Are You Ready For The Hunting Season?

On this episode of the Nine Finger Chronicles, Dan is once a again joined by Mark Kenyon to discuss their upcoming season and the strategies for those hunts. Dan and Mark get in to an in-depth conversation about e-scouting, identifying terrain features using topographic maps, verifying them once they start to hunt, and how to make adjustments to hunting strategies in the middle of the hunt. Mark also talks about what he has learned during his recent out of state hunts and why he is excited to get back in the woods. Just another awesome BS episode where two serious hunters share their thought on the upcoming season.

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Mic check. One two. Woo. Friday. It's Friday. If you're listening to this on a Thursday or a different day, I re, I edited this. I. For launch on a Friday, and I'm trying to hype you guys up 'cause I know a lot of you [00:01:00] guys are working full-time somewhere. And Friday marks the end of the work week and the beginning of the weekend.

And for some of you guys, this might be the first weekend that you're actually getting ready to climb a tree and get into the woods. And so I am fired up for you guys and I am excited about this podcast that we're gonna be talking about today. You may or may not know him, his name is Mark Kenyon. He is the host of the Wire to Hunt podcast over there on me Eater.

And I pretty much have to blackmail him. I have some dirt on him and that's why he continues to come on my podcast. And he doesn't need to. He doesn't choose to. I'm currently blackmailing him. And that is why I get all of these people, I know all the dirt on them and I will, I threaten to expose them if they are not willing to participate in [00:02:00] my podcast.

So that's why Tony comes on. That's why Justin Czar comes on. That's why Mark comes on. And and that's, that's part of the reason why the Nine Finger Chronicles is so great because of the blackmail aspect there. So that's what I got going on over here. Dude, huge cold front came through Iowa and I'm starting to get jack up dude, and I'm looking forward to this upcoming season, man.

I got in the tree last night with all of my saddle gear. Saddle hunting gear and I was just climbing up and down and trying to get my ropes in the right position and basically getting all my gear set for my first hunt. And I honestly feel like there might be an opportunity with a saddle in South Dakota for mule deer.

There's a couple places where they like to hang out and kinda. Come through [00:03:00] that are, buy some trees. And I think it would be sweet if I could get in there and and get up in a tree, man. It would be a very long hike in there with gear, like a saddle and saddle climbing sticks or whatever.

But I think it I could make it work. So I'm gonna bring I'm gonna be prepared for anything. I'll just say that. Set up my gear, shot my bow, started to shoot my bow again. And because of my shoulder injury, I had to lay off for a while. But I'll tell you this right now I'm still on. I just gotta get back into the swing of things.

I do need to do a little bit of adjustments. I'm currently shooting low and right. And I think One second here. One second here. I'm low and right. And I feel like. I will be, but I'm consistent low, right? And so I just need to tweak my sight and that should solve that problem. So I'm really looking [00:04:00] forward to dropping some 60 yarders here later this week.

Dude, I tell you what, shooting your bow is fun, but shooting a bow at a very long distance. 60, a hundred yards. That's really fun because you, by the time you let the arrow go, you can almost set your bow down and watch the arrow hit the target. And that's really cool, man. I, that, that's my favorite part of archery is watching the arch in archery.

Can't really get that at 20 yards, but at long. That's why I like the longer distances anyway, blah, blah, blah on that bss. What else? I had something else to say. Ooh, check this out. Okay, so I am in the process of starting a brand new company. The Shopify I just finished setting up. It's not live yet, but I just finished setting up a storefront where I'm going to be selling.

The first pro item that I'm gonna sell is a [00:05:00] nine Finger Chronicles hat, and it's sweet and I think you should go buy some for your friends and you. And if you are a huge fan of the Nine Finger Chronicles and the Sportsman's Empire, you need to go buy a hat. And I'll let you guys know when they are available.

That's about it. Mark Kenyon. Today on the podcast we will be talking about our out-of-state hunts. We're gonna be talking about things like using topo lines to identify to identify terrain features while e scouting that you can then make adjustments on when you actually get. There to hunt.

We talk about in-season adjustments as far as strategies strategy is concerned. And so there's a lot of detail in depth conversation in this episode about the upcoming season. In a way it's a BSS session, but we actually do a couple of deep dives into a couple of the [00:06:00] properties that he's gonna be hunting and location that locations that he's gonna be hunting this year.

Stay tuned for that. Before I get into today's episode though, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna run through these these partners of the podcast real quick, and I, and basically say thank you to them because without their support, this isn't happening. And then I'd have to start charging for it.

And nobody wants to pay for podcasts. Tethered. If you are looking for a saddle, and I'll tell you this, the new lockdown I had, I was wearing it yesterday. I love the adjustable mesh in the back that can stretch out and make a bigger seat, basically that covers more of the butt in the legs.

And so go check out the tethered the tethered lockdown over at tethered nation.com and all the accessories and climbing sticks that they have as well. WASP archery here, coming up in October, I believe we're gonna do wasp week. And WASP Week is going to be three guys [00:07:00] who are connected to wasp.

And I'm gonna have three episodes that week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And it's gonna be all about the people who are part of the wasp broadheads organization. So I do have a discount code. Go to wasp archery.com, enter the discount code NFC two zero. I highly recommend the four blade the, excuse me, the jackhammer three blade.

Dude, I've destroyed some deer and I hate to I hate to make it sound so gruesome, but that's exactly what their heads do. Majority of their heads are made in America. So go check 'em out. Vortex optics, man. Go check out the new Triumph hd and. No, it's too early yet to talk about the other the other product that they have coming.

But there's a, another product they have coming that I'll mention here in a couple weeks. But the Triumph hd very high quality optic and it's very affordable as well. So go check that out. Vortex optics.com. Check out their, while you're there, read up on their v i p warranty code Blue Sense, another discount code here for you, N F C two [00:08:00] zero, and that's gonna get you 20% off of Code Blue Sense.

And dude I'm really looking forward to seeing the results of my mock scrape kit that I've went out and I think I set out up five mock scrapes and I'm hoping that they're starting to use 'em. I think the next time I go back to the property, I won't touch the actual rope part of it, but I will touch the ground.

I'll freshen up the scrapes that I've made underneath of 'em and I did it really well with a weed eater. So they're bare spots. So go visit code blue sense.com, discount code N F C two zero, the Woodman's Pal. While I'm out there, I'm gonna be continuing to find good tr trail camera and tree stand locations and be mobile all year round.

And, I'm gonna need a Habitat tool. Some guys carry like a folding hand saw I do as well. But the Woodman's Pal is also great Habitat tool that allows you to hack bushes, cut [00:09:00] vines, pull, grassing, like clumps out of the ground. And so the best thing to do is go visit woodman's pal.com and read up on their their Made in America product.

And when you hold it in your hand, it's pretty badass, man. It is a very durable habitat tool. And it, they've been around since the 1940s. I think they have a history of working with a military like World War II or something like that. So go check that out. And last but not least, man, we got hunt worth.

I got a box of hunt worth clothing that I'm looking forward to using this upcoming season. And as I start to use it, I will let you guys know how all of that is working for me, my likes, my dislikes and things like that. Hunt worth. Go check it out and read up on, man, they got base layers, they got mid layers, they got late season stuff.

You name it, they have, they pretty much have an application for it. Go check out Hunt worth. We done with the advertisement. Remember it's all about good vibes. Guys. If you are so [00:10:00] inclined, here's where I would really appreciate. Go to iTunes or Apple Podcasts or wherever you download your podcasts.

Go leave a five star review for the Nine Finger Chronicles. Let everybody know how awesome. And full of shit I am at the same time. And gimme a five star review and that just helps. Rank the podcast and expose it to more people. So if you could do that, I'd really appreciate it man, if you're gonna be an a treaty and wear your safety harness.

And let's get into today's episode with Mark Kenyon. 3, 2, 1. Alright, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of the Nine Finger Chronicles podcast. And today we are joined by honestly, one of the guys who inspired me to start the nine Finger Chronicles podcast. Mr. Mark Kenyon, my man.

What's up? 

[00:10:56] Mark Kenyon: Hey buddy. I'm I'm glad to be here. I'm still a little salty [00:11:00] after the beating that you and Tony gave me the other day on Wire to hunt. You guys spared no punches, but I'm here with a smile on my face, nonetheless. 

[00:11:08] Dan Johnson: I tell you what, we we had a number one, we had a really good time.

But then did you ever watch the show Entourage on H B O? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So the main character there was this really big movie star, and he ran around with his hometown crew. Pretty much brought all those guys out there. And the thing I like about that show is it's the buddies.

Ha. Every once in a while we'd check him and, they're just like, oh, you're, you think you're cooler than us, and stuff like that. Not saying that was the way, but they got their jabs into even though that, that guy was the major provider. If that makes 

[00:11:45] Mark Kenyon: sense. So are you alluding to, to, that's what you and Tony did to me the other day.

So what was the name of the turtle? Are you turtle in this in this scenario? Oh, 

[00:11:54] Dan Johnson: I'm definitely not Turtle because Turtle goes on to do like really good things with his life. I [00:12:00] am the dumb guy. Is that Mark 

[00:12:02] Mark Kenyon: Wahlberg's brother? 

[00:12:03] Dan Johnson: Not Mark Wahlberg's brother. But you, the main character's older brother.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking of. I'm definitely that guy. I'm the 

[00:12:11] Mark Kenyon: dumbass, oh. But he's the favorite. Everyone loves that guy. He was, it's been a long time since I watched that show, but that was that was a good one. 

[00:12:19] Dan Johnson: So I got a call from my neighbor this morning when I'm at the bus stop and he goes, Hey, what are you doing tonight?

I said I daughter's got dance, but other than that, no plans. And he goes, we need to have a talk with the boys. My two, like you're oldest and my oldest. I'm like, why? What happened? He was listening to them talk on the ring through his, on his front door and they were dropping F-bombs and saying the Ss word no and the B word.

And I was like, I'll take care of mine. Oh no. Yep, I'll take care of mine. You take care of yours. And so I pulled him aside and I go, Hey [00:13:00] buddy this is what happened. He goes no. I just said Frick. I was saying, Frick not the F word. And I go, buddy. He heard you. And you could just see like life drain out of his body.

'cause he knew he was in trouble, Uhhuh. And he's just oh man, so and so I had to chew a little butt this morning. But outta your boys who gives you the most trouble? The oldest or the youngest?

[00:13:25] Mark Kenyon: Oldest has like the smart attitude. Like he will pick apart, if I try to explain like why he needs to do something or why we're doing something, he'll find like the error in my explanation or like the hole in my in my case and exploit that. But it's the youngest who's like the crazy one. He's the one who just like, Just does stuff for no good reason.

You have no idea. Just spite you. He gets a kick out of being like the stubborn pain in the ass just for the fun of it. So that's the dynamic between those two. The, 

[00:13:58] Dan Johnson: Your oldest [00:14:00] one sounds like my daughter, where I'm like, Hey, you gotta go do this. I come off with like brute force, but she's, she, I think she knows I'm dumb so she is like trying to make it as com the situation as complex with as possible.

And then there's times where she starts to debate me or argue with me, and in my head I'm going that's a valid point, but my exterior goes, I'm the dad. Stop it, uhhuh, just do what I say. But my, as far as my boys are concerned, my. My youngest is the wild card for sure. My oldest one, he's pretty conservative in his approach to being wild.

Like he'll he, like he'll be naughty and say bad things, but my youngest, he will do bad things. He'll throw a baseball bat and he'll bounce off a car or something, some he's definitely the wild card. 

[00:14:56] Mark Kenyon: Man, they they keep us on our toes, that's for sure. And it's so [00:15:00] interesting to see like that dynamic between the different kids and what I wonder is like how much is just genetics Yeah.

Versus how much is their place in the house? Yeah. Like firstborn versus second born in your case, third born. Like it's, it definitely seems like they're our consist like you hear so many people say, oh yeah, the first born's like this and there's so many similarities. Second born so different and then they're all got that same like second born syndrome.

Yeah. It's very interesting to see that stuff come to light and man, my boys I have, they've not gotten caught pussing out like yours have, but Everett likes to watch meat eater a lot. Okay. And Steve, is he'll drop not f-bombs on that, he'll say shit and damn. And stuff like that.

And Everett has started saying those words in certain situations but only the kind of situation like that. He would hear it with Steve saying it. Yeah. So we walked to a lake the other day, like this summer, and he walks up and he looks at it, he puts his hands on his hips and says, holy shit, this [00:16:00] water's clear.

How do you not laugh at that? It's like those kinds of things are popping up for me now. Oh. But 

[00:16:08] Dan Johnson: hey, and that's the, bad words are bad obviously, but if you can, if you have a kid who's using them in the right context like your boy did, you're like, oh proud dad moment. But next time don't use that.

[00:16:22] Mark Kenyon: You kind, you're proud. Yep. Yep. Don't say that in front of your teacher. Yep. 

[00:16:27] Dan Johnson: All yeah. Kids are crazy, man. Kids are crazy. That's the truth. Big question right now. Are you ready for the upcoming season? 

[00:16:39] Mark Kenyon: Yeah, I would say I feel pretty darn ready. I wouldn't give myself an A plus. Yeah.

But I would say I'm in like that I, b plus maybe I feel pretty good. There's always something more you could do, but if I take like an honest assessment of the time I have available and the chaos of life and all [00:17:00] that kind of stuff, like given all of that, I feel like I've done pretty good considering and considering like I'm gone three months leading up to hunting season.

It's always chaos when I do get home. So considering all that, I feel pretty good about it. Yeah. There's a million things I could tell you right now. I wish I could still have gotten done. But I am where I am. And yesterday was actually the last day I'm doing anything in the woods.

I did, I had one final last I. A little project to do and checked on something. And so now I'm done like hands off now. Now we're just waiting to hunt. Yeah, man. Are you there too or are 

[00:17:32] Dan Johnson: you no. No, unfortunately not. So I've been battling a, so a shoulder injury, and so I, this week is the first week of me picking the bow back up after about a two or three week no-go.

And because I wanted to just give it some time to rest, I, and my bow was fairly dialed in before this. Now it's just getting back into the muscle memory. I'm lucky I don't have any early OC October [00:18:00] hunts, so I want to try to be ready by October 1st, but if I'm not per se, it's not gonna be a big deal because I don't go to South Dakota until the third or fourth week of October anyway.

And so I might be a little behind, but I don't know. I'm not too terribly worried about it. 

[00:18:19] Mark Kenyon: The bow thing that you just mentioned, shoulder injury. I experienced my first thing like that this year. And it's scary. It is when you see like a physical thing could knock you off your game.

I got a really bad wrist sprain earlier this summer. And it ended up being like, so bad I couldn't shoot my bow for three months. I couldn't draw back. And so that was, that happened in May. So from May through July, I didn't shoot at all. And I was like, geez. Like I got, I was, when I was getting into July, I kept thinking, oh yeah, it's gonna be fine soon.

It's gonna be five soon. And finally I got into like early July, I tried drawback and I'm like, man, I really can't do it. What am I gonna do if I can't shoot this thing, leading into September. Yeah. I had a moment flash by, I was like, [00:19:00] am I gonna have to get a crossbo? I know. This is getting grim.

But but no, fortunately by August I was able to, I cranked the bow down just a little bit and then my. I guess recovery or whatever was far enough along that I was able to comfortably draw then. So I've been shooting for the last month now consistently and feeling really good about it.

So I'm back up to speed. Thankfully, everything was in a good place before the injury. I was able to pick it right back up and feeling good again. But that definitely was when I was one of those eye-opening moments where you realize geez, sometimes something outta your control can throw a curve ball too.

Yeah. 

[00:19:34] Dan Johnson: And I thought it was fate for a while there for me because, like I I'm not gonna say I taught trash on crossbows, but I've definitely voiced my opinion about crossbows over the last couple years and where I feel that they belong within a hunting season and and then there was this moment where I'm just like, dude, There's no way I can shoot a crossbo just for that reason [00:20:00] alone now.

Yeah. You'd get so much crap. Oh man, I, oh man. I would, so that's why I was just like, you gotta heal. You gotta heal, you gotta get it. And since then I've had a steroid shot in each shoulder, which has really helped a lot. And so I'm feeling good. And this week is back to business as usual. I won't go too crazy hard, but You're right, man.

It's scary. I've had the wrist thing too. There was one season all summer long, I had to wear a brace on my bow hand, so it wouldn't like flex. Yeah. Back and forth so much. And Yikes is all I can say. 

[00:20:37] Mark Kenyon: Yeah, no good. No, good at all. Now what about your, scouting that you did this year, your stand prep, your tree prep?

I know you're using the saddle a little bit this year, right? Yeah. Have you done any prep for that kind of stuff? Like cameras? I feel like last time we talked you were getting cameras out a little late too. Do you feel up to speed on all that? 

[00:20:55] Dan Johnson: I have all my cell cams out. I'll say that. And it's providing me some, they're providing [00:21:00] me some decent information.

Th this year was the first year, I don't know if you've ever used them, but the Cudi Link system, have you ever used a Cudi Link system? 

[00:21:09] Mark Kenyon: I've not used the Cuties, 

[00:21:11] Dan Johnson: no. So you like it? So far, so good. They're sending me what I feel is accurate information given that this time of year I. I didn't get 'em out till August.

And so the farm that Sure. Do you remember the farm that my main farm that you shed hunted that one year? Yep. So that river bottom is a no-go for cell service. And so I wanted to try the this system out this year to get some, to see if it would work and I could get some up-to-date data on some of that river bottom ground.

I got, my big dog showed back up from last year, and so this will be my third year of history with this buck. Have never seen him from the stands. Even though last year I didn't hunt my main farm at all. Not even one time because I got the new farm in a different part of the state. So anyway he's up [00:22:00] and so now I'm playing that game.

And I'm sure you've played it too, where you get on, I. Get on maps, whatever mapping service you use, Onyx, hunt, stand, whatever. And I'm just like, where is this Buck Beded? Yeah. Where is he at? Where 

[00:22:14] Mark Kenyon: is he at, man, that area you hunt there is so vast. Yeah. And there's so much cover and topography, like it's gotta be pretty hard to pinpoint where deer like that is, is living when there's so much cover available.

There's no shortage of good habitat all or around there. Yeah. I don't know exactly how you go about it, but it seems like a tall task. 

[00:22:34] Dan Johnson: But the thing about it is, so I wanna compare that to your Michigan farm. Like I look at a map of your Michigan farm, an aerial, and then I look at mine, I might have a little bit more big woods in the area, but I don't look at it like, oh, I only have X amount of acres to hunt.

I look at it at more of a micro level where it's I. Okay. And I do that thing that, that I talked about the [00:23:00] dots, the Dan Johnson dots on a map crazy shape thing. And I do that all the time. So I've done that, that with this buck too. But do you feel, be, do you think it's easier for you because you can't hunt all the surrounding properties and it is a narrow I can only focus on this?

Or do you still take into consideration the terrain on the surrounding farms? 

[00:23:25] Mark Kenyon: So I do take into account what's on the surrounding farms for sure. Like I'm recognizing that these deer are using those other places too. But to your point, I also know what can I actually act on? And so I'm thinking about where else they are, but in the end, the only thing I can actually do something about is the couple intercepting points along the way that I can actually hunt.

So I, when I look at my maps and when I'm doing something similar to what you're describing I'm marking like, where do I think these betting areas are that, that they could be, and then where these feeding areas they might be going to, and then how might they be traveling in between the two?

Or if it's bedding area, [00:24:00] same thing. And then I'll mark mentally in my head, or even sometimes when I'm like probably before opening day, I'll go and I actually I'll draw on a map just to get all my ideas out on the page in front of me just to make sure I'm thinking about it right.

To make sure, like I'm thinking at the big picture level too. I'll draw okay, this blue circle is this bedding ear, here's a blue circle. I know there's a bedding ear and just mark all of it. And then start Or visually representing it in front of my head. And that's when I will look at the other properties around me that I can't hunt, but I know stuff about 'em and I know how these deer are probably using them.

And then that does help you figure out like what's truly the best intercept point or what's truly the best way to get in between these two things. But yeah, when you're relatively limited, it just makes your decisions easier. Yeah, because, I've got like on this main piece that we talked about a lot, there's basically two bedding areas that I can hunt and that's it.

And one of 'em is not even on the farm. I can hunt really. I'm hunting on the edge of it. And there's only so many things I can do. So it's thinking through, okay, what are those things I can do? And then just picking the times to do it.[00:25:00] The timing and making sure you've got like the right win to the right situation, the right time of year to, to hunt those couple places is the biggest thing.

Yeah. I can't bounce from place to place to place to place 'cause there's just not that many real kill spots. Yeah. And if I wanted to do that, if I wanted to just bounce all over the place, I would just hunt way too much in a bunch of places that aren't that good and then just educate everything.

Yeah. So what I end up, trying to do is to have a bunch of other kind of secondary places. Yeah. Either permission places or public land or, other places I can travel around the country to keep me busy until I have those, best moments to figure out, to take advantage of a deer like that.

Yeah. But but yeah I spent a lot of time thinking about that even though I've got a relatively small property here to act on. Yeah. I'm still. Doing all the crazy stuff I do, like spreadsheets, marking down every time I see one of these deer and every daylight trail camera photo I have of these deer and thinking through what are the conditions present on those days when they did move.

Why were they here on this side? I'm always trying to figure out some of these deer will be, the main buck I'm [00:26:00] hunting this year almost never goes to that southern part of the property, to that southern border bedding area. He's always in that north bedding area or in and around that area.

But every once in a while he travels down like very rarely, but why? So what made him cross to the other side? What was going on that day or during that window? So I'm always trying to figure out, new knife. Talked about this a lot, but like trying to ask those why questions. Yeah. And if you can start finding those answers, then all of a sudden that's gonna help you make, better decisions.

[00:26:26] Dan Johnson: Yeah. And that's where I am definitely not envious of you specifically on that farm is because, you're right on, on the farm that I talk that my main farm that I hunt, dude, I got a thousand different access routes. It's so big. If I wanted to, I could go way to the one side and flank back in or way to the other side.

So access on any wind direction is, it's really not a, an issue for me, but for you, man I understand. I've, in the past I've given you a hard time for being conservative on that piece. But dude, I get it. I understand [00:27:00] why you are, because you messed that up. And I. The deer get shot by somebody else.

[00:27:06] Mark Kenyon: Yeah. It's, it's a very small little window I've got there to take advantage of. And there's other people all around just waiting for me to screw up. Yeah. And the more times than not, it doesn't work out, but if you can get those things to line up just to write it's possible.

And that's what I'm trying for every year. 

[00:27:23] Dan Johnson: Do you have a returning customer or do you have a buck that you're like, please stick around. Please stick around. I wanna make that early season move on him. 

[00:27:36] Mark Kenyon: Yeah. So I've got a, I've got a definite number one. It's this buck.

He's not like A giant deer in many, for a lot of people. But he's the only five and a half year old buck I know of that I can hunt. So he's my oldest buck by far, and he's the first deer in this general area that I've ever hunted that I've been able to follow confirmed for four years.

Oh, wow. So he stood out as a two year old. He was just like very wide, like short [00:28:00] time, but very wide as a two year old. And so that year would've been the year that I was hunting the buck. I called Tran. I don't know if you remember that one. But everywhere I went to try to kill this buck tran, this two year old was there and always cruising by all the time.

So called him the wide nine back then. And then, yeah, the last, three, there was three years of that. So two years where he was a deer, I was passing. And then last year as a four and a half year old, he was my number two deer. Did not get a crack at him, but killed my number one, number three.

So now this year he's the only five and a half year old. He's, a big 10 pointer now, big body. Wide really cool deer. So he's the number one, he's the one that got all that history with a couple cool things with this deer that make him extra special. One is that the last shed antler that my dog found before passing away was this deer's antler.

Oh, wow. So that's a cool thing. Like I've got the last shed that Boer found belongs to this deer. So it'd be very cool to come full circle on that. And then the first. Mature [00:29:00] buck that my son Everett ever saw while hunting with me was this deer. We hunted together two different times, trying to get a shot at this buck last year during gun season.

I'd seen him when doing some long distance glassing realized he was in a spot that I could actually hunt from, like a kid friendly location maybe with a gun. And so I was like, you know what, why not? Let's take a, let's take a shot at it. I think I, I'm sure, I think I told you about this last year a little bit.

But the long story short of it is that we went out twice and saw him both times and both times could have taken a shot but just was not a shot. Like I was a thousand percent happy about. Comfortable with. One of them was like at the very far extent of my comfortable range that I wanted to shoot at.

And the second day was a situation where he came out at last light, and I had to stand up in the blind and lean the gun out the window. And so it was like not a super stable situation. Very low light. Like literally within 60 seconds of the end of shooting light in both situations like that, I was like, I don't want my first time shooting at a [00:30:00] deer with my son, with me to be a situation that goes bad.

Yeah. It's just not worth it. Yeah. So I held off in both cases. But all that said, very cool experience forever to have. So he's bought in on trying to get the Y nine two since he was a part of it last year. So I'm very excited about that. Deer he's definitely a deer that's around.

But he lives like on the edge of the property that I have access to. So he's in and out. I think I've got a decent chance, but I wouldn't say it's in the bag, that's for sure. Yeah. And then there's two bucks that would be four and a half year olds this year. That probably will also be on the list.

There's one deer that's for sure, back. He's like a really nice big nine pointer now. He's a cool buck and then there's a third that hasn't shown back up, but historically he doesn't show up until October. Okay. So I have two years of previous history with him and he showed up both years in October.

And if he does show back this year, he could be like a really cool buck. He had triple brow times the last two years. Wow. Once as a two year old and a three year old. So now as a four year old, he might've blown. And if that's the [00:31:00] case, he'd be like a really unique extra cool buck from an antler perspective at least.

So waiting on him. So those are like my home area deer. And then I picked up a new property that I'm investing a bunch of time in this year. That's got. Some potential on that farm. I don't have any specific buck that I'm really targeting. I'm just gonna target any kind of four and a half year old deer out there.

And I think there'll be something like that come hunting season. Yeah. And then the northern Michigan deer camp, as we talked about, I can't remember when we talked about, but doing a bunch of projects up there, improving the habitat, continuing to try to work up there and it's looking pretty good.

Yeah. And there's been a couple pretty nice deer show up on camera so far, but again, that's like a fall. It's like you don't get a whole lot of summer activity. If I'm up there hunting anything that's three, maybe even two and a half would be a shooter up there. Yeah. Just 'cause of how special it would be to kill a deer up at the deer camp again.

Yeah. With my family. So that's, where the Michigan hunts and Michigan goals stand right now. 

[00:31:56] Dan Johnson: Yeah. So talk to me about the [00:32:00] contributing factors to failure or success on your Maine, Michigan farm. Given the limited access and not wanting to pressure deer off that piece.

[00:32:15] Mark Kenyon: Yeah. There's probably two things that'll make or partially make or break my hunts there. One is going to be, will I have good conditions during the windows I have to hunt? Yeah. 'cause there's different trips I have to go on. There's different things I'm working on throughout the season that are gonna keep me away from this area during some of the best times.

Yeah. So I'm gonna have a three day window at the beginning of the season, and then I'll have a little bit of time in the middle of October and then a couple days at the end of October. So not, not a ton. And then I'm gonna have a, the first day or two in November and then I'm gone for a big stretch.

And then I'll have a couple days before gun season and then I. End of gun season and then most of December. So there's big chunks of those first two months [00:33:00] though. Yeah. That I won't be able to get a crack. So if I've got the right wind and like decent temps and stuff, I feel good that I've got a chance at getting a shot at one of those deer.

But if I happen to have a wonky wind direction on those few days here and there, or like really warm temperatures that put everything down that kind of ops outta my hands kind of thing can really screw me. Like a straight south wind or straight north wind can be tough for this farm.

'cause I've got those bedding areas, those two small bedding areas to the north and south and really it works best when I have something east or west that's blowing in between those two. I can get it to either side and push between them. So I need that to work out. And then the other thing which sort of is in my control out is I'm able to do some habitat improvements on one of these pieces in that area and that spot where historically I've planted a couple food plots and those food plots have really helped me, pull those deer onto my side of the line, out of those bedding areas if not killing them on the food plot, on the way to them.

And man, we have had this horrible drought [00:34:00] this summer. Yeah. Same. And it has really hurt my plots. Yeah. I've had to reseeded these plots multiple times, one of them three times now. And that's like my big one, a little more than an acre. It's not big compared to a lot of people, but for me around here, like a little more than an acre is like something I'm really gonna depend on.

Yeah. And man it's sparse, it's rough and I just can't buy any rain. There's supposed to be two days full of rain was the forecast was predicting up until yesterday. And so yesterday I'm trying to reclaim this failed food plot by spreading rye over top of everything. So top seating rye over this food plot ahead of a rain.

And that will in many cases fill the gaps in a spotted food plot. 'cause rye will grow very easily. It's very, it's pretty drought tolerant. It's, it can grow just be, thrown on top of things. You just need rain. Yeah. And so there's supposed to be all this rain. So I went and I put 200 pounds of rye down yesterday, like really going heavy on it to try to get something to work.

Yeah. And then we got 15 minutes of rain today and now it's all cleared up and now they're [00:35:00] not predicting anything more. It's It's just been like that over and over again. Every day or every week there's ah, there's a chance of rain today. And then we just get a little tiny bit. Yeah. So this could be like one of my most, one of my most disappointing food plot years out here.

And if I don't have that makes it a lot harder to get a crack at these deer. 'cause there's so much elsewhere around as far as food that they can go in Keenan on. And my food plots have always acted as like a, like the ice cream stand. Yep. And so even though there's a lot of ag around me, there's also actually a lot of neighboring properties now that plant food plots too.

A bunch of people have got plots around me and a lot of people manage now. And so I know, like I used to be like this one great ice cream stand in town. Now I'm not the only, I'm not the only one. And now mine's like a crappy one. Yeah. So I've tried really hard to not have that be the case this year.

And I'm just getting bad luck with the water. Yeah. So that's another thing that I. I'm currently sweating a little bit. Yeah. So if they end up not being the draw that I'm hoping that they will be. I'm just gonna have to, probably depend more on those rutt sits [00:36:00] and really hope to take advantage of what they're doing around the bedding areas if they're not keying in on the food.

I don't have a bunch of hardwood masks that I can, I can't ha I can't hunt a corns, I don't have fruit trees. Yeah. I've got corn on the main farm this year, so deer will be feeding in that. It's just very hard to get them. It's hard to get 'em heated in on a specific place when you've got just the big standing for cornfield, but, there, there's ways to work around it.

I still think I've got a chance, but those things will make it a little more challenging. 

[00:36:29] Dan Johnson: Yeah, for sure. Let's say the rain comes, food plots grow and all is well on your farm again, or even in, in an average year where the food's growing Good. Are you ever. With the mindset that you would lay off a rutt or, if you're not getting the conditions that you need to lay off the rutt and always think, Hey man, I have the late season and the food to fall back on.

[00:36:59] Mark Kenyon: So [00:37:00] I've never laid off on the Rutt completely. But I definitely have actually looked at the rutt as man, like hunt, because you never know what's possible during the rutt. But I've had a whole lot pre like the last five to eight years, definitely the last five years.

I've just found that, man, if you don't blow these deer outta here and you get a little bit of luck this area that I could hunt. Usually a few of the deer I met can make it through gun season if you don't go in there and mess it all up. Yeah. And so then I almost always have a good chance at something late.

So I've started to think that way now more and more that I've got that like second window of opportunity. So really like I've done really well in this area early season, and then I've had I've passed on some pretty good bucks during the rut, but never one of my target targets. And then I've killed a bunch of 'em in that latter part of November or December.

Okay. So I just, I don't feel the need to force things anymore. Yeah. I used to feel like, man, like end of leading end of gun season, which is the 15th of November. I used to think like the 12th, 13th, 14th, I had to go crazy. I'm [00:38:00] actually pushing, I'm pulling back from that a little bit because if I can keep these deer feeling comfortable on the 13th and 14th, maybe they'll stay on me during the 15th, 16th and 18th or, through that window when there's a million guys out there.

Yeah. And if I can get 'em through that first week of gun season I do feel pretty good about my chances later in the season. Yeah. So yeah I definitely look at my windows as like early season, a good opportunity. And then late October, I feel like there's another window, and then I then bounce back into late November, December is what's been the three best chances I usually have.

Yeah. The Rutt, for whatever reason in that first few weeks of November, has never been really great on this property. It's okay. And there's certainly like lots of deer running around. But the oldest bucks, disappear. I was just looking at photos going back and I've got a chart, kinda like a spreadsheet where I've kept track of all of my daylight photos and observations of all the different bucks that are three year older.

And I was looking like last year in November, even photos of these bucks it was like very little going [00:39:00] on from November, like fourth until the 20th. There was a big window there where there was like, Very little activity. I'm not exactly sure what how to account for that. And that's not rare.

That's a thing like every year during that kind of window it dries up. So I don't know if that's just because there's, so what it probably is that this is, there are so many dough in this area and not as many bucks that it's just so easy for bucks to get out a dough that they lock down the dough for a couple days and then immediately once they break off, they pick up another dough within 12 hours or something.

And then they're locked down again. And then they break off. There's not a need for these bucks to cruise and cruise and search all over the place during that window. 'cause there's. 50, 60 doughs just waiting for 'em. Yeah. 

[00:39:41] Dan Johnson: That and the fact that maybe the D on your property go into heat early and then there's a window where they're not in heat and then they, or another maybe dough group in the area goes in the later part of November.

[00:39:56] Mark Kenyon: True. Yeah. I don't know if you remember this, but back in the day when [00:40:00] you and I were talking about my holy field hunt. Remember that guy? Yep. That, that window there, I noticed like every year around like the 24th or 25th of October, there was this huge burst of activity. And that always ended up being like, sometimes the best week I had on this, in this area was that like 24th through the 30th.

And I started thinking like, there must be like a Dough family group or matriarch dough in that group that comes in early every year. 'cause year after year I was seeing that. Yeah. And and that's continued to stay true. Yeah. 

[00:40:28] Dan Johnson: Dude if a guy can observe that and have enough smarts to be like, Hey dude, this is a thing that, it's just another thing to use in calculation of when to hunt or where to hunt.

And so I think, I don't know if a a lot of people even maybe they just don't care enough to observe that or want to know that stuff. But man, I'll tell you this, the same type of scenario. On my main farm, like it is pre rutt, I'm not [00:41:00] joking. We start somewhere in the 25th of October and there we see a uptick in mature buck activity all the way until I would say November 3rd, fifth timeframe.

And that in my in my opinion, that's the pre rutt right there on the farm that I hunt. And then after that is when shit starts to get weird and that would, that's what I would consider the rutt, but it's all based off the dough group. Yeah. Yeah. Alright. I wanna talk a little bit about Nebraska and it's because I watched the re last couple episodes of one week in November.

Alright? Yeah. And so last year so I take it you've done, you did the e scouting last before last year's Nebraska Hunt. Did you do any boots on the ground scouting? Out there before that hunt? 

[00:41:50] Mark Kenyon: No. So a little clarity though, I guess for you, or I guess I'll add on. Yeah. I did not do any boots on the ground scouting on that property leading up to the hunt last year.

But I [00:42:00] did hunt there two evenings the year prior. Okay. So the situation out there is I had hunted public land out in this general area in 2021, and while I was there hunting public, I was able to contact the owner of this property and got permission to hunt his farm. Okay. And I did that just twice the last two nights of my time out there.

I hunted this property. Okay. So I, the extent of what that looked like though was like I drove across some of this area and then I hunted I'm talking like a 10 acre area, maybe I could see like a several couple of a hundred yard, 200 yard like zone was basically what I went into this one little bedding pocket that I hunted both of those nights.

Yeah. So I had that experience from the prior year, two evenings sneaking in and glassing and then like making a move on a deer in that pocket. And then coming into last year when I had full permission to come back and hunt it for a full week leading to that hunt, i, I essc scouted and really studied it and sat down and thought about how I thought deer would [00:43:00] be using this and all that.

And then I arrived the night before the hunt and glassed one evening. And so that was the extent of my scouting, leading into the hunt you saw. 

[00:43:08] Dan Johnson: Okay. Alright. So you had a little bit of knowledge there. Yep. Last year you shot a good buck and you found him good, good information.

So it's just there's good deer in the area. What did you learn. About that property last year, that gives you confidence going back to the same property this year? 

[00:43:31] Mark Kenyon: Yeah. A bunch of stuff. Leading into that hunt. Like when I first got permission there and I looked at the map, the first thing I thought was like, man, this is a lot of grass and not a lot of cover.

You're gonna hold deer. The public land I was hunting had a lot more cover than this. And so I was a little worried like, man, this the public land's got a lot more cover and it was good. So is it even worth hunting this private? 'cause it just looks like there's some brushy stuff along the river.

Some few, a few scattered cottonwood, groves and stuff. You know [00:44:00] how much is really going on here. And I hunted those two nights and that showed I saw a couple nice bucks during those first two nights. So that told me, okay, yes, there are deer using this. But then last year I still had those questions was that a fluke?

What's really out here? What kind of deer numbers are we talking about? It? It's pretty obvious to assume how deer are gonna move in a situation like this, right? Because it's big grassy areas, and then there's a river bottom, and then there's trees and brush and willows and stuff along the river.

So the only cover is really along this river bottom. So it's, there's gonna be that parallel movement going alongside the river with that cover. Yeah. But I'm also wondering man, where are these deer feeding? There's, there are some crops out there, but they're a long ways away.

Okay. So are they traveling, a. Three quarters of a mile or a mile across this open grass to get to these irrigated fields. Like what's going on there? And so what I saw last year, both, my, my night of scouting paid off dividends, like the single night to sit up there with a spotting scope and binoculars and just watch a large area.

So helpful. Yeah. That confirmed [00:45:00] several things for me. Number one, it confirmed there's a lot more deer in these small patches cover than you would imagine. You don't need trees to hold white tails. You're coming from the Midwest. We always think ah, big timber and swampy stuff that's great, but out here, like just bushes and little shrubby stuff and tall grass can hold a lot of deer.

And that's what was happening here. There was a lot of deer in this cover, even though it didn't look like a whole lot. So that was number one. Number two, I confirmed that yes, there's deer travel going up and down the river bottom like I expected, but then there's also travel coming off the river bottom and go, like going perpendicular to it and heading out over the grassy hills to head for those irrigated fields.

So I confirmed like, all right, they are going to these big food sources and they're not afraid to travel across the open, at last light and first light. So that told me something. I confirmed that there's mature bucks. Yeah, without a doubt. Like I saw a good number of mature bucks in a couple days out there, so that just told me what I thought, which is, man, I don't think this property's getting pounded too hard.

I think there's a decent age class. And I confirmed that for sure, [00:46:00] and then, that, that night of hunting, it, it told me like that the, I had a simple plan and my simple plan was that if I could be where a pinch point meets a betting ear, And have my wind blow over the river. That's like a dynamite setup.

And so basically what you have here in this area is imagine like a s, like a SS curving river. And on every one of those bends in the river, it creates like an ox bow. And on the inside bend of that is a pocket of cover. Yep. And so my assumption was like on every one of those pockets of cover within the ss, there's gonna be betting.

And then on the outside bend of those curves, there's always some trees but not a lot of cover. And so my assumption was like on those outside bends where there's a tree line but not a lot of cover, that's gonna create a pinch point. 'cause the bucks that are cruising wanna go to every one of those SSB bend bedding areas, but I'm not gonna have a good chance of killing 'em inside that bedding area.

'cause there's like a big area that could be anywhere but those little outside bends where there's a, 20 yard wide strip of timber that's gonna pinch 'em. Yeah. [00:47:00] So I thought if I just look at this map and look at what the wind direction is doing on any given day, and find a spot where one of those pinches butts up really close to the bedding area and have the wind blow across the river.

That is, that's what I'm looking for every day, depending on what the wind does. Yeah. That was my theory. And then the first night I watched an area like that, saw what I wanted to see next day I slipped in there and hunted it and and deer did what I thought they would do. Yeah. So coming into this year I don't think I need to reinvent the wheel.

I think I'm gonna take a similar approach. But also recognizing that, I might not necessarily have a good buck come through that very first night. I might need to bounce from spot to spot like that, but there's a handful of locations that fit that criteria. Yeah. So that's my high level plan coming in.

So your 

[00:47:45] Dan Johnson: back was to the water there, that's right. Okay. Dude, I'm telling you, if you can find a scenario like what you just described, it's pretty money. Because if you were to and maybe you'll confirm this, but I can go [00:48:00] down to the river and where all this public is by my house and I've scouted it before and usually there is a trail.

That from the, I don't know, the furthest east or furthest west when the SS comes up, then comes down and creates the peninsula on the top of that peninsula. There is a trail that runs right along the river, a main trail and doesn't necessarily dip down into the peninsula. Yeah. It just runs right across that then it connects with the river and then the, there's another ss in the river.

And it Did you con, did you find that's how they were moving and that's where there's a main trail? 

[00:48:37] Mark Kenyon: Yeah, there's definitely a main trail going along there. And so I think there's cruising that's going along that like some of the bucks aren't gonna go all the way in. Some of the deer did come out of that.

Like in the morning, I hunted the first evening that I watched, I saw bucks pop out of that and then work the edge like we're describing. And then I also saw some of those bucks work that edge, but then turn and start working [00:49:00] purpose. So they worked the river bottom just in that way.

And then they turn and start heading out into the open to head towards those food sources. Following those, the next morning I saw bucks come back across, so moving perpendicular into the river. And then once they hit the river, then you saw 'em turn and start working down the parallel line, like you said.

And then the second night I saw them they must have went into one of those pockets embedded and I saw two really good bucks come outta that. And then they both, did exactly the same thing. So they came out and then when they hit that line, they both turned and started working parallel.

Okay. One of 'em, there was two parallel trails that worked by the edge that I was on, and one of 'em worked like right down beneath me, almost like I had a. 130 something inch, 10 pointer come, like right dead nuts right towards me. Basically came right underneath my tree. And simultaneously to that, the big seven pointer that I ended up shooting was he worked out, being, 35 yards or so out for me.

And was working that way. So yeah, it was, you couldn't write [00:50:00] up a much better scenario than that for a predictable rutt kind of movement. So I'm hoping for that. I'm also gonna bring I'm getting a new buck decoy this year. Pretty nice one that I'm excited about and so I wanna try that out. Yeah, so I'm gonna bring that kind of just for fun because I think this area could work really well for that.

'cause there's a good edge structure and a lot of open space. So that could be a really fun thing to do too. Especially if if for whatever reason my plan's not working, that's a fun wild card to throw out there and see if that can get something 

[00:50:27] Dan Johnson: moving. Too little whitetail adrenaline strategy going on.

[00:50:31] Mark Kenyon: Yeah, I I've got the handheld whitetail adrenaline one, and then also like a Dave Smith full body one that I'm gonna try this year which is night and, or head and shoulders above what I've used in the past. Yeah, that'll be cool just to see how deer react 

[00:50:43] Dan Johnson: to that man. I've always wanted to do some of that.

And I think as I get more invested in going to Kansas, Nebraska north, South Dakota, the plain states I definitely wanna try more decoy in that, in those types of scenarios. [00:51:00] Okay. In Nebraska, you had success this year, the previous year you went to Nebraska, didn't have success, but in the past, before that, like Nebraska's been treating you pretty 

[00:51:12] Mark Kenyon: well, Yeah.

Yeah. I got another really good one out there a few years before that. Yeah. So yeah it has treated me well. It's been a lot of fun. So yeah. I'm excited to get back. 

[00:51:21] Dan Johnson: Heck yeah. Alright. Now that's a place that you've had experience with. It sounds to me like, what you're, you know what you're gonna do once you get out there.

There's no real big secrets. You also are going on another out-of-state hunt and have no experience. It's just e scouting from my understanding so far, right? Yeah. 

[00:51:41] Mark Kenyon: Yep. Where's that? So that's gonna be in Wisconsin. Okay. So yeah, that's the plan in Wisconsin. That hunt comes up here like next week I take off to leave for that one.

Oh, wow. So that's coming up soon. And do you want me to walk you through my scouting ideas or plans for that public?[00:52:00] It was originally gonna be public. But I had like a. It's a long story. But basically some work things came up that were gonna force me to have to add some travel to my September that I wasn't planning on.

And so because of that, I decided I needed to cut down on this hunt length because I just couldn't be gone for my family for so long. Yep. So I put two days off the trip. So when I cut two days off the trip, I started thinking like, man is there it's almost impossible to kill a deer in the area.

I was originally planning on trying to hunt in just. Two and a half days. Yeah. Or three days. And so I started brainstorming like, is there any other option I have? Can I find access somehow in like a, in a place where there's at least a higher deer density or something? 'cause originally I was talking like I was gonna hunt northern Wisconsin, big woods public land.

Yeah. Which is, hard enough if you know it, let alone brand new, let alone no scouting opportunities ahead of time. So I started looking farther south and trying to see if there's something in, the long and short of it is I ended up. Realizing that I've got a friend [00:53:00] down in an area who has in the past, light lightly offered hunting permission if I ever wanna take 'em up on it, and just hadn't thought about it.

And then in this case I thought, man, this might be the perfect scenario. I only have three days. This might be the ticket. So now I'm hunting down south, central ish Wisconsin on a piece of private land that I have permission on. Just three days still. So it's still gonna be pretty short.

But I don't have any boots on the ground information. Yeah. 

[00:53:26] Dan Johnson: Walk us through what this farm looks like, this terrain ag, big woods. What are we talking? 

[00:53:32] Mark Kenyon: Yeah, so it's that mixed timber and ag. This is down in that hilly part of Wisconsin where they've got, nice bluffs and ridges and stuff.

So there are fields up high. So on this farm in particular, there's like a pretty big soybean field up top. And then there's a big timbered ridge that runs along the side, and then there's standing corn on the lower tier of the farm with some more timber down around that as well. So there's all that looks like there's a bunch [00:54:00] of oaks too.

I was able to confirm the crops that were planted there with the landowner, so I know that. And then, using my app, I use Onyx. I was able to, see what kind of tree cover was there. So they showed me where there's mixed oaks and white oaks. So I've got a decent understanding of what kind of mast is available there.

And I'm hunting opening weekend of the season. So I know at that time of year that soybeans could still be green and still be a top food source hopefully. So I'm going into it hoping that top soybean field is still, attraction number one. Yeah. And so that's gonna be the central focus of where I think deer are gonna be heading towards in the evening.

Being that it's early season, I am looking at my l my evening hunts is my best opportunity. But with so little time to hunt, I'm gonna hunt mornings. Yeah. Just because I just don't have a lot of hunts. I'm just trying to find some places to hunt in the morning that won't impact the evening hunt locations.

Yeah. So my e scouting has involved, what I just described there, trying to identify what do I [00:55:00] think the main food sources are gonna be. And then I started looking, with my aerial topography up and my topographic lines on there as well. I'm trying to think, okay, where would I think that bucks would be betting?

And so in this region, the obvious expectation is that these bucks are betting off of points. There's a whole lot of big timber points that come off of these big bluffs that just look like, your stereotypical ideal buck betting area. So I've got a handful of those that likely have some deer and probably some bucks betted on 'em.

And then the thing I've been trying to think about now is, okay, I. Probably there's gonna be deer heading this bean field. Probably bucks are gonna be coming off of these points. Is there any kind of spot within the spot in that zone? Yeah, so I'm starting to look at, all right, if I'm assuming bucks are coming off of these three different points, which one of these three different points would work best with the predicted wins right now?

Which one of these three different points maybe has like a micro feature that might pinch some of that movement down into a spot I could take advantage of from a bow? Stand. So I'm looking like where the ditches come up, like where, your [00:56:00] drainages come up and down off those top bluffs, is that going to make a spot where deer have to come around it?

I've been looking and zooming in trying to find like, is there any little water hole or something that I can't see? Obviously that might be a little key feature. And then also thinking for night number one. Is there a location that I can get to where I can just see a lot of the food source too?

Yeah. 'cause I can make a lot of assumptions based on e scouting, but man, one night of observation goes away. Like it was in Nebraska, like one night can really be huge. Yeah. So I've been thinking that through as well. Like, where's a spot where I could see a lot of this food source to get an idea of like, where these most deer r coming out of that then I could then jump onto for the next two nights and take advantage of.

Yeah. So that's some of the first things I've done from an ES scouting perspective, the high level stuff. Yeah. 

[00:56:45] Dan Johnson: Man, that time that, that area in Wisconsin is not for the faint of heart, I'll tell you that, man. Some guys will, down here there's nothing. Where I hunt that is that difficult to access?

You're coming outta the Mississippi River Valley and I'm not sure how [00:57:00] far into Wisconsin you're going, but I've definitely been e scouting because Wisconsin is a potential on my on my list this year. It's if I tag out and everything is right, I'm gonna try to go up to Wisconsin just because it's close.

And but you look at dude, and that's why I love like OnX or some of the other mapping that allows you to go three D because when you look at something two D, you're like, oh yeah, I can climb up that hill. But then you take the two fingers and slide it and you're like, oh shit. I'm gonna be sweating.

I'm gonna be sweating. 

[00:57:35] Mark Kenyon: Yeah. Yeah, it'll be interesting. It'll be probably some of the hilliest stuff I've hunted for Whitetails. Yeah. To a degree, at least hillious ag kind of country. Where there's, the thermals will be a big thing. Yeah. So I'm really trying to think through not just, how are the deer moving, but also making sure I don't forget about the impacts that, that, that topography is gonna have on my wind and the thermals and all that.

And just another layer that you have to account for. [00:58:00] Yeah. That that'll make it interesting if 

[00:58:01] Dan Johnson: nothing else. Yeah. I'll tell you this, that big terrain is why Wisconsin has some good deer. That guys just aren't going in and out of that like you would here in Iowa, right? Yeah. Or maybe even Michigan.

They are. Yep. They're, that they're chilling on top or they're chilling on bottom and hoping they come in and out. But if, I, dude, if you do if a guy plays his cards right in there, man, I feel like he could definitely run run into good deer. I. 

[00:58:29] Mark Kenyon: Yeah I think you're right.

I wish I had more time. Yeah. 'cause I feel like if I had a normal amount of time I would feel pretty good. Yeah. With only three days it's gonna be tough. Yeah. So with that said I'm not gonna be very picky. Yeah. Number one goal is just gonna be kill a dough. Really?

I wanna get a deer. Yep. Start seasoning off. Get one under the belt, get a good clean shot. Have some fun with that. So I'll, if you try to shoot a dough and then, And if there's a three yearold buck that gets me excited, he's in trouble, that's for sure. Oh, yeah. Not gonna be very picked at all.

Yeah. And even if it's the right two year old, I don't know. Yeah. I've got the [00:59:00] green light to, to shoot any deer on this property. They're trying to lower the deer density. It's really whatever gets me excited and on a trip like this that, I'm really, I'm just trying to have a good time, learn a new place.

I'm just gonna enjoy it and see what feels right. Heck yeah, 

[00:59:12] Dan Johnson: dude. Sounds Sounds like you got another full docket. This this fall, man, I, this cold front coming through Iowa right now. So last, yesterday it was heat index of 103. Today, outside, right now it's 70. And I, oh, dude.

If there was a day that tipped it off for me, it's today, right now, coolness in the, I wore a long sleeve shirt to the bus stop this morning. I was feeling, dude I was feeling a little bit hard horned myself today. Get a little ready. The velvet is off, if huh.

And yeah, man, I'm right there with you. Oh, dude. So here's what I'll say, mark. We gotta stay in touch this this fall. Like always, I'm sending good vibes your way. Hopefully you slay in all your [01:00:00] adventures and man, good luck. 

[01:00:02] Mark Kenyon: Thanks buddy, right back at you. I I will be looking forward to coming back here or you coming on wire to hunt to to share some success stories here in the next couple weeks.

'cause it's gotta happen, right? Hell yeah. All right, man. Let's do it.

[01:00:18] Dan Johnson: And there you have it. Another episode in the books. Huge shout out to Mark for taking time outta his day. Huge shout out to tethered wasp vortex. Ozonics code Blue Woodman's pal hunt worth. Please go out and support the companies that support this podcast. And yeah, that's about it, man. That's about it.

Good vibes in, good vibes out. And if you're gonna be in a tree, wear your damn safety harness. We'll talk to you next week.[01:01:00] 

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