.
I've hunted private.
I've been in some clubs in thepast I've had private land where
I baited and I've always putout minerals, usually just to
gain an inventory.
But nine times out of ten inthe south, it seems like because
(28:42):
our bow season opens Octoberthe 1st, it seems like about
that first part of Septemberwhen that velvet starts coming
off in the south.
Most of the time, whateverbucks you have on camera coming
to a mineral lick, if you don't,if you don't get a shot on the
first couple of days of season,they're changing their their
home range to their fall rangefrom summer to fall and, uh,
(29:02):
they're not going to be theremost of the time.
Every once in a while you'llget one.
You know that that's, that's inthere, or he may make a loop
back or whatever, but it seemslike the ones you have on camera
over those minerals a lot oftimes are not there come season.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
Yeah, yeah, no, um, it's kind of the same thing here
, I think, for the most part.
So, yeah, that's uh, that'sinteresting.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Um, a lot of times I'll have a good buck on a
mineral lick in the summer andhe'll be gone the first part of
both season or whatever.
But he may you know, I've hadhim come back during the rut a
few times and and maybe evenhang around there a lot during
the post-run and and I've killeda lot of them that way.
So not to say they're goneforever for the whole season,
but they will be gone for awhile usually yeah, yeah, uh, so
(29:51):
I know you're you're on a roadtrip right now.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Uh, what are your plans for for this upcoming
season and what can we kind ofexpect from your youtube channel
, high pressure hunting?
Speaker 2 (30:02):
um, for this season.
Um, I had planned on hunting abuck in mississippi on a piece
of private that I've beenleasing for a while and
unfortunately I lost that pieceof private this year.
So I will be hunting publicground in Mississippi.
I'm going to Kansas for a weeknow.
I am going to do some hunting.
There's a cold front coming innot a cold front but a cool
(30:24):
front and I'll have about threedays of north wind this week.
That's the reason I'm headingup here.
But I'm going to do a littlehunting, have about three days
of north wind this week.
That's the reason I'm headingup here.
But, uh, I'm gonna do a littlehunting and do a lot of scouting
and just kind of learn someareas.
I'm hoping to get permission onthis farm and if I do I'll be
able to put some cameras on.
I can't put cameras out onpublic ground here, but I can on
private.
And uh, then I'm going to comeback home and I'll be back in
(30:47):
Kansas in November and possiblyMissouri, if I can feel this
Kansas tag.
So it'll be Kansas, missouriand Mississippi, and, if I have
time, I've been thinking aboutgoing to Arkansas for late
season.
So that's in the plans.
And then Byron, who is mycousin.
(31:08):
That's on the channel also.
He actually has some land inthe Mississippi Delta.
There'll be a lot of footagewith some good hunts for him
because he's got a well-managedproperty and a good deer
population and age structurethere.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Wow, so you've got a full season and I'm really
looking forward to watching thevideos.
Yeah, russ, I don't want totake up too much more of your
time.
I know you're busy.
Thanks, it's been interestingand I'd definitely like to talk
to you again after the seasonand kind of recap how all it
went.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
Sure, sure, Kent, I appreciate you having me on man
and anytime, anytime, Just letme know.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
Awesome Thanks, well, best of luck.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Thank you Appreciate it.
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