11-2-25 - Status of the Rut

On tonight's show, Jim and Scott talked about the status of the rut, unusual field conditions and strategies for the upcoming gun deer season.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
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(00:23):
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(00:44):
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Outdoors on news Radio eight forty whas.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Good evening, everybody, Jim's trader here and who wee? Baby?
Do we have a special show for you tonight. We've
got the opening of Kentucky's gun season and a little
less than a week running at us and Scott and
I have been in the woods doing a tremendous amount

(01:21):
of scouting and observations and networking with our folks all
across the Commonwealth and in southern Indiana as well. So
we are gonna report tonight on all things about deer.
We're gonna talk to you about a variety of things.
We're gonna talk about the heritage of deer seasons, some

(01:43):
of the history of it, traditions of it. We're gonna
give you a field reports that we've put together in
the last several days. We're gonna talk to you about
where we're at with the rut. We're gonna give tips
for the archery hunters because they're gonna enjoy a fantastic
week of hunting leading up to gun season. We're going

(02:03):
to talk about time and day to hunt. We're going
to talk about what's happening with the weather, the moon.
In other words, we are definitely scattered and smothered like
the hash browns at the waffle house. Scott, I know
you and I talk deer constantly year round. But we're
pretty revved up about what we're going to share tonight.

(02:26):
We're going to talk about, Buddy.

Speaker 3 (02:28):
It's a very unique season and give you an example
of that if you've been out and about. That foliage
is going to be something that I don't know if
I can recall it being so thick and so green
this time of year. And all of those acorns that
have had deer concentrated in the deep woods have seen,

(02:52):
at least on the white Oak side, quite a bit
of rainfall, and we've had a lot of moisture. And
now we've got white oaks that are germinating in the woods,
and that food source in a lot of areas is
going to be diplenishing very quickly because of that process.
And just the rut is a little bit all over
the place, and our weather's gonna throw us a curveball

(03:14):
here and there. And then of course we've got the
full moon, and no matter what, Jim, there's going to
be a lot of people out in the deer stand
or in the woods for opening day, whether they think
they have a big one or not, or if they're
trying to fill the freezer.

Speaker 4 (03:29):
It's just a special time of year.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
There's no doubt about that. And we are going to
take your calls tonight. If you have questions for me
or Scott, all you gotta do is pick up that phone.
I promise we don't bite the numbers to reach us
or five O five seven one eighty four eighty four.
There's five eighty four eighty four or toll free at

(03:54):
eight hundred four four four eighty four eighty four. And
it could be any question. It could be about the
gun you're using, it could be about sharing your field
reports that you could talk to us about, maybe a
special situation you've got with a new property, whatever the
case may be. Again, the numbers are five to seven
one eighty four eighty four or eight hundred four four

(04:20):
four eighty four eighty four. Got to go to a
quick break. Coming back, we're going to talk about the
heritage and the excitement and all the things that go
with the modern gun season's openers. And this break is
presented by SMI Marine. They've got all kind of twenty
twenty fours on sale right now with rebates. They've got

(04:42):
a nice bunch of used boats for sale, and the
twenty twenty six's are on the way. Twenty twenty fives
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Remember you never get soaked by my friends at SMI.
Lot of weapons that you can use to hunt deer,

(05:03):
but the one that stirs the most people and has
the most impact in a big way. Of course, this
modern gun season, and it is right around the corner,
and it means so many things to so many people,
and it is like a national holiday. Give an example,
States like Pennsylvania actually close schools because of the opening

(05:28):
of gun season, and so it'll get off to a
roaring start here in Kentucky next weekend and start in
Indiana shortly. They're after Scott. There's so many aspects to it.
Let's dive into that.

Speaker 3 (05:42):
Well, it's a time where fellowship is had with sometimes
people that serve together. Maybe it's family and friends. A
lot of times kids grow up and move off or
parents get a little age on them, and hunting season
kind of brings people together. And there's just so many

(06:03):
things when you reflect back on the years when you
become a season hunter of what's changed. That could be
public ground camps that you used to go to and
spending the night in a canvas tent next to a campfire,
all the way to people that have had to stay
in a hotel because they hunt out of town. Sometimes

(06:27):
folks will stay in a barn or an old house,
and they'll have those cabins and camps and certain meals
that mean so much to them. And as you reflect
over these seasons, there's people that you've lost as well,
And a lot of times those sunrises and those sunsets
will allow people to get their thoughts together and kind

(06:51):
of process where they're at in life. And as we
go through the program tonight, you got to think about
that youth hunter that now is going to be out
in the stand or in the woods for their first
sunrise hunting on their own, maybe with a firearm that
was handed down to them or given as a gift.
And you're going to have those season hunters that are

(07:13):
going to return to that old, faithful spot that they've
watched over the Kentucky gun season on opening the morning
for so many years, no matter if the wind is
right or wrong, or hot or cold or raining or snowing,
and those spots a lot of times produced for those
people verily early on in the morning and they can

(07:36):
tag out very quickly and just reminiscing Jim and getting
to spend that time together. A lot of people refer
to it now as a rut cation instead of a vacation,
but it's just allowing everyone to kind of slow down
and remember what's right and what's important.

Speaker 4 (07:55):
Even though there's a lot.

Speaker 3 (07:57):
Of change with hunting equipment and innovations, no matter if
it's someone shooting a suppressed rifle now or using the
latest and greatest app on their phone, there's still just
a lot of good old fashioned hunting that takes place,
and there's a lot of clothes and garments and boots
that only come out once a year. And it's not

(08:19):
just that blaze orange vest or your favorite hat. It's
those seasoned coveralls and bibs and your long underwear and
all of those things.

Speaker 4 (08:29):
That we've put together. It's just a it's.

Speaker 3 (08:31):
A very humbling part of your life once you put
a few seasons behind you, like you and I have
over the years.

Speaker 2 (08:38):
Jim, Yes, sir, that's very, very true. And you know,
one of the coolest things about it to me is,
no matter whether you're what I call a meat hunter
or you're hunting those big antlers. Everyone that goes after
has that vision of sugar plumps in their head. And

(08:59):
what I mean by that is if it's your first
time in the new woods, or you'll return to an
old faithful stand, or you're hunting new property, no matter
what the case is this time of year, at any
given moment, a big buck can show up. And that
is a very compelling thing for those of us that

(09:20):
go into the woods for these special seasons. And in
the other side of it is there's a tremendous number
of hunters who are out there to fill the freezer
and put food on the table. And my heart is
very closely aligned with those folks because I do both.

(09:42):
And it's something that is so special because it's a
little different than bringing home a couple of squirrels, you know,
and Lord knows, I love small game hunting with a passion.
But there's something unique about deer that stirs people's imaginations.

(10:05):
It compels them to develop sleepless nights, you know, it's
fair to say. And it's just a really, really great
tradition and heritage, and in this part of the country
it's very pervasive. I mean, there'll be probably more people
in the woods next weekend in Kentucky than for any

(10:29):
other season that we see. It's just evolved that way.
And so as we move through tonight talking about technique
and the rut and food sources and foliage and all that,
in some ways it takes a little bit of a
back seat to the heritage and the tradition, because that's

(10:51):
what compels us to study these things, to develop these strategies,
and to get together as hunters to discuss them. I mean,
it's just a it's a really big deal.

Speaker 3 (11:03):
As much as I am ready to let my scouting
pay dividends over the next few weeks, there's several people
that are going into this deer season, Jim, that are
glad just to be alive, to have their health and
ability to hunt, And there's a lot of energy. And

(11:26):
with everything that's going on right now, it's pretty common
to see beef, you know, twenty dollars a pound for
steaks in.

Speaker 4 (11:36):
The grocery store.

Speaker 3 (11:37):
We've got a lot going on with the food program
and funding with the government shut down, and food banks
are going to probably be in hire demand than ever before,
and it's going to be very important for hunters to
go out and not only fill their freezers, but look

(11:57):
at the times that are facenus and think that you'll
see that the venison will be sought after much more
so than years past because of those folks that are
taking part in those snap funds and not having those
resources available to them.

Speaker 4 (12:16):
And at least in the in the month ahead.

Speaker 3 (12:18):
So's there's so many different ways that deer season can
be discussed and talked about, but one thing's for sure
to turn to the next page.

Speaker 4 (12:30):
There is strategy and there is.

Speaker 3 (12:32):
Technique that's going to allow folks not only to get
out in the field, and think it's going to allow
folks to get out in the field. And gun season
can become a lot of work real quick once you
start letting some of those bullets fly and connecting to
the to the deer and what you're after, and before
you know it, it'll it'll be over with too.

Speaker 4 (12:52):
So hopefully folks.

Speaker 3 (12:53):
Can take advantage of what these deer are doing, we
can get them up to date on where the cycle
is in the doves and how the hunting's going to change.
As this full moon that hits us this coming week
develops in the warm weather is going to give us
some impact on on deer movement as well, and I

(13:15):
think folks are going to be in for a very
twisted and confusing gun season. If I had to put
my cards down on the table and place a bet,
I would say that it's going to be a season
where your neighbor may be having tremendous success and you
may be sitting there watching the squirrels wondering if there's
any deer left.

Speaker 4 (13:35):
In the state of Kentucky.

Speaker 2 (13:37):
I totally agree with that. You know, there's there's a
lot of aspects that are going to play into that.
For example, in a lot of places because of EHD,
a lot of folks aren't going to see very many
deer uh their their areas have been rim wrecked by

(13:58):
I've talked to a lot of people and in various
counties about this, and the sightings are low. A lot
of folks have lost big bucks, for example, that they
had on trail camera. They found them dead around ponds
and streams. A lot of numbers were lost in some situations,

(14:20):
but folks will still be out there. And one of
the things Scott, I guess we want to mention here
to start of the program, you mentioned people's need for food.
We do need to encourage folks to kill deer, especially
those in areas where they do have a significant population,

(14:40):
and share those through Hunters for the Hungary or some
of the other charitable organizations. There's churches that do that
to feed folks that are in need. And there's no
better feeling than sharing venicon with someone. If you're on
the forcing an end of things, we preach and preach

(15:02):
and preach till we're blue in the face. It's great
to hunt mature but deer, but for the good of
the herd, we need to shoot more dogs. You know.
The Department Official Wildlife has asked folks to do that forever,
and this year in particular. I think it'd be again
to your note about the price of beef and the

(15:25):
scarcity of meat in some regards, please take that extra
deer or two and either utilize it yourself or again
share it through programs like Hunters for the Hungry.

Speaker 3 (15:39):
Yeah, it's definitely it's definitely going to be a topic
of need as we develop going through No matter what
side people take on CWD, no matter what side people
take on Republican or Democrat, the need to harvest our
antlerless deer in areas where the population density is higher

(16:04):
than what it needs to be is hitting us right
in the faces. There's not just one good reason to
fill your dough tags this year, especially in some of
those counties that are abundant in deer. You know, you've
got so many different parts to it. And we've got
some pretty good weather coming up to Jim that you know,

(16:27):
folks should be able to harvest some deer. It's gonna
impact how we hunt and where we're hunting, but it's
also going to be some weather where we want to
shoot some deer and kind of get them into shade,
put them into barn. We're gonna have pretty decent weather
to keep our deer in good safe handling conditions too,
And we'll get into that when it comes to field

(16:48):
care later on in the program.

Speaker 2 (16:50):
Yes, sir, now and the rest of the program, we're
going to get down and dirty, but let's start with
several things that are pair amount. Number one is safety.
No hunt is any better than if it's a safe hunt.
Be careful with your loaded weapon. Don't haul a loaded
gune up into a stand unloaded before you climb into

(17:12):
a stand. Make sure that you exercise just proper care
of where the muzzles pointed when other people are there.
For goodness sake, make sure your target. Other safety things
to consider, use that lifeline, use that safety vest or belt,

(17:35):
and certainly for those of you that are returning to
old stands, if you're not already done so, don't climb
up into that thing on opening day in the dark
without pre checking to make sure that it's secure and safe.
And Scott, you and I are both fanatics about that.
We've had some close calls in our years in the

(17:57):
woods and had friends that have been crippled hill, etc.

Speaker 3 (18:03):
So yeah, and it doesn't take the old equipment. I
was hanging deer stands all day yesterday and I had
a nice pack of brand new ratchet straps and was camming,
you know, the stand to the tree, and that nice
little spring inside that ratchet strap decided to pop out

(18:26):
of there. That lifeline and your lineman spelled your safety.
Harness in general is just so important, and you know
you can work hands free and do all.

Speaker 4 (18:38):
That stuff, and it doesn't take safety either.

Speaker 3 (18:41):
Just on opening day, opening morning, it's pretty common for
folks to bounce around in some climbing stands you've got
your platform hunters now, Jim, and of course you've got
folks that are going to be making adjustments as they
see deer moveing. Just remember to keep yourself connected to
the to the tree at all times and so shape
form or fashion. It's a lot cheaper than the er bill.

(19:03):
I can guarantee you that.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
You better believe it. Alright, folks, we got to go
to break here, and coming back from break, we're going
to talk about current conditions, what we expect to see
moving forward towards gun season for the archery hunters, and
we're going to talk about where we're at with the
rut and mix some predictions which are always based on

(19:26):
you know, what we've seen through our scouting and networking
with other folks. And again, if you want to call
in the night, the numbers five seventy one eighty four
eighty four or eight hundred four four four eighty four
eighty four. The break's presented by mas Silk Properties. Check
them out mop h A R T realt dot com.

(19:47):
It's got there. At the start of the program, you
mentioned something. It is. This has been a crazy year
weather wise, crop condition wise, as you name it. It's
just been, you know, flooding things were early in summer regards,
and we had a drought, and I mean, it's one

(20:09):
of the most hustling years I think I've ever seen
for all kind of outdoor pursuits, not just deer season,
but to that point, this foliage. This time we are
just a few days earlier than our normal opener. But

(20:31):
this has been really a fooler because honestly, I had
expected with the drought and the muted color and the
browning of some of the leaves early, and then we've
had situations where we had a frost, we've had wind,

(20:53):
and I honestly, I've been saying, I think maybe we'll
have leaves with the opener, but the cross hit and
the wind hit, but they're gone. I've been all around
the state here in the last bit, and there's as
much green as there is color in a lot of places.

Speaker 4 (21:11):
For the most part.

Speaker 3 (21:13):
This coming week is going to be peak fall color
and esthetically one of the weeks that a lot of
bow hunters really look forward to, and it's gonna allow
for some very scenic, cunning even small game hunters that
get out.

Speaker 4 (21:29):
It's just it's great. I was up in Indianapolis all.

Speaker 3 (21:32):
Week with the National FFA Convention, and peak color was
definitely happening up there.

Speaker 4 (21:40):
But what happened with the leaf drop.

Speaker 3 (21:43):
That we had was based on drought and stress to
the trees. And we'll talk a little bit about what
happened to the agricultural crops with that as well, because
it's going to be a way that hunters can key
in on agricultural areas.

Speaker 4 (21:57):
But we haven't had.

Speaker 2 (22:01):
What I would.

Speaker 3 (22:02):
Consider a good friend of mine, oh, Tommy Taylor says,
a good killing frost. We haven't had two or three
solid mornings in a row in with frost, and it
looks like possibly tonight there'll be some frost in different
parts of Kentucky and those that are going to get
out and bow hunt a little bit tomorrow are going

(22:24):
to have a beautiful day. I think one of the
best days of the week, thirty six degrees, you know,
full sun. I think they'll have quite a bit of
deer activity moving around. But until we start getting into
some cooler weather for multiple days, which may happen. They're
coming in on the tail end opening weekend that Sunday

(22:46):
night in Monday. I look for the foliage to stick
around right now, we can go back and forth on
the rutmeter, but on that foliage meter, these leaves aren't
going anywhere for at least another seven to ten now
gonna it's gonna probably catch up. I think by the
time we get around Thanksgiving, opening day of duck season,

(23:08):
I think we'll see where the trees will pretty much
be bare. But in and around the Louisville area, driving
up and down the Gene Snyder all through the Western
Kentucky Parkway, I mean, there's several trees that haven't even
started to change their pigment. And when you get into
the woods and you start doing some scouting, there's definitely

(23:30):
a lot of seeds that are picking up on your clothing.
Where plants have begin to, you know, go through their
dormant stage or the annuals have completed their life process.

Speaker 4 (23:39):
But there's gonna be.

Speaker 3 (23:41):
Some folks if they haven't got out and checked their
stand Jim, you know since last year where you're talking
about checking safety strips and all that, there's gonna be
some folks that may be better off hunting from the
ground than getting up in the tree. I mean, it's
I would say that our foliage is is more into

(24:02):
a muzzleoder season in October that tends to open a
little later. But just the way that the calendar has
fallen this year, between U season and now the gun season,
even archery season, it's everything.

Speaker 5 (24:16):
You know.

Speaker 3 (24:17):
We kind of got in a little bit late on
those velvet bucks because of how the dates fall, and
now we're coming in on a on a full moon
in an early gun season where vegetation is taken over.

Speaker 4 (24:29):
But one good thing.

Speaker 3 (24:31):
About it the conditions of the woods because of their ring,
they're quiet, and the sign is extremely fresh.

Speaker 2 (24:40):
Yes, sir, it sure is. And we're going to talk
about sign because there's a lot of it out there
now and it's escalating and going to point the way
for a lot of folks. You mentioned something there, Skott
about hunt for the ground level instead of elevation because
of the leaves. The important thing I think we need

(25:00):
to impart to the audience is that you need to
be thinking about these things because it's not gonna look
to you like it looks in a normal year. I
have no doubt that that's gonna be the case. And
that may mean you need to shift to a field set.
It may mean to your point that you need to
hunt from the ground. You know, a lot of folks

(25:24):
love gun season because it gives them the ability to
see deer at great distance and enables them to, you know,
to take them.

Speaker 3 (25:34):
Well, it's gonna play havoc on a few bucks, I
believe as well, because we know they trust.

Speaker 4 (25:41):
Their nose more than anything.

Speaker 3 (25:43):
But you take an old buck that can't find a
dough that's in.

Speaker 4 (25:48):
In heat, he may use his nose just a little bit.

Speaker 3 (25:52):
But I tell you, if if he can't see and
he can't smell, there's a good ants he's gonna we know,
he's gonna trust his nose first. But if he can
just slip that edge of that woods and you know,
instead of staying four or five yards in that line
or whatever, he may be four or five yards on

(26:13):
the other side. I'm not a big field hunter when
it comes to gun season after the first few days
for trying to kill a big buck unless they're really
tending the doze and you've got a great food source
or they're pushing them out into the wide open. But
the whole pattern of everything is gonna be very unique.

Speaker 4 (26:34):
And as folks begin to set up these.

Speaker 3 (26:38):
Western winds, that we're gonna have pretty much a west
wind cross most of the state for opening the morning
and switching into a southwest for the evening. And then
of course sunday's looking a lot better than Saturday with
the northwest front coming in and staying with us through Monday.

Speaker 4 (26:55):
A lot of.

Speaker 3 (26:56):
These deer will move with that wind in their face
and they'll be on the down wind side of these
these betting areas. Now, this is going to be important
because as deer need to check with their nose real good.
Mature bucks will use both their nose and their eyes.

(27:19):
And young bucks, I don't know what they do besides
to run around like a bunch of teenage boys.

Speaker 4 (27:24):
And they all act different, but they're all crazy.

Speaker 3 (27:27):
Right, So everything's off on opening weekend a gun season,
everything everything, all you're scouting, all the leaves, all the temperature.
You got to remember that folks are going to be
walking in and folks are going to be using flashlights,
and folks are going to be sitting upstands the day before,
and folks are going to be tracking deer within the

(27:48):
first ten or fifteen minutes of you know, the sunrise,
and and on and on and on and and you know.

Speaker 4 (27:55):
It's all rules are off.

Speaker 3 (27:57):
Come Saturday morning. But what is happening and what is
going on right now? Uh is gonna kind of level
the playing field for the for the hunters and the deer,
because I'll look for it to be a little tougher
opening weekend, jim I really do to.

Speaker 2 (28:16):
We've got a caller here, Ted with Nybert and he's
called us on the numbers again if you want to
call in the nineties five seven to one eighty four
eighty four or eight hundred four four four eighty four
eighty four. Hey, Evyan, how are you doing tonight?

Speaker 5 (28:34):
I'm doing great, jim Bo, how you doing?

Speaker 2 (28:38):
I'm like a little kid anticipating Christmas. Hey.

Speaker 5 (28:43):
Ye know what, I agree with all the sentiment that
that you and Scott have thrown out there tonight. It
is a weird year, and it's it's not our first one.
We we are seeing pre runt stages happened here in Anderson,

(29:03):
Washington County. A lot of young bucks with their nose
up the rear ends of the dose they're chasing. Seeing
a little bit more moderate activity from our three and
a half year olds and up. But it's it's still
not there yet. So I think that given all the
environmental stuff that's gone on this year, we're still going

(29:27):
to be pretty regular, at least in my area. About
the onset of of actual chasing and rut happening. And
that's something that that like you and Scott have animated.
I've been worried about because, like you said, you know,
the the leaf drop from all my walnuts wasn't because

(29:48):
of fall, it was because of stress and my walnuts.
My walnuts are bare. My red oaks are on the
way to being bear and they drop really early. My
white oaks, I haven't walked out on my personal farm.
I've got one great big white oak in the middle

(30:09):
of a pastor and I haven't walked out there to look,
but you know, just glassing and looking as I drive
up and down the driveway, they're definitely starting because I'm
seeing more and more deer hit underneath of them. So
to your off point tonight, you know, it's been a
wacky year, but let's just hang on a cross our
fingers and hope that it continues to go the way

(30:33):
it is.

Speaker 2 (30:34):
Yeah, So, well, things are in a bit of a
stall right now because of the field conditions and Scott
and I are going to talk at length about that
and what to expect going forward. But I can tell
you the white oaks from northern Kentucky to west to
east are still, like Scott said, tim days maybe two

(30:56):
weeks away from losing their leaves right now. And the
ridge is still Yeah, they're a hard yes, sir. And
the red lot of the reds have changed color and
they shed some leaves early. But it's we're definitely in
an odd scenario for an opening day of rifle season.

(31:16):
All right, I gotta go to break here. This break
is presented by SMI Marine. They're at eleven four hundred
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(31:40):
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Speaker 3 (31:52):
Well, the white tailed root's gonna be the main focus
that hunters are gonna be concentrating on, Jim. We can't
forget about these food sources. The guys and gals that
got out and work their food plots up, many of
them for the second time have been blessed with the
warmer air, temperature and moisture. And then on the agriculture

(32:15):
side of things, normally through gun season, standing soybeans is
always a favorite, but this year because of the amount
of soybeans, even if they're standing still that went through stress,
they go through a process called shattering, which is where

(32:36):
that pod opens up and the plant density and how
many seeds are on the ground, and the rain that
has come with the warm air has really got a
lot of acres that are more or less overseeded with
a lot of three, four or five in soy beans.

(32:57):
And while the frost is gonna knock back, we've really
not had enough frost to put them down for the count.
And if you hunt in and around agricultural areas and
they had soybeans on the farm this year, especially towards
the areas where the drought really hit, and you've not
got to show up to the farm yet, and scout

(33:19):
folks may be pleasantly surprised because Jim, I know we've
talked about it and your travels up and down the road.
It looks like people have gone in and purposely planted soybeans.
There's so many coming up in germinating, and the clover's
coming back out of dormant and a lot of these
grass hayfields that are mixed up. The deer is a

(33:40):
ruminant digestion system and they're browsers. And so while we
have a lot of acorns, let's not forget some of
those white oaks are going to start rotting. The red
oaks are going to get more popular. And the deer
brows is a s Morgas board right now.

Speaker 2 (34:00):
Really is. And this stufftails with what we were speaking
to earlier about a lot of folks that are used
to hunting in the woods. If they're concerned or find
that they're frustrated by their lack of ability to see
the deer, start thinking about these fields because especially like

(34:21):
for the opening weekend before, there's you know, so much
activity that those deer become nocturnal. Because these I've never
seen honestly more new growth soybeans in my life. And uh,
you know, I've got decades and decades on me observing

(34:42):
this stuff, and it's amazing to me. Well, as you
recall I called to you after I cruised through several
counties this this past week, and I was like, Scott,
I can't believe my eyes. These fields look like uh,
new growth planted soybean fields and it's pervasive. And a

(35:06):
lot of these food plots I had several that I
thought were shot from the drought. I honestly did. They've
had a resurgence that's startled me and it was a
very very pleasant surprise. And a lot of corn has
been harvested, so those are attractive, and they're standing corn

(35:29):
in a lot of areas as well. So it's really
gonna be an interesting situation because the egg component for
a lot of hunters this particular time, and or food plot.
I'm including food plots in this conversation. It's gonna be

(35:49):
huge because lack of visibility in these heavy foliated areas well.

Speaker 3 (35:56):
It comes in such play too because while the the
rut is going to get even more intense over the
next few days. Got to remember that coming off of
that rud activity, that a lot of the gun season,
all the attention is put onto it up front, and
there's gonna be a lot of big deer killed once

(36:18):
this big batch of dose comes into estras and those
bucks start looking for those last remaining doughs.

Speaker 4 (36:23):
So keep your eyes open.

Speaker 3 (36:25):
And see where you're gonna hunt on the last weekend,
not just the first weekend.

Speaker 2 (36:30):
Yes, sir, it's always good advice. And coming back from break,
we're gonna talk to you about the rut and what
our predictions are and where we are. It's it's a
little tricky this time because it's Scott mentioned, certain areas
are a lot different than others, but overall we'll be

(36:50):
able to give you a real good overview. So hang
on and stick with us if you want to call
the numbers of five eighty four eighty four one hundred
four four four eighty four eighty four. The Break is
presented by Monseil Properties. Check out their listings n O, P,
E H E R T Realty dot com. All right, Scott,

(37:13):
we promised we're gonna talk about the rut before we
dive into this. However, I want to kind of remind
folks that as we talk about this, the peak of
the rut, or the period when the does are in estrous,
is what I would like to have folks understand we're

(37:36):
focusing on because you have pre rut, which is part
of the rut, but the true peak of the rut,
I think the easiest way to find it is the
period when most of the dos are in estras. So,
having said that, it is all over the map. But Scott,

(37:56):
I think it's fair to say we did have a
little true right activity, a little flurry in late October.
Moving forward, we went into a bit of a lull.
But now the pre rut is really on, and this
is the period when, to your point earlier, the young

(38:19):
bucks are acting like teenage boys. They're dogging the dolls,
they're pushing them around, they're checking them out. The mature
bucks are seeking and they're doing a lot of scraping,
and that's escalating pretty rapidly. But in terms of actual

(38:42):
dolls being in heat or estros, I've not seen it.
Most of the folks that I've talked to have not
seen it. Again. They're seeing, you know, two and a
half year olds and younger chasing and acting you know
like they do. But the bigger us, their necks are
still starting and in the process of swelling. They are

(39:07):
again seeking, but they're spending a lot more time right
now traveling checking dough units, and running their scrapes. Now,
this may chuge fairly rapidly, because as you look at
the calendar. I've said for many, many years, you want
to know when the rut peaks in our part of

(39:28):
the country, It'll be sometime between the tenth and twentieth
of November. It'll just be that way. There are some
variations in some locales, but it is honestly a hit
scratcher of sorts, and I don't look for it to
hit for another five to seven days at the earliest,

(39:48):
according to what I'm seeing. Scott, what are your thoughts
on this?

Speaker 4 (39:53):
People watch too much TV.

Speaker 3 (39:55):
That's that's my real thought. It's a big difference in
tackling deer on a piece of public property during November
versus privately managed ground that is manicured, you know, strictly
for deer, and then you've got hunting on the back

(40:17):
forty of grandpa's farm or neighbor's piece of property. The
rut is debatable by so many people in so many
different ways, but let's break it down for what's going
to happen this year. And if you don't understand the rut,

(40:38):
pay more attention while you're out there. Hunting and realize
that one magical thing about the rut is you could
have ten bad days of hunting in a row, and
the next thing you know, if you're after a trophy deer,
he could be standing right in front of you. The
harvesting of dose can even sometimes get complicated for meat

(41:01):
hunters during the rut because those dos are getting aggravated
when they're not ready to be bred. And so let's
break it down on how to hunt the rout and
where the rut's at.

Speaker 4 (41:15):
The full moon is coming this Tuesday.

Speaker 3 (41:18):
As temperatures go down, deer activity will go up. If
you understand anything at all about the rut, realize that
the reason you start seeing deer up on their feet
during daylight hours is because they're out there seeking, chasing,
and or tending and none of that is setting stone

(41:39):
and what they're doing on your farm compared to your
buddy's farm. As that deer activity starts to slow down
to you hunting from the stand or in your blind,
it could be for a lot of different reasons. It
may be that the weather has changed a little bit.
It may be that the cover that the deer are

(42:03):
using is not because your neighbor is riding their four wheeler,
or they're side by side in and out to their farm,
or it may be that the deer aren't in deep
cover because you think your neighbor shoots anything that's brown
and it's down. These doughs will go and get in
the craziest cover. And these bucks, especially mature bucks a

(42:27):
lot of times will push dose in some of the
most unique places only during this time of year. And
there's no way that I can explain this any more
simple than this. It's not a day by day thing
when the rut really gets going, it's an hour by
hour thing because that estrace cycle is so specific. And

(42:52):
those bucks, depending on how many dos are ready, if
there's a little scent in the air of one that's
getting ready to get well in October, they really pay
attention to that one because that's gonna be probably one
of the first doze that pops.

Speaker 4 (43:07):
But then all of a sudden, like.

Speaker 3 (43:08):
What you're talking about, that peak rut, you're gonna have
multiple dose that are gonna be in heat at one time,
and that's gonna give the spike buck and the four
corn and old big Daddy rabbit the opportunity to have
a girlfriend. And so that's why when you look at
the amount of deer, it's not like a turkey. A
lot of times old turkey, you'll have fifteen to twenty

(43:31):
hens with him. An old buck can only keep up
with so many at one time. And I'm telling you,
if you've never watched it, all you've got to do
is just realize that that buck doesn't run across I
sixty five because he's you know, trying to commit you know,
an iyet to end his life. They go their brain dead,

(43:53):
and that's when these deer are really gonna slip up,
and you can take advantage of them letting their normal
sixth sense kind of be pushed aside for about twenty
one days to forty days, depending on how you look
at peak rut to the trickling part of it, of

(44:13):
it slowing down. But don't underestimate as we get further
into November and further into the gun season to go
into deep cover and that same cover, Jim, you may
blow deer out of there going in there this Saturday
to hunt because you're going in there too early. But

(44:33):
then in a few days, ten fourteen, fifteen days, you
may go on that same cover and when these deer
are rutting, you not only can you get away with
a lot a lot of times these dose in these bucks.
When these dose are really in heat, those deer won't
get up.

Speaker 4 (44:51):
You don't jump them right like rabbits. I mean, it's very.

Speaker 3 (44:54):
Common for someone to harvest their deer walking to and
from the sta and why they think the hunt is over.
And use that to your advantage. Do things like pick
of shooting stick with you as you walk in and
out to your deer stand, especially if you're going in
midday or if you're coming out early in the evening.

(45:16):
You've got to get somewhere because you just don't know
what's going to happen.

Speaker 4 (45:20):
That's the rut. And when I say too.

Speaker 3 (45:22):
Much TV, you can't turn a can upside down and
do you know a doe bleed and then blow on
a grunt call and raddle horns and expect deer to
come jumping over the Appalachian mountains running straight at you.
You've got to evaluate the rut on your farm and
your area specifically, and it's more important to stay in

(45:46):
a network of people in and around you and let
your observations tell you how to hunt and when to hunt,
and don't think that you can burn a stand out
necessarily either. You hear a lot of times people think, well,
I'm gonna I'm gonna change, I'm not seeing anything, or
I don't want to over hunderstand, buddy, during the rut,
you're waiting for that one deer to walk by you

(46:09):
that one time. And and I can't stress enough how
much you need to go into it with the mindset
of enjoying your time on the stand, not going into
it hoping that it's over with real quick.

Speaker 2 (46:24):
Yes, sir. The one thing that I encourage people to
observe very closely in their scouting end or their hunting
their time on stand. When those are coming in the heat,
their tarsal glands start to darken, and they start to

(46:45):
urinate more frequently, and they'll be twitching their tail constantly.
When you see that in your hunting area, that dough
is getting ready to be the best trump card that
you're gonna have during the entire season. In most cases,
why she's coming into heat if her tarsls are not

(47:07):
dark and what's the reason for that, Well, it's because
she urinates down the inside of her legs onto those tarsals.
It trickles down to her hoofs, which is that's how
she leaves her calling card. That's how bucks trounck them.

(47:28):
Anybody that's watched bucks come out in the middle of
the day coursing back and forth through a field looking
like a beagle that's looking for a hot rabbit scent,
that's because there's been a dough through there, and so
it's important to watch and observe and use your binoculars

(47:49):
or your rifle scope to really look at the dough
units and the number of dose that you see. And
I'll give you a tip. It's one that I used
to talk about out seminars a lot. If you see
a hot dough or if you see young bucks chasing
a hot dog and you don't have a shot, you're
not positioned a shot, buddy, get out of your stand

(48:13):
and get to where that doe passed through, where you
can observe, because guess what, there's good chance that that
big buck's gonna come rolling through there in the next
thirty minutes to an hour. Because they absolutely to your points,
got they lose their minds. Once that estra sent hits,
it's game on, which is why again, I like to

(48:35):
to find the peak of the rut is the period
when the doves are in Estra's all right, folks, got
to go to a break here. This break is presented
by Mansell Property's Heart Realty. Paul Thomas is the broker there.
He's got all kinds of wildlife properties, farms and vacation
homes for sale. He'll be glad to list your property

(48:58):
as well. Check out as current listings at mop h
R t realt dot com.

Speaker 3 (49:06):
What's been so good about this deer season so far?
As for the last several years, we've had kind of
a mediocre pre rut. And don't want folks to get
too confused on what's going on the days that it's
been good. It's been really good. But how do you
go in to hunt this Saturday and Sunday for the

(49:30):
opening weekend? And Jim, what I'm going to tell people
is the peak rut the best of it.

Speaker 4 (49:37):
Is yet to come, like you said.

Speaker 3 (49:38):
And as people go in and out of the woods
on Saturday, and as these young bucks start pushing deer harder,
and these bigger bucks are going in and seeking these
Estrois doughs, I can't explain how important pinch points and

(50:02):
funnels with good cover are going to be especially on
the opener with sixty plus degrees in the forecast, possibility
of some thunderstorms, and then moving right in to Sunday,
we've got prime weather and a great front coming and
with that full moon. Don't be surprised when your neighbor

(50:28):
gets up to go back to the house to get
work done, or grab a biscuit, or come in a
little bit after lunchtime, or they get a late start.
Don't be surprised if a big boy or some deer
don't get pushed your way, just on the human push.
And then of course your young bucks are going to
be pushing deer and moving all around, and it's going

(50:49):
to get better and better and better, and other than
the pressure and the influence that that has to open
in a weekend and what it does to deer, I
really expect the Sunday through the Wednesday Thursday, right when
that warm front kicks back in Gien to be really

(51:09):
good hunting for people. And this is going to be
a year where if folks have the flexibility to pick
and choose their vacation and they don't have to take
off the whole week. It's going to be really important
for folks to hit those peak days of weather.

Speaker 2 (51:25):
There's no question. And you know, talking about activity right now,
scrape hunting right now still really good. And if folks
know where there's a good hub scrape or a line
of scrapes in an area that's frequented by those, take

(51:46):
advantage of that. If you have to your point there's
scott some rain come through and then let's say that
starts to lift out in mid afternoon or a certain time,
and you know where scrapes are. Let me tell you
some folks bucks know that rain the gates their calling card,

(52:07):
which of course is their sin that's deposited in those scrapes,
and they will get on their feet and ramble and
start to freshen them. And I look for that to
be a pretty dagone good strategy. By that, I mean
scrape hunting during this opening weekend. If you know where
those hubscrapes are, it's as good as it as any.

Speaker 3 (52:32):
And let me share something with you on that too, Jim.
The time I've been in the field the scrapes, there's
more mediocre scrapes. You know, about the size of a
Frisbee than there is the bigger scrapes and where folks
need to key.

Speaker 4 (52:49):
In on and what's showing it.

Speaker 3 (52:53):
It's obvious and the scrapes that have fairly large licking
branches are the ones that are really important because a
lot of these young bucks have kind of got this
premature characteristic in them. And this is the time of
year where you're gonna start seeing a scrape, then another scrape,
then another scrape every fifteen twenty thirty yards. What you're

(53:14):
looking for and what you're talking about is those scrapes
that are starting to get to be fourteen inches and
eighteen inches and twenty inches and next thing you know,
they're you know, two foot in diameter, and the deer
coming in there.

Speaker 4 (53:25):
And with this rainfall, I'm.

Speaker 3 (53:27):
Not seeing a lot of droppings in and around the
scrape ship, but I am seeing a lot of hoof
printing and traffic in there, and the licking branches are
starting to get work just a little bit more than
what they were just earlier in the week.

Speaker 2 (53:41):
Yes, sir, And we're going to talk a good bit
here after this next break about some strategies, but one
I want to give right now while it's on my mind.
If you're hunting two different places. If you're hunting woods
because of the foldage, if you'll concentrate your sit on

(54:05):
the outer edge of the woods. Bucks love to cruise
with scent in their face and with their eyes where
they can see out into the open without going there.
So if you'll position yourself down the wind and off
slightly of the area where those bucks will do that,

(54:27):
where they follow that line, where they can either see
or smell out in those open fields, those kind of places,
even though the foliageyen will usually afford you a pretty
good shot opportunity in most cases, what am I saying,
be no more than fifty sixty yards out, corners in

(54:48):
wood blocks or another thing that's really important because those
deer make that corner and as they do, they're going
to go to that next seam or area for cover.
Those are things that you really need to consider. All right,
got to go to break here. This break is presented
by SMI Marine. Go see them. They'll take great carry.

(55:09):
You get your boat winter rise before the rush and
take a look at all the deals they've got right now.
They'll take great carry you. I promise, remember you never
get soaked by my friends at SMI God, we've covered
a little bit here about some of the top spots
to hunt with the conditions that we have and what

(55:31):
have you, and I think we need to talk some
more about that and then some strategies for how to
hunt them. I talked about that inside corner. That's a
really killer place in farm ground where you're hunting woodlights,
for example, because it's a place where deer that are

(55:54):
coming from the one direction intersect with deer coming from another.
And in other words, it's almost like a x Mars
spot kind of place. And if you pull off that
corner to where you can cover both ways, you can
catch a lot of deer traffic where deer getting ready
to cross the field or peak out to see if

(56:17):
there's any dos there. And if it's a corner that
intersects a small it could just be a fence line
leading to another little piece of woods man. That's always
a magic place. But right now, with the fold John,
it's a place where you can probably see far enough

(56:39):
to shoot and do a good job.

Speaker 3 (56:42):
I'm going to agree with you, and I'm going to
go one step past it. Those areas are going to
be where transition happens in different types of habitat. Overgrown
field next to a wood lot, high stem count next
to a big open piece of timber. This this is
why so many people put their deer stands on property lines.

(57:05):
Think about over the years, like you and I gonna
believe what my neighbor did. They put a ladder stand
ten yards over the property. That's because where farms change
in Kentucky is cut up so much, and where private
ground and public ground activities take place. It doesn't matter
if it's old mining practices, it doesn't matter if it's
a wetlands, it doesn't matter if it's a stream bank,

(57:27):
a ridge going into a bottom of saddle. When transition occurs,
when you see that, when you see that diversity of habitat,
you go into one habitat to the other, that's where
those deer.

Speaker 4 (57:40):
Are gonna be.

Speaker 3 (57:41):
They're gonna be in and out because you got to
think it's betting the food and betting the food. It's
cover in anywhere that these deer can get cover and food.
It's really important. And even though we're going to have rain,
don't overlook this too. Deer will stop eating it. Parts
in time of the rut and they'll lose their body

(58:03):
conditioning a little bit, but they can't go without water.
So don't think for one minute that I'm not saying
go hunt a pond or whatever. But if there's a
pond in a hill, don't be surprised if you're not
sitting there watching a buck nose down to the ground
doing it singing, or a dough or whatever.

Speaker 4 (58:19):
Walk over and get a quick drink and.

Speaker 3 (58:21):
Do what have those areas that you talk about to Jim.
A lot of times those are hard areas to get
a shot, and deer tend to be moving a little
bit quicker, or maybe sometimes deer may just stop to
look or they hear something. One deer, We'll let you see.
You can watch one deer and realize that there's a
deer over in the cover, and then they'll pop out.
But keep your scope powered turned down low, and don't

(58:44):
forget there's a lot of farms out there that got
arn sights for a reason. I'm not saying take a
pop shot, but be ready. Don't be sitting there with
your phone in your hand, because number one, you be
taking it all in. But it just takes a split

(59:05):
second for that deer to get by you and don't
always rely on seeing the whole deer in those areas
that you're in. You know, start picking out just a
little bit of subtle movement, pick your binoculars up, scan
what you can skin, even if there's sick foliage still on,
try to find things because you may have a big

(59:28):
deer standing there just looking out into the field, or
you may have a dough that's she's a little timid.
You're just wanting to kill some some deer to have meat.
She may be a little timid of coming out in
the field because a minute she knows she pops out,
there's there's gonna be junior come bouncing, runner around like
a pinball machine, you know, bing bing ban going here,
there and everywhere.

Speaker 4 (59:48):
They don't want to do that.

Speaker 3 (59:49):
So yeah, one percent, capitalize on where cover and habitat
is changing, and take advantage of how deer cut those
edges in areas because really it's a lot of those areas.

Speaker 4 (01:00:02):
Turn into pinch points and funnels as well.

Speaker 2 (01:00:05):
No question, back to the foliage and where will be
another way you can uh kind of beat that situation
in hill country where you have a lot of ditches
and ravines. If you can get above and their wind
of the top of that very steep ditch. Deer, especially

(01:00:31):
big bucks, do not like to go down into something
where they can't see anymore and then pop back out
of it. They don't like that. They will almost inevitably
rim it. What I mean by that, they'll they'll come
up to the edge of that, they'll come around the
break to where it's less steep, and then continue on.

(01:00:53):
In a hill country, that's always a great place bow hunters,
you know, know this almost by the book, but I'm
throwing that out there now for the gun hunters, because
all you got to do is get far enough off
of that where you can observe that type of movement
and take advantage of it. And again, you ought to

(01:01:13):
be in most cases able to see about fifty yards
and that's all you need in situations like what we're
going to have going forward. As long as you do
pick that right spot.

Speaker 3 (01:01:25):
Yeah, and you can get away a lot of times
where maybe you think, oh, there's no way that deer
will ever come in here. Man, some of those older
big deer. Man, it'll run through some of the nastiest,
thickest stuff you've ever.

Speaker 4 (01:01:40):
Seen in your life.

Speaker 3 (01:01:41):
And you just wonder how they can even get through
it without their antlers getting caught up and turn them
back backwards, you know. But man, they can just they
get through it. And the thicker and the nastier it is,
the more grace they seem to be, you know, raed
holding through all that stuff.

Speaker 4 (01:01:56):
And it's a.

Speaker 3 (01:01:57):
Great way to kill a deer because with the rain
that we've had, I will say one thing about when
you're in cover with a with a lot of stem
count or whatever, that noise a lot of times can
let you have those few seconds that you need to
get ready to make that shot instead of just all
of a sudden when you're on just the field edge

(01:02:19):
where something's moving really quick and you're too far away
to hear what's going on your ears, your ears with
that to bog in or you're hoodie or whatever it is.
The more you can keep your ears in tune with
what's going on around you a lot of times, the
better off you're going to be on spot and those
rutting bucks coming by you.

Speaker 2 (01:02:39):
No question. Another thing I think we need to throw
in here because we are still, in my estimation, in
most places in pre rut strong pre rut. You know,
it could bust any day. The moon could very well
pop a lot of those into into estras here in
the next couple of days, especially in some areas where

(01:03:01):
it's you know, it's a little closer on time anyway.
I mean, we're right at the calendar time for this
to happen, so it could pop any day. But what
I'm getting at is calling it can be very very
effective right now, especially grunting, because these bucks, when they're
on their feet and cruising and checking for those to

(01:03:23):
come in eat, they're very susceptible to that. And adobe
leat is another good tool. It's something that in pre
rut works a whole lot better on average than it
does during the peak of the rut when they're just
you know, chasing and wild. I mean, we all know
that it could be just crazy when the peak the

(01:03:45):
rut hits.

Speaker 3 (01:03:46):
Well, the one thing certain that the big deer that
have been killed up to this point, there's been a
lot of inconsistency as far as where they're being killed,
what county, what terrain they're in. But folks have had
a tremendous amount of luck these past five to seven
days with rattling there's been more big deer go to
the horns, and that's going to be important as these

(01:04:07):
bow hunters really capitalize on this week prior to the
Orange Army getting out there. There's a lot of guys
that get out there and bow hunt that they don't
like gun season coming in, you know, and so use
these tactics and calling. But if you're out there with
a rifle in your hand, or you're bowl hunting during

(01:04:28):
the modern farm season, let's put it this way, I
would much rather have a set of rattling horns with
me and a can of a bleaque can or some
type of doe bleak tube and a grunt call than
not have it, because sometimes you just need a deer
to stop and pauls.

Speaker 4 (01:04:49):
That way you can get a shot.

Speaker 3 (01:04:50):
And sometimes this time of year you maybe have got
thirty years of hunting experience behind you. It's not about
thirty years of how that grunk call work.

Speaker 4 (01:05:01):
It's about those times that it did. That's the difference.

Speaker 3 (01:05:04):
You can try it and if you get the reaction,
I'll tell you it's worth it. And to tell you
something about my bag of tricks, it's a very dangerous
way to hunt.

Speaker 4 (01:05:16):
If you don't do it right.

Speaker 3 (01:05:18):
But going in and hunting from an elevated tree stand
and using a deer decoy this time of year is amazing.
And it's not always a buck decoy that's best to use.
Flambo makes a boss buck, and they've got the babe,
the boss babe, and that deer decoy being put out

(01:05:41):
in an open area with some type of orange close
by to it so someone can see it. Not packing
that thing through the woods, have it in a special
carry bag. You put that somewhere where a buck can
make a visual on that, or even just some doze.
An old curious mule headed dough a lot of times
will come in and just look at her, and she

(01:06:02):
may be stomping her foot and you'll be stomping her
on the side with whatever bullet you decide to send
her away. So don't forget as we go through these
hunting tactics, try new things.

Speaker 4 (01:06:15):
Do it safe.

Speaker 3 (01:06:16):
It's not just tree stand safety. It can be deer
stands safety, you know most of the time. But calling
you know, identify your target without a doubt, know where
that bullet's gonna go. If you're gonna use a decoy,
use a transport bag. But man, get out there and
try something new and be ready because you never know
which curveball you're gonna have to throw at your buck

(01:06:39):
or you at your dole to strike.

Speaker 4 (01:06:41):
Them out and take them home.

Speaker 2 (01:06:43):
And I say this all the time about rattling and grunning.
It doesn't startle or run deer off the way some
people would suspect. And there's no downside to it, especially grunning.
You know, guys will say a grunted.

Speaker 3 (01:07:01):
Most loud, that's their problem, that's the exactly And I
want to throw something else in because as you mentioned,
I would only do it from an elevated position.

Speaker 2 (01:07:14):
But even at that spray paint Rarey Antler's blaze orange
for gun season. It's no brighter than the white antler
would be to a deer, and it can sure save
you a tickler situation if someone were not really paying

(01:07:35):
attention to what's going on out there. So I think
enough said the better on that. All right, folks, got
to go to break. The break is presented by mas
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listings at m O P h A R T Realty
dot com. God, we got a couple more taxis I
think we are to discuss here. I'll let you lead off.

Speaker 4 (01:07:56):
Well.

Speaker 3 (01:07:57):
A lot of times you here people getting up and
going hunting early in the morning and they don't want
to shoot a doe because they're afraid it's going to
mess up their buck hunt. You were talking earlier in
the program about you know, if a dole comes through
getting pushed by a younger buck, if you can get
a shot on that dough, especially early in the morning,

(01:08:19):
and you can tell there's not anything right there in
that immediate vicinity from Kentucky to Illinois. Jim, I've killed
doz and had bucks. They're palling on them after a
successful harvest of them, smelling them. And I can tell
you I've harvested several bucks with a dough down on
the ground right in front of me. It's one of
my favorite things to do early in the morning. It's

(01:08:42):
like a big scent bomb right there. And from Aaron
Reed to yourself and myself trying to explain to people
why you put good optics and why you select the
right bullet. There is no better time for a center
shoulder or high shoulder shot on a white tailed dough
than when you want to anchor that female in front
of you to use this tactic, and that scent is

(01:09:06):
naturally coming off of that deer anyway, and it's just
a great tactic. In the same way, let's go to
an afternoon hunt. If you get some early deer activity
and you can anchor a dough down early in the
stand if the temperatures are right, please harvest dos and
don't think that shooting these doughs is gonna impact you

(01:09:28):
being able to kill a big buck. There's no worse
stereo type than that. And then try to hunt midday.
You may not be able to pull off an all
day set, but try to go in on some type
of second shift or mid morning hunt, especially if you're
starting to get worn down from several early mornings, or

(01:09:51):
you've got some stuff to do with the kids, getting
them to school or other commitments. If you can only
get out there for two or three hours, and you think, man,
I can only hunt from my ten o'clock to one o'clock,
that won't be any good wrong. Try to hunt as
much or more from that mid morning to early afternoon
than you ever have before, especially this year. And here's

(01:10:12):
why the acre and crop is gonna have deer scattered everywhere.
And I do believe, I truly do believe that the
negative impact of the EHD striking our deer herd is
gonna make for some strange and more midday activity than

(01:10:33):
years past.

Speaker 2 (01:10:36):
Well, I love that strategy for two big reasons. First
is we've got this full moon influence, and I've preached
for years about this. Our full moon pattern. Generally speaking,
midday hunting is actually better than the early mornings deer

(01:10:57):
because they've fed during the moonlight bed down. And then
what happens. Bucks get on their feet at midday to
start roaming around, checking to see if there's a dough
in heat, or to find another dough to breed. Perhaps
if they bred the night before and left that dough,
that's number one. Number two. And this is a biggie,

(01:11:19):
it's Scott. This is something you preach all the time.
Pushed movement, forced movement by other hunters leaving their stands
to go to lunch. That's fine, if you got to
go to lunch, go to lunch. Maybe you got a
bathroom call. There's a lot of reasons to leave the woods.
But think about this, if you're the guy that's sitting

(01:11:42):
there when he's deer getting pushed around instead of the
guy that's leaving. I know which way I like to bet.
And that midday period is really really important during the
run and because of the forced movement by other hunters.

Speaker 3 (01:12:00):
Yes, sir, and you know the thing is when you
go in and out of the stand this year, try
to think also about how your movement could impact deer
going past another hunter on an adjacent farm. We all
like to see other share success, but don't think for

(01:12:23):
one single minute that you can't be the token that
allows another hunter to wrap his tag around a deer,
you know, because what you did or because.

Speaker 4 (01:12:34):
You slipped up.

Speaker 3 (01:12:35):
And try to try to let your other hunters that
are hunting with you on the shared properties. Try to
let them enjoy their hunts and have good collaboration and
communication where those folks can get the hours in that
they need to, because if the weather allows, it's going
to be okay for that deer to set for two

(01:12:56):
or three hours. And there's a whole lot of folks
that their hunts get disturbed because somebody gets excited and
goes in tracks or buck and messes up the rest
of the farm. It's about getting along and everybody enjoying it.

Speaker 2 (01:13:09):
Yes, sir, and I'm going to close out with this.
On field sets, especially whether it's a food plot or
an ag, I've said for years your stand is no
better than your ability to enter and exit it without
the deer knowing you were there. This is really critical
on those afternoon sets. You need to know a strategy

(01:13:30):
to be able to get out of there where those
dear stay relaxed for your next sit there on your
next go rounds. So, folks and Scott really appreciates you
sharing some of your secrets tonight. I hope you can
utilize some of the things we've shared with you. Most importantly,

(01:13:50):
be safe out there, watch out for your fellow hunter.
I hope you bag the buck of your dreams. God
bless everybody.