11-3-24 -Tips and Tactics for the upcoming Modern Firearm Deer Season

Tonight, Jim and Scott talk about tips and tactics for the upcoming modern firearm deer season. We also interviewed Tom Ballinger, board member of the Kentucky Bee Keepers Association about a federal bill to regulate and certify that honey is pure and free of additives or chemicals.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
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(00:44):
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Speaker 2 (01:00):
Good evening, everybody. Jim Straighter here with my co host
Scott Cronin and Scott. We got a great program lined
up for folks tonight. Everybody's, for obvious reasons, really keen
to talk about deer hunting. We've got gun deer seasons
opening next weekend and Scott, we're gonna take them off

(01:24):
the hallway, up the hills and down the road goodnight.
We're gonna talk about weather conditions as they appear to
be shaping up and how that can affect the hunt.
We're gonna talk about what dear behavior is like right now,
We're gonna talk about what's to come, and uh, just

(01:44):
all over the map really with reporting on deer season,
how it's looking, and most importantly, Scott and I have
spent a lifetime pursuing deer the bowing air and guns,
and it's a fascinating sport and it's one obviously folks
wait all year long to participate in. It's one of

(02:05):
the most attended sports in the state. So, Scott, there's
a bunch of other things we're going to cover if
you want to roll them out as well.

Speaker 3 (02:16):
Well as we get people going through the process of
anticipation of November and putting knowledge and hard work together
with patients Hopefully they're going to realize and understand what
they can do with some of these weather conditions that
are coming up. Not everybody wants to see warmer than

(02:38):
average forecast during the month of November. Not everyone's got
a week to take off on a popular term now
known as a reccation. And there's a lot of folks
that are going to be out there in the final
days prior to the modern firearm seasons trying to build
their archery tags. And the month November is such a

(03:01):
marathon when it comes to understanding hunting the rut and
hunting deer and in general, November is a different kind
of month when it comes to deer hunting because you've
got so many people that are going a field not
just to chase.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
A trophy deer.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
A lot of folks are going to the field to
put fresh venison down for their annual use. And when
hot weather comes up, Jim, it's just not trying on
us as big deer hunters or folks that are going
out there looking for an older age class and well,
it really puts a lot of people with their back
against the wall on when and how and strategically figuring

(03:43):
out when they're going to harvest their deer, and more
so than ever before. With everybody's schedules between kids' sports
and aging parents and just keeping up with working over time,
with the cost of living, I think a lot of
folks are going to be in that ballgame of having
not as enough time to hunt. It's what they would

(04:05):
necessarily wish for. But we're going to try to help
them out so that they can not only fill some tags, Jim,
but more importantly just get out and enjoy the woods
and enjoy being part of mother nature.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
Yes, sir, we do want to remind everybody this week
small game hunters out there the two big eas or squirrels,
which is open still, and the rabbit season is open,
and there's some kind of neat things about that date
pattern this time. Do you want to speak to that
real quick?

Speaker 3 (04:38):
The most interesting part to it to most folks is
going to be that by the time that Thanksgiving rows
are around this year, we're not going to be having
any type of conflict with folks being off for the
holidays and out in the woods during the modern firearms season. Now,
of course there'll be some boat of hunts and things

(04:59):
going in the state of Kentucky and definitely folks can
still got there with archery equipment, but it's going to
be nice for those folks that do still get out
and have traditional rabbit hunting over Thanksgiving and not be
competing with the quote unquote Orange Army.

Speaker 2 (05:15):
Yes, sir. And in the Eastern Zone, of course, rabbit
seasons open now runs through the eighth of November and
then picks up again November eleventh, and the Western Zone
starts November eleventh and runs through February tenth, So there's
gonna be a lot of opportunity there. We wanted to

(05:36):
mention that, especially in the Eastern Zone, if folks wanted
to get a little jump on it before deer season
opens here. So we're going to talk about all that
more right after the break. Before we go to the break,
I have an action alert that we want to get
out there to the high level of sportsman's interest in

(05:57):
the new controversial baiting band and carcass transportation restrictions and
berecage Harding and Mead Counties. The CWD public meeting has
been changed to a new location. The meeting will now
be held at the Brekridge County High School Auditorium this Thursday,
November seventh, from six point thirty to eight thirty pm

(06:20):
Central Standard Time. The address at the Begridge County High
School is twenty nineteen East Highway sixty Herned, Kentucky four
zero one, four to four, and we've will encourage all
interested parties to attend. There's a whole lot of questions

(06:41):
that deserve straight answers, and we hope to see you there.
All right, folks have got to go to break. This
break is presented by Monteak Property's Heart Realty. Paul Thomas's
broken there. He's got all kind of outdoor vacation homes,
farms and wildlife properties for sale. Check got their current
listings at mop h A r trealty dot com. Scott,

(07:08):
I hate be appropriate if we start out our discussion
about the impending gun deer season talk about what the
deer are doing. Now, there's been some subtle changes, and
quite frankly, things are just a little bit I think
behind what most people have been expecting. And so I

(07:30):
guess let's track that out. The folks that I network
with up in my portion of the state, which is
north central, and the folks that I have context in
the east are all pretty much seeing the same thing.
The bucks are seeking, they're cruising. Uh, there's a good

(07:50):
bit of fighting. But other than that early flurry of
breeding activity that we saw back around muslimoor season, there's
just not a lot of the all app chase in
our those coming in heat yet. And the extra cycle,
I think is more than a week away. And we'll

(08:11):
talk about the weather after we get off this conversation
about behavior, but the deer moving around, you know, new
bucks are showing up on properties and again there's a
good bit of fighting, which we'll talk about what that
means in term of technique here at a minute. But
folks to run down in the western part of the

(08:31):
state and overall status of the herd from eural's perspective
down there.

Speaker 3 (08:38):
Yeah, well, well, and we'll look at what's going on
to our friends of the north too as well. We
have November ahead of us. The biggest thing that's really
hurting us right now with this overall deer movement, without
a doubt, is the warmer weather. We've all been done
with some form of drought, so it has definitely played
a major impact on white tail. What's really important to

(09:01):
think about though, is if we go back and track
that early Muzzloder season there in October in Kentucky, there
were some really nice deer killed. A really good friend
of mine, John Gentry, killed a exceptionally good deer and
that was a play by play text message that was
going down helping him through that process and getting that

(09:22):
report back, and a lot of that deer activity and
that sporadic movement that a lot of people would associate
with pre rud activity was pre rud activity. But our
Muzzloder season this year fell on a full moon. This
is important. Here's why the second weekend of the Kentucky
Modern Firearm season is going to present us with our

(09:45):
next full moon coming on the fifteenth, and with those
warmer temperatures and with the presence of estras and how
deer come into heat and that extra cycle, folks are
going to start seeing where things are ramping up. Now,
where do we key in on or what do we
look at. There's definitely deer up on their feet. There's

(10:07):
definitely going to be people that have reports that they're
not seeing any sign and you're going to see other
folks reporting and making posts or talking with their friends
about how well, the rut's already started. What's going on?
And sometimes it makes all of us wonder like, well,
are my deer not doing anything? Are they not breeding?
Am I not holding deer? What's really going on is

(10:28):
it's just the start of those first doze.

Speaker 2 (10:31):
Coming in the heat.

Speaker 3 (10:32):
It's a little bit of the pecking orb. But folks
don't get worried because these older, more mature deer, they
will get up on their feet and they will start
showing themselves. And sometimes you can pattern them in and
around food sources and checking the local dose that you're
holding in and on your ground. But those bigger deer
a lot of times won't even get geared up until

(10:54):
those younger deer kind of peter out. And what's going
on as these younger bucks and we have an exceptional
amount of spike bucks this year, small spike bucks that
folks need to make sure if they're hunting with a
rifle or checking headgear with binoculars or scope, or they're
going to end up having to utilize their buck tag.
We've got a lot of those deer starting to move around.

(11:15):
You've got a lot of your two and a half
year old deer that are getting up on their feet.
And what's happening right now is these bucks are starting
to come in and I just they act like a
bowling ball, like pin striking. You'll see some dose that
are trying to feed, they're trying to get some acrons
and then they're basically getting pushed and scattered. And that's

(11:38):
happening with some of the younger age class deer, especially
the younger deer, and these bigger bucks are starting to
cruise and get on their feet when the weather is
cooling down. So if we have a cool morning, you're
seeing a lot of that activity the first hour in
the morning. And if a lot of these deer in

(11:59):
the mornings that they're moving, they're also daylight and a
little bit that last hour light. But it's so important
for folks to realize what it means of the down
one side. So when we hunt and if you watch
out these deer are traveling, we're trying to keep the
wind in our face. In these bucks, no matter what
their age structure is, they're trying to keep the wind

(12:19):
in their face as well, and they are moving and
they are using the terrain to allow their eyesight too,
to let them visually check groups of deer. It's just
not to the level that we all want. And I
think more than anything, the weather's holding that back. I
think the deer are about on par for you know

(12:40):
what's going on. I think some years we forget about
what the mass crop does and what drought does to
make deer activity either sporadic or more consistent on a pattern.
But the best part about it, Jim, is it's only
going to get better every single day, and we're going
to see a tremendous amount of moisture compared to what
we've been sending. And these deer are really going to

(13:03):
be putting down a lot of signs. Scraping is going
to pick up, even more calling and rattling are going
to start to peek out for hunters that are trying
to get deer to change their direction or even just
somewhat blind calling to get them to come into the areas.

Speaker 2 (13:18):
These pinch points and.

Speaker 3 (13:19):
Funnels are going to be all so important. I look
for deer go to be focusing so much on food
because of the warmer weather, and I look for deer
to be pushed by not only the hunters getting out
and about checking stands and going in down the field
to hunt. But a lot of these bucks will start
to get somewhat frustrated, especially the younger age class bucks,

(13:43):
and they'll start going in and getting into those doughs
and scaring them around. And what happens then is you'll
start seeing your doughs concentrate and go more into thicker cover,
and you're going to start sending a lot of bucks
that are using long ridge lines and taper down areas
that we consider pinch points and funnels to start moving

(14:03):
from one dough group to the next.

Speaker 2 (14:05):
Yes, and we're going to go into detail about how
to hunt those kind of places you're mentioned as we
go through the program. One of the things that I
want to leave people with is a prediction I'm ready
to make. We got to remember that this is a
little earlier season opener than we've had in some past years.

(14:25):
And that's part of the fact that you know, we're
just not going to hit it right on the button
and for the opening weekend. But that full moon that
you mentioned. Anybody that listens to my programer has for years,
knows how much I pay attention to moon things. It
does a whole lot of things to drive the train

(14:46):
in Mother Nature but it's especially important during a time
when you would expect the those to come into estras,
which is about mid November. Bingo, We're gonna have that
full mood, and I promise you when that full moon
hits within two days before or after, there's gonna be
an unbelievable explosion of those coming into heat. And to

(15:10):
your point, that is really going to make the second
weekend really really good, and the weekends after it's excellent
as well. So we're gonna have a unique opportunity this
year because of that, and not that opening weekend is
going to be a snooze by any means, because like

(15:31):
you mentioned, we've got Cruiser Bucks, we got Bucks Fighting,
we got middle aged structure Bucks checking dough units, and
then we got the force movement from other hunters. So
it's gonna be a great time to be out there.
But it is going to be warm. Unfortunately.

Speaker 3 (15:49):
First weekend is going to be really important for folks
to stay dry, stay comfortable, stay in the stand if
you can, try to put your time in because it
is November and you do have pressure and you do
have people s turning around it. Yeah, but but I
don't want anybody to get frustrated everybody, especially younger hunters,

(16:13):
if they're listening, you know, make sure that you enjoy
those sunrises on opening morning. They're so special, but not
everybody's supposed to fill their buck tag within the first
hour of daylight of opening day. And and we're gonna
help folks, Jim, when we come back, Well, we'll grind
through this, because I got a feeling that it's not

(16:35):
gonna be much of a grind during the modern gun season.
This year, I think I think we are going to
hit it, and I think we're gonna hit it really good.
The problem is is I think the folks may be
a little surprised on which weekend is going to be
the best.

Speaker 2 (16:51):
Yes, sir, for the bow hunters out there, you know,
they've got the rest of this week to get a
crack of these, dear And because of the seeking and
some of the fighting, this is an excellent time without
some of the danger that you see about rattling during
gun season. It's that excellent time to use a grunt

(17:14):
tube in rattling antlers if you're bowl hunting right now.

Speaker 3 (17:19):
And as much vegetation it's on the ground. If folks
are not too familiar with hunt with archery equipment from
the ground. They should make themselves real familiar with it,
especially with all of these blowdowns from recent storms that
we've had, and there's a whole lot of deadfalls and
a whole lot of debris out there that folks can
get tucked up in, and you can get away with
just a little bit more during this time of year

(17:40):
than you can than you can any other times. Will
take advantage of that.

Speaker 2 (17:44):
No doubt. One of the things that we're gonna talk
about too in depth when we talk about technique is
the fact there's another unusual aspect this year. Because of
the year that we've had, the growth we had and
the drought we had, standing crops are gonna be the
attraction that they would be in some normal years. Most
of the farmers have already run their beans and corn.

(18:07):
There's certainly some still out there, but in the main part,
you're gonna be looking at harvesty fields on this term
because of the conditions that we've had that were favorable
for the farmers to get in the field. So again
we'll talk about that and techniques after the break. This
break is presented by SMI Marine. Go see them take
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(18:31):
your boat, getting ready for winter. And most importantly, they've
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SMI Marine. You know, Scott, we were talking about the

(18:53):
full moon and its effect upon the asterisk and the
way the rut will actually heat up. And I always
define true full rut is the situation where the majority
of the does are in estris. But Folks, a hot
dough that pops in early this week, for example, in

(19:16):
your immediate area, can change everything so rapidly. I mean, Scott,
you and I have experienced this time after time where
the one or two lone doughs in an area that
come into heat, there'll be a train of bucks following
those dogs, literally fighting, running after trying to chase her down.

(19:36):
So that could happen at any time. But what we're
trying to impart here is that some of the best
hunting this year will almost undoubtedly be from about the
second weekend forward because of that moon influence and the
way the deer have been kind of holding and patted
right now with the seeking and fighting and scraping.

Speaker 3 (20:00):
Density and terrain is so different as well. And you
take the state of Kentucky just for example, You've got
the western section, the eastern section, you get down into
that southeast and northern Kentucky area. Terrains so different. There's
different amounts of pressure put on deer. There's different regulations

(20:20):
depending on what zone you're in. So sometimes that does
put more or less pressure on the antlerless deer particularly
which can come into place and everybody so differently, Like
if someone says, you know, full rut that has if
you have five different people, you're gonna get five different answers.
And so what we just got to realize is these

(20:43):
deer get to breed once a year. And you know,
if if someone sees a deer running full speed chasing doughs,
it runs across the highway chasing a dough, a lot
of people will say, well, that's full rut. Well that
that may be the chasing stage and that's not the
lockdown stage. So there is different stages. So let's help

(21:06):
people with this. Bucks will get up on their feet
searching for those first hot dose. That's what most people
associate with the pre rut. And then once breeding starts,
that's when, of course the dose have become succeptful to
letting bucks breed them. And then of course you got
post rut, which goes into those food sources, and it

(21:28):
also puts us in that post rut, which is probably
the one that's not understood very well and not hunted
like it should be. That's when the majority of the
those have not only been bred, but it's also when
the majority of the bucks have been shot and the
majority of hunters have gone home. But that's some of
the best times to kill the biggest and most mature

(21:51):
deer that there is, and it's the best time to
hunt overlook spots. So let's talk about pressure of the rut.
The pressure of the rut. Modern gun season comes into
a lot of states. Bucks are disturbing and aggravating dose.
This is why it's so important to go to those
traditional places. But as you're sitting there, if areas are

(22:14):
not having as much activity as you want them to have,
start thinking about overlook places because the pressure from the hunting,
the pressure from being aggravated from the breeding, a lot
of these deer will get into areas that are so overlooked,
not just by humans, but but deer. Deer tend to
follow main spines. Deer kind of go through pinch points

(22:35):
and and and they'll kind of get away. So, uh
that that rut situation that people talk about, Jim, I
guess everybody just has to agree to disagree, because everybody
just puts it into so many different terms and and
and just they just incorporated so differently.

Speaker 2 (22:54):
Yes, sir, one of the things that I do think
that we need to let people know is that that
there's gonna be a lot of continued scrape activity and
or fighting during this early part of the gun season.
This time reason being again when the dose majority of

(23:15):
those the dose in a specific area haven't popped in
the heat yet, the bucks are revved up and ready
and they're gonna do a lot of movement. So hunting
scrape lines, hunting scrape setups near betting dough betting areas
is going to be really attractive. And the use of

(23:38):
grunt calls is going to be a big deal because
as bucks seek, as we all know, a lot of times,
in their frustration, they'll they'll grunt while they're walking. They'll
stand there and thrash bushes. You know, they're frustrated animals
at this time. And those kind of places are going
to be really good. And then things will change a

(23:58):
little bit as the dose coming estras. Then the scrape
will tend to dry up and the bucks are gonna
be in full blow and chase mode. But you can
bet if you're in areas in pinch points, in frontels
where the terrain causes the deer to come down in
a certain geographic feature, you can bet that those places

(24:22):
are going to have a lot of activity from hunter
movement as well.

Speaker 3 (24:27):
You brought up something really important there too, Jim. With
the with the weather and how we're going to be
getting some precipitation, we may notice that the deer is
slipping in on us. But more importantly, if you look
at that forecast, you kind of got to call a
little bit louder, and you've got to you've got to

(24:49):
hit those horns a little bit with aggression when we
start getting into these ten and fifteen min of our
wind days, because if you look at that forecast, there's
going to be definitely changes in the uh the wind direction,
there's going to be changes in the speed of the wind,
but it looks like between the rain and between the wind,

(25:11):
hunters are going to have to be paying super close attention.
Put those phones in their pocket, use your binoculars, start
looking for little things, you know, those pieces and tips
of a white ear or an antler or something that's
going on. Because I can't say this is going to be,
you know, a prediction that everybody's going to see. But

(25:31):
I really the first opening, you know, this weekend to
the Kentucky season, I look for bucks to kind of
be moving slower, which will actually be a blessing to
a lot of folks because they should be able to
get their crosshairs settled and be able to make a
really good shot. What we've got to get at, though,
too as well, where these deer are at right now,

(25:53):
with their breeding and how they're moving. A lot of times,
if people, you know, maybe the deer slips through a
little bit of cover, they don't have that perfect quarter
and away shot, or they don't have a good broadside shot.
Calling isn't always about bringing deer to you fifty or
one hundred yards. A lot of times you can get
that deer just to reposition their body so that you

(26:13):
can make a more ethical shot. So don't be afraid
to throw the kitchen sink at them if you need to.
Now you don't need to be going out there, and
you know, sounding like you're rattling and grunting and bleating
every five or ten minutes, that's not what we're getting at.
But but don't overlook the importance of the deer causing
and don't don't overthink it either, because a lot of

(26:36):
these deer, when they have trouble hearing and when they have,
you know, difficulty seeing what the foliage it's on in
some places, they're going to be moving and a lot
of times you can get their attention. Curiosity is killed
the cat more than once.

Speaker 2 (26:50):
Absolutely. And you know, Scott, you and have been talking
here recently about these fogs that we've been having because
of this former weather and the changes in the water
temperatures on creek bottoms, around swamps and around some of
the bigger lakes, and that kind of presents a pretty

(27:10):
unique opportunity and or some challenges as well. You want
to talk about what you and I were discussing there.

Speaker 3 (27:18):
I just don't think people understand when our temperatures are
so drastic all over the place, whether it's your air temperature,
your ground temperature, whether you're looking at what's going on
with the change in humidity because of precipitation, that there's
a lot of us, Unfortunately, when we get into weather

(27:38):
like this that really like to hunt river bottoms or
areas along the rivers along our lakes, we're going to
be faced with some things that can prevent us from
making a shot or even seeing the deer that we
need to see. And over the years, of course, everybody's
textbook perfect hunt. It seems like as everybody wants to

(27:59):
eventually try a deer in the snow and try to
you know, do a spot in stock or people like
white tail hunting when there's a little bit of snow
on the ground. But I'm afraid that this season, the
way that it's shaping up, with the amount of moisture
that's into forecasts, into the fluctuation of the evening and
morning temperatures, we're we're really gonna be looking into the

(28:22):
consideration of how fog may lift or how fog may
push down, and that could wreck somebody's day if they're
sitting out there with their favorite center fire rifle thinking
they're going to get a shot at two hundred yards
when they can't see to the end of the barrel.

Speaker 4 (28:36):
That makes sense, Yes, sir, he does, indeed, And another
thing to be considered again back to this fact that
the bucks are still scraping a lot when and if
we do heavy.

Speaker 2 (28:49):
Rain and you are hunting in an area where you
know there's active scrape lines that the deer have been utilizing,
there is no better time to hunt a scrape line
than right after rain stops. Those bucks will instinctively know
that for them to have their calling card out. For
those it's got to be refreshing that the rain has

(29:10):
negated some of their scent. And right after the rain
stops is one of my absolute favorite times to hunt
deer in the rut in general, but especially during the
period when they're scraping, because I can't tell you how
many times I've watched the big one roll in on
a scrape right after rain quits.

Speaker 3 (29:31):
A lot of those weather per balls that we get
will activate deer. It's almost like a bonus round when
you're spring turkey hunting, those on and off switch can
be triggered just as much by weather as they can
by sunrise and sunset. And before we go to break
to Jim, it's really important that the folks that are
going to be out and commuting driving back and forth

(29:52):
to their hunting spots. I much rather form to connect
and fill their tags with a deer they've harvested legally
with their weapon and instead of their automobile. Here in
the last couple of nights, deer have really been up
on their feet and seeing a lot of deer early
in the morning, and folks that don't even get out
and deer hunt, they need to start realizing that these
deer are going to be out and about. They're a

(30:13):
resource we care about, and it's important to me just
to get that message out there that not only keep
people safe, but let's try to harvest our deer and
take them in a method and what they can be
utilized to the fullest extent.

Speaker 2 (30:27):
Yes, sir, that is a great point. All right, folks
going to break here. This break is presented by must
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They've been in business more than thirty years helping you
locate prime hunting locations. Vacation homes and farmland. Check out
all the current listings at mop hrtrealty dot com. Not

(30:52):
talking about the dynamics of dear behavior during the prereup
period as again as opposed to when these are masters,
there's a big difference there that I think we need
to share with folks tonight, and that is food still
tends to be a dominant area to hunt prior to

(31:16):
the astra cycle. In other words, hunting food sources in
the evening periods where you've got a number of those
that cause the bucks to come there to check them, etc.
Tends on average to be a very important time to hunt.
But once we get towards the rut itself, that's when

(31:38):
all the things out there revolve around being where the
girls are. And what I mean by that is that's
when you start needing to concentrate heavily on dough betting
areas places where those travel going to and from food
and again traveling to and from the bed. So there's

(31:59):
a big difference there, and it's different than hunting in
the pre rept versus when that those are an estris
There's just certain things that have to be considered there
that can really alter your success.

Speaker 3 (32:15):
Yeah, food's important three hundred and sixty five days a year.
There's no changing that. It's just with these warmer temperatures.
I don't want folks to get out there and think
that deer are going to be necessarily adapting their diet
and changing their diet with the fluctuation of the temperature. Now,

(32:37):
what I've seen over the years is what deer will
tend to do is they will adapt and become what
they are, and that's just wild animals, and they'll utilize
those acorns and water sources closer to bedding. And if
they can put all of those together, cover and food

(32:58):
and water and space and those overlook spots. Man, it's
great and it's amazing as you hunt these things, the
more years that you do it, whether you get elevated
from a two by four, you know that you put
up in a tree from a homemade deer standar using
the latest greatest products that are out there. You know, folks,

(33:18):
a lot of times when we get in there, we're
walking backward, sideways, bleeding. I mean, you need a first
aid get a lot of times when you walk out
of some of these thickets. And if you do ever brave,
you know, and get into those areas and you trench
in there once you get elevated, because you just about
got to hunt it that way to see over the

(33:39):
canopy of it. Man, those deer will walk through that
stuff like a ballerina dances on the show floor. I mean,
those deer don't pay any attention to that doesn't matter
if it's a big old rack of a buck or
a dough. They'll move through a bunch of bunch of
multi floor rows and briars like me and you would
walk through a field of broom sage. And so don't

(33:59):
let that ever get to you that man, this is
so thick and so dense. You know, deer would never
be able to get through it. Man, they'll walk through
it like it's nobody's business. And if you can find
those areas where especially there's some acorns left and there's
a water source nearby, man, hold on to your hat,
because at any given time, that wrecking ball that comes

(34:22):
through those stick brier patches like that and those betting
areas near food, it's just as likely to be a
deer of a lifetime as it is a little young spike.

Speaker 2 (34:32):
Absolutely one of my favorite places to hunt in hell
country is I'll try to find the thickest cover I
can that's on the highest point that has that type
of cover, because those are almost always prime dough betting areas,
and they also tend if it's super thick, to be

(34:53):
betting areas for bucks as well. And oaks that you
mentioned are a really big deal in those kind of
places because those oak flats adjacent to those cover areas
are where a whole lot of the chasing goes on
ancestre's hits. And there's nothing I like more than to
be able to see a big area in open timber

(35:15):
adjacent to thick cover where when those bucks push those
dose out to try to chase them down, guess what
that's going to put them in your lap, which is
an extra draw in that it's also the place where
they're doing a lot of feeding, so it's kind of
a double whammie deal.

Speaker 3 (35:34):
And with them big mature deer, they're always using their nose,
so those dose they can hide, but them bucks are
going to get down one of those beding areas. It
doesn't matter if it's seventy five degrees outside or thirty
six and raining the first day or the last day
of modern gun season. Don't ever rule out how much

(35:55):
a buck depends on his nose.

Speaker 2 (35:58):
Oh. Absolutely. One of the good things about gun hunting
is something that I think a lot of people enjoy.
I certainly do as much as I love the archery hunt,
is that you can cheat a little bit. And what
I mean by that is you can stay further off
of the dense cover and be able to shoot into
those flats I talked about. And you can also with

(36:21):
a gun play the wind a little bit differently than
you can with a bowl and air because with a bow,
everything's up close and personal. When you back off a bit,
you're not picked out as easily visually. It's just a
different mindset than it is when you're bowl hunting, because
you've got that weapon that can reach out and touch someone.

(36:44):
So I did want to mention that. All right, folks,
coming back from break, we're going to continue our discussions
about deer and get into techniques and some terrain features
you can utilize to put DIDs in your favor in
addition to what we're already talking about, and we'll give
you some tips on different ways to hunt. If your

(37:04):
current plan of attack isn't working out, so stick with
us when we back after the break. The break is
presented by S Tomi Marine. They've got some twenty four
hole over boats for sale that they got special deals
and it sent thems on and the twenty fives are
on their way and should be here by the boat show,
and there's incentive packages on them as well, so check

(37:26):
them out. Remember you never get talked by my friends
at S Tomi Marine, you know, Scott. We've been talking
a bit about food sources and betting airs and how
to hunt them. But one of the things I think
we need to talk a bit about that folks can
take advantage of it is the way deer travel through terrain,

(37:47):
in other words, how they use the geography and what
can put that in your advantage. And of course that
leads to a discussion about funnels and geographic features that
cause deer whether they're moving to and from bedding, food
or being pushed by the hunters, which is a big

(38:08):
situation with opening weekend in particular. Let's talk about those
places and some of their elements that make them such
good spots. I'm gonna lead off with one that I
looked for in Hell Country, because I hunt a lot
of hell country and this has helped me in goodstead,
whether I'm bowl hunting, gun hunting, whatever. And that's what

(38:29):
I call a gap in hills, and it's usually created
where two hollows are opposing sides of a ridge come
together in a low spot and there's often finger ridges
that come off the main ridge that lead to these places.
And when deer are pushed in the lowland areas and
need to get up above and out, they will instinctively

(38:53):
go to those kind of gaps and a well placed
stand that's on the down wind side of those type
of cross especially if it's a ridge where you can
see the ridge top out in front of you for ways,
but you can also see down in those hollows killer spot,
especially when deer pushed.

Speaker 3 (39:14):
I think, more than anything when I look at terrain,
the very first thing that I look at is how
thermals react. With thermals, you know, rising in the morning
on traditional days where we have a normal sunrise, things
aren't sticking around and being cloudy conditions like we're going

(39:35):
to have, which can make for a true way that
you can trump a big deer if those thermals are
working more to your advantage. Then that's always better than
when they're a disadvantage. And so that sun can be
your best friend and worst enemy at times. But as
the morning thermals rise, you've got to remember too that

(39:56):
the evening thermals will begin to pull down. When you
think about terrain and you look at topography, you've got
to understand that there's basically like a vacuum and a
vortex effect that happens with how hills and hollers. A
lot of times we focus on the big deer around
the egg and we think about concentrating, you know, where

(40:18):
can we make our centerfire rifles, our crossbows or archery shots,
you know, get to maximum you know, harvest distances and yards.
But there's still so many folks. Two thirds of the folks,
I would say, are still hunting on ridges and hollers
and swells. And what you're talking to there, Jim, It's
really important that folks, if they ever get overwhelmed with big,

(40:42):
massive amounts of timber, to remember two things. First of all,
try to think about where there is a regular water
source in those big sections of timber and terrain. And
what I'm getting at there is I'm talking about the creeks,
the streams that don't go dry and don't fluctuate so much.

(41:03):
They tend to keep a regular amount of water flow
going through. The other thing is look for transition between
property lines and private and public ground. If you can
ever get to where you're starting to get into a
difference between the age growth of the timber and where
the stem count is different, those are going to be

(41:26):
things that will allow you to at least focus and
slow down. And don't ever ever underestimate how important logging
roads are in big timber, because while we talk a
lot about how deer will go from one place to another,

(41:46):
I want you to think about something differently on logging roads.
A lot of people want to think, yeah, it's a
great spot for scrapes and different things when logging roads
are put in. If you understand forestry, and this is
kind of what's making the best all around player for
your team when you start looking at your knowledge to
deer hunt those access roads and those logging decks. The

(42:08):
way that they're cut into the terrain is so hopefully
erosion does not take over and wash those areas out.
And why is that important to focus on those guys
and gals that go in there like artists with these bulldozers,
and they shape and they form these entry and exit route,

(42:29):
these big hollers, and off of these ridges into big timber.
They know how water flows and how water channels because
the more that that water flows and the faster it
gets in speed, the greater that erosion is. Well, why
does that make you a better deer hunter? Well, these
deer will travel those those logging roads, and it's not
just because they're clear. It's just not because they have

(42:50):
overhanging limbs and they're great areas for scrapes. It's a
great way for deer to go across the terrain as
like in human terms, as we say, as a crow flies,
don't ever kid yourself anytime that a deer can move
from point A to point B and do it with time, speed,
and their advantage. That reduces their exposure to predators and hunters.

(43:13):
The same time, it allows for those deer to travel
through areas in which they don't have massive terrain features
that are going to set them back. Because while a
deer will surprise you what they will go through and
over and under, they'll also travel the path of least
resistance in order for them to move from one betting
area to another.

Speaker 2 (43:34):
Yes, sir. Another thing that's really important, especially in agg
country and in small properties as connectors between woodlights, and
it doesn't have to be much. It can be just
a fence line. It could be a weedy ditch that
connects two pieces of timber. And those kind of places

(43:57):
are very very often the escape rafts that deer used
in that type of country. And this goes back to
hunting pressure deer, and it's important to understand that those
areas are great for hunting pressure deer or deer that
are just traveling to go about their business during the rut.

Speaker 3 (44:17):
Those areas have a tremendous amount of brows as well,
from honey locusts to looking at some different types of
forges at deer, like anything from honeysuckle to multi flour rows.
A lot of times a fence row may not be
very big, it may not be very wide, but the
diversity of vegetation and the types of food that change

(44:37):
seasonally in those is really important to ken on. And
one thing that's kind of unique about those situations too, Jim,
is you may sit there and watch those areas and
not see a tremendous amount of antlerless deer. But guess
what those hours that sometimes folks don't hunt that n
thirty plus to one o'clock, two o'clock, guess where you'll

(45:00):
see a lot of those big deer. They'll be up
and they'll get on those those scent trails a little
bit and they'll go in and they'll check those deer.
And something that folks need to remember too, when we
start looking and studying thermals, don't think for one second
that that buck's not using thermals to his advantage like
we use it to ours. Because when those doves are
putting down ground scent, when those doves are hitting licking

(45:24):
branches and other bucks communicating with one another, when those
aromas begin to get heated by sunlight, well guess what
it does to old Bucky boy. It gets him excited
and it gets him moving. And they use those thermals
just as much to their advantage to get up and
get moving and stirring around. And that area that you
just talked about, that's where it's at. Those it's those

(45:45):
fence rows, and a lot of times those create a
lot of issues for game wardens to handle, and sometimes
landowners having a few disputes because it goes back to
those transitional areas that we talked about. So don't don't
be surper if there's a deer stand on the property line.
You may not like it, but there's you know, there's
the legal way to hunt, and there's character, there's sportsman's

(46:08):
like activity. But a lot of times where neighbors come
together is where bucks tend to travel.

Speaker 2 (46:14):
Yes, sir. Another very important thing to point out is
is rivers and streams and the flats that occur along
those water courses are major major escape routes and traffic
areas for bucks that are either moving away from hunting
pressure or cruising looking for those and where will they be.

(46:38):
They'll usually travel it on the down wind side of
that water course, and they won't be right on the water.
More times than not, they'll be slightly off of it
where they look and see as their noses telling them
what's ahead of them, and it is those places are
killer during this record.

Speaker 3 (46:56):
A lot of places that are going to be killer
this year, gim because they're dry from the seasonal draft
that we had.

Speaker 2 (47:02):
Yep, yep, yeah, it's gonna be a different scenario for
sure got to go to break here, folks. This break
is presented by Montal Properties Heart Realty. Check out their
listings at mop h r Trealty dot com. Got two
other places that you and I love to hunt are

(47:23):
weed fields that are interspersed with cedar and briar and
the kind of things that enable here to slip around
like a rabbit. And I'll speak to that. But you
love power line cuts and I'll let you get to
that in a second. But folks, if you have a
stand overlooking a big weed field and I'm talking about

(47:43):
thick weeds that have the things I mentioned, they're cedar
or overgrown briar patches interspersed to it, those places Bucks
will instinctively seek and cruise those places all hours of
the days, the ruts on reason being those love to
bed in those places. And if you've got an elevated

(48:06):
stand that will enable you to see the openings in
those types of spots, it's it's a killer, killer place
to intercept cruising bucks. That's one of my favorites, same
as true of CRP. This guy, I know you dearly
love and are really excited about a new spot you've got.
Actually what you found out has got some power line

(48:27):
cuts and talk about them here.

Speaker 3 (48:30):
Well, I'm sitting here trying to do radio with you
like everybody else. My phone's blowing up with deer pictures
coming in. I mean, where do you go this time
of year? You know it's I've got a freshly harvested
agriculture field full of doze and got one of my
main target bucks for the year that has done some

(48:52):
daylight in the day, seen a bunch of deer down
in a creek bottom on trail cameras earlier from this morning.
And so what about those power lines and utility easements.
They're great? And here's why. A lot of times we're
indecisive on where to go where the hunt in the woods,
or hunting the bottoms, or to hunt high Sometimes we

(49:15):
think that we got a little bit behind on getting
our deer stands up, or maybe some people can get
too dependent on hunting a scrape or hunting the food plot,
or maybe even supplemental feeding. And a great thing about
the terrain when you have gas lines and utility lines

(49:35):
is you can sit down. A lot of times you
can find some type of height or some type of
elevation and put the wind in your face, and you
can truly absolutely get maximum range out of your rifle
because of the fact that deer will be cruising and
of course a lot of times when they're going left

(49:56):
or right versus traveling backwards and fords or if you
want to look at as perpendicular whatever, then it's gonna
speed up how quick you've got to look at that
animal and you have to get a shot. But man,
they just check those areas so much. In a lot
of those areas, even if they have shorter clipped grasses

(50:17):
or vegetation, it makes for really good brows. You know,
the room and animals. They create great staging areas early
in the afternoon. Deer will come out of big timber
and stage in those areas and then go on to
your cut agricultural fields and food plots when they're when
I say, kind of moving at their own pace, not
going full speed in that chasing mode. And then once

(50:40):
you talked about that vegetation and brows, the importance of
CRP to the gun hunter and archery hunter who utilizes
it for so many different reasons. Not only is it
a great food source, just over the years and my

(51:01):
experience in hunting white tailed deer. It doesn't matter if
it's natives. It doesn't matter if it's just areas that
haven't been bush hogged. It's full of natives and invasives.
I think there's just something to be said for those
deer starting to flock and gather in those areas, also

(51:21):
for the importance of thermal betting and what I get
at there, Jim is as these leaves begin to fall
and as the temperatures begin to decline, those animals can
go down into those higher witty areas. They can let
the room digestion, do what they're supposed to do and

(51:41):
chew their cud, and they can have easy brows to them.
But at the same time they're able to utilize that
dense cover and that vegetation as an insulator, and those
bucks will get in there and nable crews and look
for those dose And what's so magical about that habitat.

(52:02):
Even though a lot of times we do not like
to focus on something that is true as a monoculture
CRP and high weed areas, vegetation is like it is
a lot of times deer can shift in it, just
ever so slightly as those wind direction changes become so

(52:24):
apparent to where the deer will change their betting based
off of thermals and this wind direction, and those deer
get in there, it's a consistent comfort factor and when
they're not aggravated by hunting pressure, of course naturally that
those are going to come around to where they will
do the breeding and the rut will be accepted. But

(52:46):
you just you can't stress to people how important these
places are, and if people ever want to know what
those places look like, if you can ever find you
a place that's just about impossible to find a place
to hang it, deer stand because there's no tree around,
and there's no place hardly possible to you know, sit

(53:07):
down without being somewhat elevated, without being able to see
through the vegetation you're in it. And we sometimes forget
how dependent folks are on hunting elevated and it goes
back to those overlooked spots Jim, and those areas just
constantly produce some of the best deer hunting, no matter

(53:27):
people are trying to put meat in the freezer or
put a trophy on the wall. And the best part,
in my opinion about those areas is if it's legal
shooting times there's always the potential that deer are using
those areas. I love all day sets in those areas,
or if I have to get down midday, you just
can't go wrong with watching those gaps.

Speaker 2 (53:50):
Well. I tell people this a lot. Some folks laugh
at this, but in many ways, deer in general and
big bucks in particular, are like a giant rabbit. And
what I mean by that is they like to be
in and around cover and edges of cover whenever possible.
And isn't that they won't break cover to go out

(54:12):
and oak flats and things like that. But for day
long sits like you and I are talking about here,
during the rud especially when these bucks are pushing dose
and those are weaving through that cover trying to get
away from bucks. It's magic. It really truly is magic.
And you'll see things that will amaze you. I mean

(54:34):
you'll you'll see bucks tag team and trying to trap
those in that stuff. You'll see those slitting around through
their feeding on the brier, feeding on the honeysuckle. Just
they're very relaxed in there, as opposed to many of
the other areas.

Speaker 3 (54:51):
For saplings to get rubbed. I mean, the possibilities are
endus endless for that.

Speaker 2 (54:58):
And guess what if you've got to place like that
it's got a small pond or water source out in it,
it gets even that much better. So hopefully those are
some tips that we can pass along the folks that
will played into their heads and let them knock down
a big buck or just taking meet here, whatever the
case may be. All Right, folks, you got to go

(55:20):
to break here. This break is presented by s Tomi Marine.
They got year end deals on the twenty twenty four
boats and incentives from the manufacturers that apply to the
twenty twenty five and they're ready, willing, enable to get
your boat ready for the winner. Get there before the
big crunch. And remember you never get soaked by my

(55:42):
friends at ask my marine. All right, folks, you've got
a gentleman coming on with here. He is a genuine
expert in natives, and by that I mean native grasses,
native plants, and he also happens to be with the
Beekeepers Association and he's actually on the board of directors

(56:06):
for the Kentucky Beekeepers and he's going to talk about
it initiative that they got Tom Walker on the board. First,
Scott and I were talking about the importance of hunting
areas in and around the natives and what they provide.
You got any thoughts about that?

Speaker 5 (56:25):
I love it. First of all, thank y'all for having
me on the show. When you start talking about the
native grasses, if you plant them in buffer strips around
the crop fields, it sets up a big time staging area.
I love hunting it. I went and checked the camera
today and watched two eight pointers chasing the dough and
it was in native grass. Those deer just like what

(56:47):
y'all said while ago, They're like a big rabbit. They
feel secure in that tall grass and they will move
earlier if they feel secure. The digestibility of it, they
feed in it all summer. You know it's any We're
between eighteen and a half to twenty five percent digestible.
Those deer love browsing on it. They can. It's a

(57:08):
smort disboard for them. So when you plant that native
grass and the pollinators in there, it gives them a
variety of foods for the doze to feed on early
in the year, and then a variety of foods for
them to feed on in the late fall. And well,
one of my cameras I just literally just checked it.
There was nine dos in one picture and go ahead, sir.

(57:35):
They were coming out going to a water source.

Speaker 2 (57:39):
Okay, well we talked about that a little bit. If
you've got a water source next to those thick covered areas, Man,
oh man, can it be dynamite? Tom? Very quickly, what
type of paul nators do you like planting specifically for deer?

Speaker 5 (57:55):
The pollinators I like. I like the black eyed susi,
the Illinois bundleflower, the partridge p the wild eye oats,
and uh, you're always gonna get a little seriesa Lesbodiza.
It's a it's a good cover. But those with a
little bit of switch grass and some Indian grass, it
gives outstanding cover. And a good thing of it is

(58:17):
is you plan it once and it will last you
four or five years, and then you can just disc
it under plant your food plot and that native grass
is gonna have enough seed based there it'll come right
back up. As long as you don't kill it out
with a you know, a hard chemical kill. Your native
grass will come right back up. And you move your
food plot to another spot the next year.

Speaker 2 (58:38):
Yes, and the year round, and I know you last
cover excuse me, clover and some other food items adjacent
to them. Explain to people your favorite way to hunt CRP.
What kind of setups do you like the best.

Speaker 5 (58:53):
I like getting first of all, I play the wind
a lot, and you have to with bow hunting, But
I like setting up that CRP and then a section
of the pollinator or native grass that's five to six
years old. I will go through in disk and plant
clover in it, and that clover will come up, and
then you got that native grass in there. But I

(59:14):
always make my stand in between the water and that
s orp or that native grass because them deer light
coming out of that and they'll stage up and when
they get to that water, they don't even know you're
there because the thermals are running up and the water
is the coldest place. It just it works out real
well for playing the wind, especially early season.

Speaker 2 (59:38):
Yes, sir. And one of the things that a lot
of people overlook about bucks during the rut because they're
on the feet all the time because they're running night
and day, they need a lot of water. They go
to water, in my estimation three to four times more
often during the rut when they're really running than they
do any other time. And that's the reason these are

(01:00:00):
slated ponds and smaller drainage ditches that got water become
very very attractive to them.

Speaker 5 (01:00:08):
You're exactly right. I've learned a lot over the last
twenty years or so. In a lot of this reclaim ground,
I'll find where them springs are coming up out, and
I'll plant native grass sixty to seventy yard circle around it,
and then I'll find me a spot and put me
a blind on it. And it will it amaze me
how many deer just hold in that pocket, because if

(01:00:31):
they don't have to go far for food and water,
they won't oh, stay there within a couple hundred yards.

Speaker 2 (01:00:39):
Yes, sir, Yes, sir, and tom Y all harvested some
really monster bucks out of properties that you have consulted
with for folks that wanted to capitalize on what you do,
of course on your own property. How much does this
amaze you how you can hold the almost year round

(01:01:02):
in one specific farm as opposed to how they ramble
at other places when you utilize this.

Speaker 5 (01:01:09):
Well, the big keys I look for is I've got
to keep those there if during the rut and during
the pre rut and post rut. Those bucks are looking
for dose. So if you can keep those there, you're
gonna have your bucks there, food and water, as much
food as possible. And you've got to have places with

(01:01:31):
the good thick cover. And I like hunting them ridges
like what y'all were talking about there. Those are outstanding places.
But I also hunt a lot of them real thick
pollinator patches that are four to five foot thick tall,
and the deer just make trails in it, but they
feel secure in it. They just I've seen them in

(01:01:52):
the middle of the day picking and all of a
sudden they just lay down. You got to make that
deer feel secure and have more food than they can consume.

Speaker 2 (01:02:02):
Yes, sir, all, those are very important tips. Sorry, I'm
gonna go to quick break here. Coming back from break, Tom,
I want you to tell everybody about this initiative that
you've got going at the federal level to see that
honey is certified in pure honey, because too many of
the products, so called honey products and you'll speak to it,

(01:02:23):
have everything from maple syrup to corn product and some
of us even got pesticides in it coming out of Mexico.
So we'll talk about that after this quick break. This
break is presented by Morsel Property's Heart Realty. Check out
their listings at mop h r Trealty dot com. Tom,

(01:02:44):
I know you've got a real passion about be keeping.
I forgot how many highs do you have.

Speaker 5 (01:02:51):
I keep roughly one hundred in in the state, and
then anywhere between forty five hundred and five thousand on pollinators.

Speaker 2 (01:03:00):
Good grief, that's a real well go ahead.

Speaker 5 (01:03:06):
That's one of the reasons that I'm so passionate about
what kind of honey we're getting in the United States.
A lot of people don't know that USDA does not
even identify honey. There is not a scientific name for honey.
So there is a bill setting in Senator or in
ah in the Senate or into Congress right now with

(01:03:28):
Congressman Guthrie that would force the USDA and force the
USDA to identify honey and set up a regulatory program
because so much of this honey from Mexico and Indian,
Vietnam and Argentina, and a lot of the honey from
Vietnam is actually coming from China. China exports a lot

(01:03:48):
of honey is adulterated honey. We've tested it. There's been
traces of chemicals, there's been a lot of it. It's
just water damp and this is honey that's been sold
into the United States and companies are bottled on it.
There's a regulatory process that we can set up to
make sure that we've got one honey that we're putting
on our table. And that's a fortunate thing that we've

(01:04:11):
been able to do. In the state of Kentucky with
the Department of ag is set up a Certified Kentucky
Honey program. If it has that little yellow label on
it that says certified Kentucky Honey, I will guarantee you
that b yard and that honey has been inspected and
it went through a testing process, and it has to

(01:04:31):
have that seal because a lot of folks that are
selling so called local honey is actually imported honey that
they're putting under their company name. Isn't that correct? You're
exactly right. There is companies that are buying honey and
they're just bottling it and putting their label on it,
and it's there's no telling where it comes from. I

(01:04:53):
looked at a toat the other day and it was
had a funky oily looking skim over the top. I said,
I'm not buying it. I was going bite it to
feedback to bees. I wouldn't even buy it to feed
it to my bees. So it was just not a.

Speaker 2 (01:05:08):
It's mind blowing to me. And like most folks out
there outdoorsmen in particular, honey is a big staple food item,
and I was shocked to learn that it is not regulated,
that it doesn't have any certification at the federal level
that is pure honey. And that's just crazy when you

(01:05:29):
think about it, because of all the pollutants that can
be involved and the cheating that goes on by putting
in sugar, water, corn syrup, or god knows what to
make it taste good, but it's not God of all
those great properties that natural honey has got.

Speaker 5 (01:05:47):
For us, You're exactly right. One thing I would like
to ask everybody, if you like your honey and you
want to make sure that you have one hundred percent
pure honey, go to cert Go to KYBS, go to
Facebook and go to Kentucky State Baykeeper Association or Certified

(01:06:09):
Kentucky Honey. Right there, there's a link that you can
call your congressmen. Light their phones up. Our tax dollars
are paying for a lot of these programs, and that's there.
They just don't want to enforce it. There's a bill
setting there that would put that would hold the USDA
and in the Apartment of oh imports. It's a federal

(01:06:35):
Apartment of Agriculture, is what it is. It's where falls under.
But it would hold their feet to the fire and
set up a testing program. There is programs out there
where you can test that honey and tell exactly where
that honey come from due to the pollen count.

Speaker 2 (01:06:51):
Okay, Tom, slowly give those two sites again where people
can go to contact their senators and or engressman about
this bill.

Speaker 5 (01:07:02):
You can go to on Facebook. You can go to
Kentucky State Beekeepers Association, or you can go to Certified
Kentucky Honey.

Speaker 2 (01:07:12):
Okay, and both of those have the links and information,
have the contents right, both of them the links. Okay, Tom,
what kind of reception is this getting at the federal level?
Do you have a few for that right now?

Speaker 5 (01:07:31):
For the first six months there was very little, you know, acceptance,
and then we started, you know, making phone calls and
I think there's seven or eight a congressmen that have
co signed on it now and I've talked to five
other senators. They said, if it will get to our
side of the house, they will pass it. They they

(01:07:54):
understand it's a good program, but a lot of it
was just lack of knowledge. They didn't know, but there
was nothing there. And that's what a lot of with
the beekeeping side of it is is you have to
educate people on what the bee or what the honey
is and where it comes from and how it's manufactured. Yes,
to give you for instance, the honey that was sold

(01:08:17):
at the State Fair this year, it took over ten
million bees to produce that honey.

Speaker 2 (01:08:23):
My goodness, that's crazy, that's really crazy.

Speaker 5 (01:08:29):
Tom will only produced a couple of ounces of year.
It's whole lifetime.

Speaker 2 (01:08:34):
Yes, yes, sir. And your sites that you mentioned are
great places to go to see about becoming a beekeeper
as well. Correct.

Speaker 5 (01:08:44):
Correct, We have set up those sites. You can become
a beekeeper or if you want to buy local honey,
you can go there and we have maps. We have
a link to our website and you can go to
the website which is kybs dot org and you can
tap on that map and it'll tell you the local
beekeepers in your county.

Speaker 2 (01:09:03):
Okay, very very good. To broaden us down a little bit,
tell folks how important to bees and all pollinators these
native grasses and plants are that you consult to plant.

Speaker 5 (01:09:20):
For folks, ninety eight percent of your food that you consume,
greenish food, vegetables and stuff like that, are pollinated by
butterflies and honey bees. And when you have that break
in pollination, you know food sources, then the bees starve them,

(01:09:41):
or in case the butterflies they move on. So with bees,
I plant a bunch of the flowers, a bunch of
the native grasses because it holds them there and it
makes a very good dark honey. And the best part
about most of these native grasses is they're a late bloomer,
seasoned grass. So when it gets hot in the summer

(01:10:04):
and a lot of your gardens have played out and everything,
those bees have got a food source there that they
can store everything they need to for the winter.

Speaker 2 (01:10:12):
Yes, sir, well, and so many of these types of
plants that you're talking about, I've gotten right here at
the house and they're still in full bloom when everything
else is weighing it out. You're exactly right.

Speaker 5 (01:10:26):
The native grass is what makes them so good for
It's the reason why I like them for deer food plots,
deer cover and pollinator is because they have such a
deep root system. It can be real dry and that
black eyed Susie will still bloom just as beautiful as
if it was a flood. The Illinois bundleflower, the purple
cone flower, all of it has a very very deep

(01:10:48):
root system. And another thing that does it helps our
water system. That's one of the best water filtration around.

Speaker 2 (01:10:58):
Well, that's really a cool thing. And all well, Tom,
I appreciate you sharing all this information about it. Again,
where do folks go so they can.

Speaker 5 (01:11:06):
Contact Kentucky State Beekeepers Association on Facebook and certified Kentucky Honey.
There will be a link there. Click on it and
light your congressman up. Tell them this needs to be passed.
I thank you all for your time, and I'm honored
to be speaking on your show.

Speaker 2 (01:11:25):
Hey, the honors are on our side, buddy. We appreciate
you being on with this and good luck on your
dear season. Okay, thank you a lot, sir, Please be state, yes, sir,
all right, Scott, we're closing down here. Towards the last
couple of minutes. Unfortunately, you had something that you felt

(01:11:47):
we need to share with the folks. It's a sad note.

Speaker 3 (01:11:51):
Well, in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. I just want the
family and fellow recruits and the employees of the Kentucky
Department of Fish in Wildlife to know that we have
had a lot of thought and consideration for William Bailey

(01:12:13):
losing his life and passing away on Friday, as many
will know him as texts. Just a young individual that
meant a lot to a lot of people. And just
want the listeners to know and employees and family of
the department, and and of course his immediate family that

(01:12:33):
that they have that from us tonight, Jim, as we close.

Speaker 2 (01:12:37):
Out, yes, sir, well that's that's well said, and it's
very very unfortunate, and our thoughts and prayers are obviously
with the family and everyone that's going to feel that loss.
It's it's one of those things that just hits you
in the gut. That's the best way to describe it.

(01:12:57):
You got any other closing thoughts here?

Speaker 3 (01:13:02):
Put that time in the field. Nothing is more important
for folks to remember that we're all students of the game.
It doesn't matter how many seasons we've got ahead of
us or how many seasons we've had put behind us.
Continue to learn, remember the most important reasons why we're

(01:13:24):
out there, and you get out and if the deer
aren't making you happy, then maybe we'll do a little
fishing or do a little squirrel hunting. But try to
get folks involved. And something that sets dear on my
heart is enjoy your time with your family.

Speaker 2 (01:13:43):
Yes, sir, and deer hunt's a great way to do that.
All right, folks, I want to give you a reminder
again to the high level of Fortune's interest in the
new controversial beating band and karcas, transportation restrictions and breaking
ridge hard and meat. The CWD public meeting the Department

(01:14:04):
is holding has been changed. It will now be held
at the Brekeridge County High School Auditorium this Thursday, November seventh,
from six thirty to eight thirty pm Central Standard Time.
The address for that meeting is twenty nineteen East Highway sixty, Harned,

(01:14:26):
Kentucky for zero one four to four. Like to see
you there. There's a lot of questions that need to
be answered, all right, folks, hope you've enjoyed this deer
hunting special. We'll talk to you next week. Be safe,
God bless everybody.