Getting Ahead in the Game w/ Chris Weist

Hey everyone, welcome to episode 183 of the Antler Up Podcast!

On this week's episode I was joined by the big guy Chris Weist!  Chris is located in South Central PA, and had a crazy year last year connecting on 4 bucks in 3 different states!  When I listened to Chris on other podcasts I knew I needed to get him on the show to discuss some whitetail stuff.  This episode wraps up the mini series I did for the month of July, in what our guests are doing now to lead up to the season.  Chris was able to get ahead in the game so to speak, so it was interesting to hear how he tackles scouting multiple states for the quest to continue his whitetail success for this upcoming season.  

We get an introduction to Chris and how his postseason panned out for him.  From turkey hunting & scouting in MD, gaining access to a new property in WV, scouting his camp in OH and continuing widening the net here in PA, we hear Chris get into his plans and more.  One of the areas that Chris is focusing heavily on is improving his trad bow skills, because this year he is all in on this style of hunting.  So, when it comes to the mental preparation and technique stuff Chris walks us through his training scenarios. Following this discussion, we get into the good stuff.  We hear how he is fine tuning, connecting the dots, wind mapping in older and new areas.  Setting his expectations for summer cameras, how he strategizes specific scrapes and what he is specifically looking for in scrapes.  If you are a continued listener to the podcast you know I love this stuff. We hear stories from specific hunts and a whole lot more from Chris during this episode! 

Check it out and let us know what you think!  Enjoy this fun episode and see you next week! 

Thanks again for all the support and best of luck out there and Antler Up!

Check out the Sportsmen's Empire Podcast Network for more relevant, outdoor content!

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Antler Podcast, brought to you by tethered the world's best saddle hunting equipment, and we got a great show for you all today.

What's going on everybody? Welcome to this week's episode, and I was joined by the big guy Chris Weist. Chris is located in south central PA and had a crazy. Amazing fun year last year, connecting on four different bucks in three different states. When I listened to Chris on other podcasts, I knew immediately that I needed to get him on the show to discuss some whitetail stuff, not only to learn, but just [00:01:00] dude just seems like he's cut from the same cloth and I needed to get him on to talk some whitetail.

So this episode wraps up the miniseries that I did for the month of July and what our guests are up to now doing now to lead up to the season. So Chris was able to get ahead in the game, so to speak. So it was interesting to hear how he tackles scouting multiple states for the quest to continue his whitetail success.

From this, for this upcoming year, we get an introduction to Chris and really how his postseason panned out for him from Turkey hunting and scouting in Maryland gaining access to a new property in West Virginia, scouting his camp in Ohio, and continue really widening the net here in Pennsylvania. And we hear Chris get into his plans and a whole lot more.

One of these areas that Chris is focusing heavily on is improving his trad bow skills because this year he is all in on the style of hunting. He's dabbled on it with it before, but right now he's all in. So when it comes to the mental preparation and technique stuff, Chris walks us [00:02:00] through his training scenarios and fall in this discussion.

We get into the really good stuff. We hear how he's fine tuning, connecting the dots, wind mapping in older and new areas, setting his expectations for summer cameras, and really how he strategizes specific scrapes and what he is specifically looking for in scrapes. And if you've been a continued listener to the podcast, I freaking love this stuff.

So we hear stories about specific hunts, deer, and a whole lot more from Chris during this episode. So check it out, let us know what you think. Enjoy this fun episode. Chris, thanks again for coming on, dude. Hope you and your family enjoy it. See you next week everybody. And we're up.

All right everybody. Before we get into this episode, I wanna give you a quick recap of my scouting trip to Ohio last week. Me, Tim, and Tom, we took a trip out there. We did kinda like a half day scouting on Monday and a full day on Tuesday. Really enjoyed ourselves. Had some great laughs, some great food, and[00:03:00] we got into some stuff and to check things out we're, Tim and I are really excited to get in there this upcoming fall.

So we're looking forward to that. So we'll dive into the, talk a little bit about that on a future episode with the three of us. But in the meantime, if you're liking what you're hearing on the podcast, I want you to go over to either iTunes or Spotify. Go leave that review. If it's on iTunes, make sure you not only give that star review, but also go ahead and write something up.

It's better for me to get some feedback from you as the listener. And those of you that are reaching out to me through Instagram, through email, man, thank you so much. It really man, it's hitting hard and it's pulling on the heartstrings a little bit and I appreciate it so much. So just wanna say thank you for all of you that can, are continuing doing that.

It really means a lot. Enjoy this episode. Chris is a great dude. I'm looking forward to having him on again. You could tell the dude loves scrapes just as much as I do, or even more I'm looking forward to dissecting this again in a future epi episode with him. So enjoy it. Thanks again, everybody antler up.

Tethered [00:04:00] is a team of saddle hunting fanatics with a passionate addiction to whitetail hunting, designing, and engineering products. To be a more efficient and confident hunter tethered produces the most mobile, stealthy and safest elevated hunting gear on the planet. Built by saddle hunters forward the saddle hunter.

Head over to tether nation.com to see for yourself what exactly I'm talking about.

America's best bow strings has been manufacturing high quality custom bow strings in the U S A since 2006. America's best Bowstring strives on the commitment to never end the search for perfection. And this has been the driving force behind the company Innovative products. For every Archer out there, go create a custom set today at America's best bost strings.com.

And a special code is made for our listeners of the Antler Up podcast For America's best Bo strings. Use code antler [00:05:00] up and you'll save $10 off your order. Alright everybody, what's going on? Welcome back to the show this week I'm joined by PA Native. We got Chris, we on the side the computer. Chris man, I appreciate you coming on the show, dude.

Yeah, absolutely. Glad to be here, man. Oh man. I'm pumped for, so here's a question for you. I grew up in Northeastern pa I played ball with a Timmy. We, any relation? Probably not. There's a lot of we down here and is there. Yeah, in this area. There's a few connections, but outside of that, there's a lot of least that I've never even heard of before.

So yeah, he was a good ball player. He was a really good ball player. Good pitcher. Played the, played defense well. Could hit a little bit, but good. Yeah, he was a good dude. Good teammate and everything like that, but yeah, dude, how about we just, this will air a little bit later, either in, in late July or early August.

So by the time this airs, this little conversation really will have nothing to do with it. But how many hot dogs are you eating on the 4th of July [00:06:00] hotdog eating contest? What would be your number? Oh man. Hopefully not. I'm a hamburger guy. Hot dogs don't do it for me. Oh man.

Those Nathan Hotdog eating contests. It's funny. Just, it's so bad where like when base 'cause really the only sport that's in right now is what ma? Major League baseball. And E S P N has to cover the Nathan's hotdog eating contest and it's man, these, I don't know how these men and women do it.

It's freaking nuts. I'd be throwing up. I can't stand watching those guys shirt those things out. Chasing with water. Oh, chasing. It's awful. And just the way they're like chewing it. Just, yeah. I, my turn off next thing, but All right Chris, so for those of you listening that really haven't heard Chris before, really good dude.

I've listened to him on podcasts from the Exodus guys on bau, Marnic Eats me East Meets Wets podcast. Had a phenomenal year last year killing four bucks, three different states, all four different tactics. So if you're really in interested [00:07:00] in how Chris went about doing that, he did a phenomenal job on B'S podcast, which I believed aired in February timeframe.

Please go give that one a listen. I found it really informative. I found it really interesting, Chris, and we'll touch upon certain things I think like you could bring back from that. But really what I want you to go and talk about for this episode is, we're in the dog days of summer.

Now we all are preparing for the upcoming season, especially you, because I believe, and you can, knock me upside the head if I'm wrong. You're going full trad this year. So obviously you're doing a little bit more when it comes into gear relating gear relation type stuff, and we could talk about that as well.

But, before we dive into like your whitetail checklist of what we want to talk about, I guess just give everybody just a quick elevator speech of where you're coming from real quick and then I guess too, like how was your spring a little bit. Yeah, so I'm from west Central Pennsylvania.[00:08:00]

And as far as my spring went, I had a really good spring had a good Turkey season for sure. There seems like there's a lot of birds this year. A lot of two year olds. I tagged out on two birds in PA that tagged out in Maryland and then as well as my dad. My dad tagged out and then my fiance also shot a bird here.

So we all did really good this spring. It seems like I heard a from a lot of guys that did really good this spring said there was a lot of birds here. Yeah, we had a really good spring with a, as far as like seeing numbers, like I said, I made the mistake of not getting that second tag, but I did not make that mistake for this upcoming year because I already purchased that extra spring gobbler tag.

So it, it was a good year. So now with your Maryland tag, 'cause I know we've chatted like through message and everything like that about potentially hunting, like for me potentially hunting Maryland this upcoming year with some friends and stuff. Do you get one tag for Turkey? Do you get two tags? Just 'cause that's something new for me.

Yeah, you'll get two tags. Oh wow. That's pretty cool. Yep. Nice. Now, do you usually hunt that same [00:09:00] area with whitetail for Turkey? That way you could get some scouting in as well? It's the same general area, but not the same spot. Yeah. It seems a spot where I do most of my bell hunting, that there's not so many Turkey, so I move a couple miles down the road.

Yeah. So how's the whole tra bo stuff going for you? 'cause I know you've already been dabbling in it, so it's not necessarily something brand spanking new for you. It's just a from what I guess I could hear you speak on other podcasts is this is a true endeavor of, you want to stick to it, basically.

Yeah, no, I love it. Yeah, I love it. I shoot every single day. It's just a challenge, yep. And it's, you don't I don't think you shoot the same every day like you do a compound, you shoot your compound and you go out and you have your pens dialed, and as long as your forms and checked, you're good.

But the trad though, it's. It's an every day. Make sure all your cues are on point to, to make a good shot with a Chad. Be, when they call it the struggle stick, they really mean that, don't they? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Definitely gotta find that [00:10:00] range. You're good in. Oh, man I just I commend you for it because, I, you still, certain people battle with demons of shooting a compound bow.

And I know in the heat of a moment, that's where I think, like last night before going to bed, that was the one aspect I was like, I'm counting how many years missed opportunities where it's dammit, like I didn't capitalize on that. And obviously it keeps you coming back and wanting to get better and put forth the, that the step forward to achieve.

Obviously, calming yourself down in those heat of the moments. And I've talked about it countless of times and like last year I didn't have that opportunity to actually release that arrow. But every time that I. Drew back on, on the, an opportunity, I felt pretty calm, cool and collected. So I was, I'm hoping in that mind state of, I would, I'm progressing I guess.

But man, there was a stretch where it's I almost wanted to give up hunting just because when I was, when I got back into it in my mid twenties, basically from one life slowed down for me. I went two years in a row where I just shot [00:11:00] under a buck and like close distance. I just remember just being like, what in the hell am I doing wrong?

And then it was obviously, I really hammered my technique down all summer, getting up in a tree, shooting at that distance shooting different scenarios and different angles like shooting with my dad. So he would be on the ground and would move like the deer targets. So I would have different, like ranges, different angles quartering, two quartering away and how important that was.

And then the next year that for that upcoming year, I killed my buck. I went through my checklist and I'm not sure I know a lot of people will sit there and say, and I'm guilty of this. I'll get up in a tree a couple times in the summer, practice that, and I'm like, yeah, okay, I'm good. But to go back to actually doing what I did that summer, I haven't done that again.

And I feel like I'm it's good not only for me, but it's good for everybody to try those different scenarios just because. You've already done it, basically. Is that something like you're doing now? 'cause I've seen you, what the [00:12:00] other day going, getting up in, in your saddle, trying with your trad bow, like doing all that t type of stuff right now as well.

Yeah. So I try not to shoot if we're talking about as far as shooting practice I try not to shoot in the same spot every day. Okay. So what I found when I first started with my tribe bow, is I was really good at shooting my bag in my backyard. That I shot at the same spot every day.

And then I would go to a three D shoot and I would shoot terrible. Okay. And I'm like, man, I really need to switch things up and be in a different position and a different situation shooting my bow. So now I have a bag target and we have round bales up here above my house from this summer making hay.

And I'll go and I'll go up and just pick a spot and shoot at that. And then yesterday I was up on my saddle shooting out of the tree, getting used to that. And I'll probably do a lot more of that here. Here on, out towards season, I'll be shooting out of a tree. Trying to manipulate all those different shot angles.

That's awesome, man. That's good. And like I said I guarantee you once the season rolls around I've done this already. I feel comfortable in any [00:13:00] situation. Yeah. You're going to be able to overcome and get it done. All right, Chris let's dive into a little bit some whitetail stuff.

When it comes to July, how boring, how exciting, what does July look like for you as far as your whitetail checklist? And man, go from A to Z whatever you feel like, sharing when it comes to things you're getting done, not getting done, and then go from there. Yeah. So I feel like I'm a little beforehand on, on most guys, but I am this year for sure.

A lot of guys I see now are just now getting all their cameras and stuff out. I've probably actually already had my cameras out for at least two months. Okay. I got all my cameras pretty much out since May. So if we're talking like A to Z, where I start from, obviously like my season's gonna start from the post-season, like a lot of guys, but I get my cameras out just a little bit earlier than that around May.

And I'll get 'em out around late April into May. I have all my areas kind of fine tuned, whether it's a new [00:14:00] area, an old area, a lot of times, like this year I went into some older areas and one new area. And really fine tuned the bedding and your rubs, your scrapes and follow those back. Connecting the dots getting the terrain figured out and wind mapping and all that.

And then I'll probably get my first camera check actually around late June into now. I'm gonna get my first camera check and see what's in the area and see what's going on, see if there's any bucks that look like they're gonna be up comers or if there's gonna be any shooters in the area.

And then from there, probably my second camera check. Is gonna be around that late August, early September. Try not to be super intrusive. Maybe visit one maybe two times over the summer if I have the areas already figured out. Now, if there's spots that I'm just not sure about then I'll get back in and try to connect the dots on those spots.

But as far as July, I am, like this July, I'm probably gonna hang back just a little bit. I feel like I'm ahead of the game, which I keep [00:15:00] telling my buddies that I was like, dude, it's like I'm way ahead this year, so I'm probably gonna eat my tag. That's usually just how it works. Yep. I feel like I'm way ahead this year anyhow.

'cause I remember listen and this because I remember, I don't mean to cut you off, but I remember listening to you on a on B'S podcast even, 'cause that was like around the postseason. I remember you saying something similar where you've been in certain areas, and obviously you killed your buck pretty early here in pa, like October, yeah, October 7th, first week, first Friday. So I'm sure you, obviously you traveled and you went to Maryland, you went to Ohio. And so it wasn't like, Hey, I'm just staying local and going scouting for the rest of the time. But you had plenty of time to get out there in the woods. So 'cause I wrote this down just real quick while you were talking, when you say like how you're putting, you've had cameras out now and you go and do that camera check.

Maybe you for, I don't know how the best way would be to ask this, but a spot that you've been to, you're intrigued, you've seen a good deer and you [00:16:00] take that camera pool and you're discouraged a little bit. Are you leaving it go just to make sure, like to confirm later? Or are you like just straight up moving that camera, thinking something else along those lines?

'cause for me personally, Right now, like you, because you and I have talked and I've told you, I'm like, yeah. The one area where I hunt it, we just do not get bucks on camera, on, on our side of the mountain, back at home on northeast pa. Now I've gotten a couple here locally that cameras that I have out, I actually did a camera pull and I had some bucks, so I was like, all right.

Found some bucks and see where I think they'll go, come fall and everything like that. But, when you make that camera pull, are you discouraged at all? If it's not what you're really looking for or, how does that go? No. So actually I think you need to have your expectations set for your camera set. So the spots that I have, these cameras in probably 85% of my cameras are on scrapes. And they're not just on random scrapes, they're on specific [00:17:00] scrapes that I've picked out in correlation with bedding or some kind of terrain feature where I know that camera's gonna be hot during season.

So I'll check those and freshness scrapes up. But if there's nothing on 'em in May, June, I'm not sweating it. That's just, Hey, has anything popped up yet? Is there gonna be anything here July, August, or do I just need to let this camera soak and then periodically pop in and check that card so I have my expectations set?

Knowing that if there's nothing here in May, there's a very good chance that late August, September is when that deer's gonna start showing up. Take the guesswork out of building your own arrows for this upcoming season by ordering a custom set of arrows from Exodus outdoor gear. They have developed and sourced literally the most precise archery components on earth.

To build a tailored arrow for your hunting adventures, just head over to Exodus website and plug in your specifications in the arrow builder and have your [00:18:00] custom set sent straight to your door. You have two arrows to choose from, one being the M T arrow, which is a 2 4 6 diameter shaft, and the new N i s, which is a 2 0 4 diameter shaft arrow.

Use code au to save 15% off your tailored arrow. order@exodusoutdoorgear.com. I love that man. Going through the camera thing here in July, and like you said, you're gonna be a little bit more laid back because you've already done a little bit of your, the groundwork already, right? So you're a little bit more taking it easy.

What else does it really entail for you for this month of July? The only thing I have left planned for July. Is I might pull a couple cards yet. There's nothing that really strikes my interest to go pull just yet, but I know this, like this this week we're headed down to Ohio to my camp, and I'm gonna pull a couple cards down there and take a peek at a couple spots that I'm really looking forward to.

Looking forward to Maryland. I I don't really have any big plans for Maryland. I wasn't actually going to Bow [00:19:00] Hunt Maryland this year, but I sat down and thought about it and the first season that opens for me is gonna be Ohio. And I told myself that I really don't want a great big o, high a buck to be the first deer I shoot at with my trad, though, come season, I like to have something in my pocketbook first.

So I'm gonna, I'm gonna go down to Maryland in September and try to get, try to shoot a de with a buck down there. Try to get something under my belt. Maryland just intrigues me just because of one of the proximity. It's, it's just like Ohio and we've talked about this before, but man we are very lucky with the white tail states that surround us.

Like I know it's not the, Iowa, Kansas, obviously those two states you have to draw. But for us, the, that we don't have to pull a tag or draw put in points for, to go down to Maryland to, even if you just want to gun hunt, like you have plenty of opportunities to go down there. Ohio, right next door, you have New York.

I know jersey's a little bit more structurally [00:20:00] more difficult because it's timeframes as far as what tags you have and all those things. I'm not being too specific because I've, it just, it's a little bit too much for my brain. But we have a lot of great opportunities. So like you said, you could go out down in early September, try to.

Hone in maybe some gear you're working on. Like you just said, you want to get a deer under your belt, hopefully to try to give yourself a, with the trad bow, what will, what better way, instead of waiting until the October, whatever, it just allows you to get more dialed in with your gear and more experience in the woods as well.

Yeah, definitely. It's super convenient. Maryland's 35 minutes from me. So I can hunt any given day. West Virginia is only like 45 minutes from me. If I wanted to hunt in public, I did just pick up a 150 acre lease in West Virginia this year. Never even seen a step foot on it yet. So I gotta, I do have to make it down to there.

But it's a four hour, four hour deal. It's. Still Southern August to Kentucky, wow. Nice. I know [00:21:00] you were saying about being ahead of the curve and putting out cameras in May and everything like that. Do you get to all those other states that you plan on hunting this upcoming fall during the summer at all to, I, because I just know sometimes a lot of people, it's like a mixed bag.

A lot of people still go out, head out, you got moose out there every Saturday still no matter what. And I have other friends that are just, with, just don't go during the summer just because of whatever reason. Yeah, absolutely. I am not a look at the map and walk in the dark and hope kind of guy.

I can't do it. I know guys they read the maps and they just walk in the dark and make a sit, and I just, I absolutely won't do it. I would rather waste a day and scout and know where I'm going first. That's good. So now wrapping up July what's August look like for you? Is there is that again, fine tuning what actually what you just said, like any mapping things?

Are you doing any more e scouting a little bit more boots on the ground, anything along those lines as far as of that goes for the month of August? Yeah. So [00:22:00] August I'll definitely be pulling some cards. Now I run about 60 cameras. Okay. Between here and Ohio. So obviously I'm not pulling 60 cards every time.

I, I have a lot of cameras that are just soakers, but the most important cameras that I have that are surrounding those core areas where I think these shooter bucks are, I'm gonna be poking in and outta there checking those cards. And then, like I said, I gotta make it down to West Virginia to that lease and get some boots in the ground, get a couple cameras up there.

But that's that's kinda like a back pocket lease. Pennsylvania and Ohio are my top two priorities. And then Maryland's just to get me underway. The tags are cheap, so it's not a big deal, and I can go down whenever I want to. There's the bow season, muzz season and gun season, so I can bounce in and out of there whenever I want throughout the season if I have a tag filled.

And then me and my dad are gonna make a trip down to West Virginia at least probably once or twice and just get a feel for it for the first year and see how that goes. Hey, man, you could be, have that horseshoe stuck up somewhere and [00:23:00] that West Virginia lease could be real nice. Could be fire.

Yeah, I've seen some pictures. I've seen some pictures. Because down in that way, Southern aspect, that's where the bell only units are, I believe too, right? Yeah. Yeah. This is really close. I think it's one or two counties over from. The bow only. That's pretty cool, man. I hope something just lights that fire where now these next couple years we'll be chasing something and I like that you said that PA is in Ohio are like that one, two priority.

I'm fine tuning when it comes to August. Like just a little bit of ma mapping things like when it comes to maybe access points and boots on the ground and kind of fine tuning those aspects of of the game plan, I guess you could call it. When you look at all these different states are you honing in on anything particular that looks similar or are all three just completely different in their own?

And you are you've been able to now have that edge [00:24:00] of being able to feel comfortable, like no matter the circumstance I feel pretty good of when I, once I get boots on the ground, I could find a good spot. Yeah. Pa, Maryland, West Virginia, I feel are all like rural mountainous. And really steep kind of stuff. Pa it's variable. You get, you have your hill country and your your farm country mix and stuff like that. And then Ohio is basically just hill country where I'm at. It's really steep rolling hills and stuff like that. But terrain, man I love terrain.

I, I feel like just from trial and error over the last five, six years that I've been using scouting maps, I'm just, I've come accustomed to it. I know what I'm looking for. I'm good at what I'm looking for, and I could pretty much pick out on the map, make a pen, and when I go there, it's probably gonna be really close to what I thought it was gonna be.

But that's just from trial and error, man. I used to make, I used to have a lot of pens on my map I'd go to, and it was nothing what I thought it was.[00:25:00]

I still do that sometimes. Yeah. It can't, it does still happen every once in a while, but sometimes it'll surprise you. I will agree though, man, I, from doing this podcast and just other people, friends and getting out there, getting the boots on the ground, I has just been eye-opening of how much we progress, I think, as a whole community over the last couple years, just because one it's fun to go out there and get that phi that you've done something correct, right?

You go out there, you, like you said, like I'm looking at this map. I put a pin there, and if you're, like you said, you're usually in the right area, maybe. Most of the time you're like, dang, this is exactly where I need to be and look at here. And then you could fine tune it with a comb with a fine comb later down the line.

But, or if not, you're like, okay, let's work our way this way and around this ridge point or whatever, get down into this hub. See where it's cross like you are usually then at least in the right area. [00:26:00] And if it is a dud, at least, you could cross it off of, okay, if it's not here but up on top, I did have sign, where else then in their area are these deer coming from?

And like work backwards in that. And for me that, like locally, that's been a big thing for me. And just to go through that and that process and fine tune my whatever ESC scouting two boots on the ground scouting. Because even now I know with the vegetation up, you could still see some pretty good sign and I'd.

Highly encourage people to still get out there because it's another time of in the woods of getting to know that area, in that spot that you might potentially hunt. Absolutely. A hundred percent. So I don't think there is a bad time to be in the woods to scout. Whoever spends the most time in the woods is gonna be the most successful on public ground.

I feel the guys that have the most time, I think are the most successful. I agree, man. And I think it goes to even like what we were saying [00:27:00] in the very beginning of like working on your shot process and actually shooting your bow and doing those different drills. Now when it comes to August, when it, like we were just saying about obviously you're esc scouting, checking like that final camera check, do you do anything to, even in the past, like when you were using a compound bow, but now especially using a long bow, like I try to really put pressure on myself with.

Like the moment of truth, right? You've killed some great bucks, man and shit, last year, like I said, four and three different states, obviously with the bow and the rifle and the gun. Are you doing anything along those lines that's gonna continue that streak of being ready for that moment of truth?

Yeah. So as far as like the shock process and what I'm thinking, like what's gonna be happening in the tree one big thing with the Chad Bell shooting instinctive is you gotta find that spot. You stare at that spot, you're bolt burning a hole through it, there's no aiming at the point of air, nothing like that.

It's just [00:28:00] all instinctive, so burning that hole. But where the, where it gets me and what I'm getting better at now is deer walks in. Deer doesn't have a red bullseye sitting behind his shoulder. So for me right now, it's different. You stare at a little circle on a target.

You have something to stare at and shoot. But for me, I need to get practice on three D targets. 'cause then I can put myself in water. We don't have a ring to shoot at. So you're trying to bird a hole, trying to pick that spot, pick the anything that's outta line. You know what I mean? It's almost like when a deer comes in, you're almost gonna wanna have to stare at a piece of hair.

Yeah. When the deer comes in. 'cause I feel if you're shooting at a deer as a whole, you're definitely not aiming as hard. So I need to find that spot. I like that. So that's one thing that's that's really been on my mind lately is is how I'm gonna work that through when I actually have a live deer in front of me.

That's good, man. I like that. Now when it comes to September, you're [00:29:00] going after it. Marilyn's pretty early. How are you fine tuning any little things and making adjustments. Could you think of maybe even like last year, going out there and getting your, you're like, oh crap, I forgot this. Or micro adjusting certain things.

Anything along those lines that September really holds true to you. So then that way, once October rolls around for Ohio and for PA and potentially West Virginia, this is to go like full steam ahead. Yeah. So September I really don't think I ever forget anything. I'm pretty particular about that.

I'll have my whole living room floor laid out stuff before the season comes open. But it's mainly gonna be getting those first five to 10 sets in a tree where you always get to the tree, you're always fumbling with stuff until you get your system down. I should have hung this stick first, or I should have hung my stick on this side of my saddle so I could have reached it better.

That kind of stuff. Get your set up fine tuned. I like that. [00:30:00] Any other tip that you could give someone that's hunting that early season? Just because any, it could be as simple as make sure you have your thermo cell because we have friends that hunt early Kentucky, which could be hot and miserable.

You have Maryland? I've hunted Delaware before. Early season. It is a lot different than middle of October. Yeah. And having a thermostat's, definitely not a bad idea. Mosquitoes do stuff that's terrible. A lot of guys are afraid of mornings. I feel that early in the year. Okay. And the movement was a lot slower obviously, but if you can get into the deer, I wouldn't be afraid throw sits in September in the mornings.

'cause I did have some fucking counters in September last year in the morning in Maryland. That was Just on my end. I didn't follow through, but yeah I'm not afraid if, especially if it's not an area that you're gonna spend the entire season in. Yep. Man, get in there and hunt it. Yeah. You know what I mean?

Just get in there and do your thing. Do you have any, do you have any spots here in [00:31:00] Pennsylvania that you could think of where you really are not cautious about certain things? Like you, you might have a de like a decent buck. You're like, you know what? I might have a chance to hunt him earlier on. I'm going to, once I get like my right wind, obviously your right conditions for that you're gonna go after.

And then if it doesn't work and it might blow something up, but it's not really the end of the world to you because you have other opportunities like that. Do you have any particular spots like that? Yeah. Yeah. I got a couple spots that are just they're good spots, but maybe they're not holding a giant deer.

Maybe if I didn't have a giant deer at a chase and I was just bouncing into my historical good spots. I'll just balance in there and give it a sit or two. And if it doesn't pan out, then I know I can pull out and move on. Yeah, I like that too. So when you locate your bucks, ma'am, are you going, I know you've mentioned earlier when it comes to your cameras, you're throwing 'em on scrapes.

Is that are your scrape cameras mainly for [00:32:00] inventory or are they for inventory slash I could hunt that area. How do you attack those scrape areas? So usually I'm looking for a week, get on a rabbit hole. This one dude I love scrapes. Yeah. So that's pretty much 95, 90 5% of my hunting strategy.

But I'm, look, I'm looking for a particular scrape. A lot of scrapes. I'll just, I look at it, I can tell you if it's gonna be good or bad, and then just move on. So a lot of stuff, I just leave it in the dust. But when I find a scrape that I'm looking for, it's usually injunction close to betting.

And food. And then from there you just dissect what kind of scrape is it, is a, your community scrape. Is it a scrape off of buck bedding or is it a scrape outside of dough bedding? 'cause obviously those two scrapes vary on the activity. As far as time of year. As far as this year the buck that [00:33:00] I'm hoping to catch up with in pa there's two scrapes in this bottom and both scrapes are in junction with where that buck bed's at, off this off of his bed.

And I already have him hitting and he's already in there still. But as far as the type of script I'm looking for, it doesn't even have to be on the ground. It doesn't have to be John Normas. Yep. I feel like a licking branch. A lick branch tells the whole story for me. If you have a big.

Thick broken lick branch and then the height tube, it's real high. And I just start to get me excited. They don't have to be huge and then they're full scat. I think if the ones that are completely full of big scat, man, those are the ones. I love that you said that with the scat and that the thicker branches.

Because lately the ones that I've found really good, they're, those are the two components that they, like you said, they're not massive, right? They're not [00:34:00] insanely huge on the ground, but man, there's a lot of SCA in it and the branches are just com completely destroyed, like broken off. And that is where I've been hanging cameras and been lucky to find some good deer. And I liked what you said about the dough bed. Like there, there are different. I've noticed different times of the year with certain scrapes where especially, like I just mentioned earlier, back at home where I mainly hunt, it's a lot of dough bedding, but all those scrapes and all those mock scrapes, those dough just completely destroy.

And it seems like once those bucks lose their velvet, they just start popping up like frigging like little groundhogs. It's crazy. That's why I said right in, in the years past Chris, I would get so frustrated 'cause you would send me a message, not, you like it just friends, right?

You would send me a message, this friend would send me a message and they're like, look at my velvet. But and they're just giants. I'm like, man, I [00:35:00] suck at locating summer deer. I could not find the, 'cause I was mainly hunting back at home. And then it just started to click for me a little bit.

Okay, these 'cause then I would never have issues. Not seeing deer come fall. You know what I mean? And then things just started to clicking where, okay, they're on a different summer range, and then they come over and they're check sent, checking these scrapes and like where these doughs are. But I love first thing, once I put it maybe a new camera out in the spring or something along those lines, soon as those started hitting it, I'm like, yes, there we go.

Because they're already laying there sent down. And then again, lo and behold, that end of August, boom, there's that velvet buck September, October. And then I could really start fine tuning that game plan because last year, beginning of August, I set three, yeah, three cameras out, two of them on, on, on pretty good scrapes in a new area back at home actually, that I really never scouted, never really hunted really much.

I did as a kid for Turkey a lot, but not for [00:36:00] whitetail and these two monster scrapes, Chris, right away I had a buck on one that day, but then, It was the last week of August leading into September. These bucks were just like coming out of the Woodward. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is insane.

And I legit had an opportunity. I felt if the conditions were right that first week of the season I could've made a game plan and I made one the second weekend. I shot a dough, but then, I'm trying to think, it went stale a little bit as far as daytime movement for the next couple days.

But then it picked back up. Like it wasn't, there was no lull. There was just a couple days where I think either my scent got around or a little bit or anything along those lines. But man, like you said, I'm okay with finding some scrapes around dough bedding because at some point those bucks are going to be coming.

Yep. I think finding if you could find the scrapes close to the actual buck bedding, those are the ones you can kill 'em [00:37:00] on early season. There's nine chance out of 10, they're probably gonna get up outta their bed and they're probably gonna get checked that first before they do anything. Now, if you are planning on hunting that, say, earlier season, how, obviously the access is gonna be really important, but what is your strategy as far as flirting with the windman?

Because I know you, you do, like I've come to learn. You can't have all that fa in your favor as a hunter. You just can't because especially to where we are hunting, the wind is always constantly changing. But at the same time, it, that buck will more likely move when the wind is in his favor in a sense.

And you have to put yourself in that right position. Yep. So maybe walk us through a scenario that you've had to do or that you would do in that situation where you found a good scrape. It's really close to buck bedding. It's earlier in the year basically. The wind is, eh, in [00:38:00] your favor. In his favor, and that's what you like.

So I guess how would you approach that without knowing that you're, obviously, you're not gonna know, but how would you go about that approach to hopefully not spook him outta there and get that opportunity to hunt him? Actually, I'll just, I'll basically just tell you what I've been doing for this deer that I'm gonna hunt this year.

Wow. 'cause I've already been through all of these scenarios. So this deer let's just say you got you got a ridge running north and south side by side. And then in the middle you have a micro point that runs north and south. So this buck's bed is on this micro point and it's all buck laurel and it's got some small spruce at the bottom and it just runs into the hollow.

There's a creek that rise and meets and runs down the main hollow. So this there's a scrape at the bottom right where these two creeks meet together. So I'll just be it be thermal. It's [00:39:00] just thermal. Scrape that little hub down there. And actually what's happening is he's betting on the west side of this little micro point, and I couldn't figure out why he picked the west side.

It took me probably three or four trips in there, wind mapping to figure this out. I had to have a stiff enough west wind to figure it out. So the west wind's coming over top, the east side that he's facing and looking at. But when it hits the west side that he's laying on, it's doing this. Yep. You get that wind tunnel, that vacuum.

So he's right on that line. If you walk 10 feet above or 10 feet below, it's a different wind. It's right where the wind comes over the top, but he is laying right where it sucks down and it's starting to come back down the hill too. When I'm coming into this spot in the bottom to hunt this scrape, I can come in on the low side and my wind's not blowing two of 'em, and I'm good down in that hub.

But what's gonna save me is that I'm gonna use that creek for access and I'm gonna come right up the creek. I already have a trail [00:40:00] snipped where I can get in. I've already done all this. I've got my tree picked, cameras up, scrapes already freshened up. I got my access on my own X map.

I'm sneaking up this creek bed and I know the tree that I can get into because the last time I was just sitting there, I think two weeks ago, I went in and I actually snuck like I was hunting. I snuck into the spot like I was hunting, so I knew where I would be, what sounds I would make. I was sniffing my way.

I snuck to this tree. I'm like, all right, I know I could get to this tree. I took probably five steps without sneaking deer, snorted. So that I know I could stick to that tree. Yep. 'cause as soon as I started to walk normal again, bam, they had me, whatever was there Yep. Picked me off. But that creek is gonna save me 'cause it's pulling my thermals back down into the hill.

It's going right in. And then that's gonna definitely gonna be an evening set. So basically I can even get in there and maybe just hang out from that tree, 150 yards. And then as soon as you get to that last hour and a half or so, when things are calming [00:41:00] down and nothing's swirling near as bad and the thermals are starting to drop, then I sneaker up that creek and get in that tree and everything should be coming downhill.

Wind mapping that you're not gonna be able to do that unless you're out there, like you just said earlier. No, no time. Yeah. You gotta get out there. I think that is such a valuable story. And, I really appreciate you giving that example just because it's, you've won, you've already done it, but how important it is.

I even think that, like you said, to frigging take milkweed with you or some type of form of scouting now. Even just and run through that. Like you just ran through what we were talking about as far as the shot process goes. You actually have done that two weeks ago in the month of June where you're sneaking into a spot where you're actually gonna have a lot more greenery right now.

Probably brushing, run, running up on things. Yeah. You don't have the crazy crunch of the leaves going in right now, but you found, okay, if I get to this creek bottom, you're good to go. 'cause that creek bottom's gonna be [00:42:00] what it is like now is what potentially be early October as well. Yeah. Yeah. It's mainly Laurel, so it's gonna be about the same.

Man, that's so freaking awesome. I love that. Can't, you can't beat boots on the ground, man. There's just nothing that replaces it. You can stare your map all you want to and you can. The map has its place. Absolutely. I love, I live on my own xap dude. I live on that thing 24 7. My, my girl gets mad at me for staring at my phone so much, but nothing beats boots on the ground because there is a lot of times that I look at a map and I'm like, man, that looks awesome.

And you get in there and it could be good, but it's just not exactly what you thought it was gonna look like. So it's just, it differs so much. Are you shooting to that scrape or are you cutting that in between where that buck's wanting to get to before he wants to maybe try to get more downwind J Hook or something along those lines?

So in that particular situation in that spot, I'm gonna be pretty much right over the scrape on the low side. Okay. In a spot where I don't [00:43:00] have to walk anywhere near the trail. He's coming in on, I'm gonna be on the downwind side and it'd be in a tree that I could sneak into from that creek. So early season, I would say from late September into maybe the later part of October, close to that Halloween mark, I'm probably gonna set up right over the scrape.

And then once that November time comes and you're in your bigger mature deer starting to cruise, then I'm gonna start backing off of that and getting that I'm still trying to find that perfect yardage. I might actually flirt around with that and run some cameras, like maybe stack them Yep.

On a really good scrape. But I wanna stack 'em like 50 yards, 75 yards, 150 yards, and I want to see. How far these deer are scent checking these scrapes downwind. Yeah. So I'm really I'd like to get some data on that and start writing that down. Stack these cameras up and see if there's a correlation to how far these deer are actually scent checking these downwind.

Dude, you're on something there. No doubt about it. [00:44:00] If you, once you have that opportunity to get some extra cameras out. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's fucking huge. I think that could be a really good set of information for the help you as a hunter and go from there with it. Now scrapes, 'cause like you I frigging love 'em.

Like I, I live, breathe, and eat these things, and I love watching other people's techniques, other people's, thought processes on them. When you go to Maryland, when you go to Ohio are they part of your hunting strategy? Yeah. They can be. Maryland. There wasn't, it wasn't so much last year.

I definitely shot that buck over a feed tree. Yeah. The acorns were really big in that situation. That clear cut maybe had 10, 15 white oaks in it from end to end. And I had to make two or three scouting trips in there to find what tree was dropping first. But as soon as I found the first really big tree that was dropping, man, that's where all the deer were at.

How about Ohio? What's that like for you? It was a little bit different last year. Yeah. So the, my, the first year I went down, dude, I couldn't even, I couldn't even count [00:45:00] how many scrapes I found. It was unreal. And that was like my first year. This is like my third year ago in Ohio.

So two years ago when I went down, I just couldn't believe the sign that I seen. And I did shoot my, I shot my buckle on a micro bench that had a good scrape on it my first year. And then last year I feel like I didn't see near as much. Buck sign. But late season I did end up finding two or three really good scrapes, and one I found one scrape that was ginormous.

This entire beach tree, the entire diameter of it was just completely torque. Yep. So I have a camera over that right now. Soaking. If you're in the market for finding a new trail camera, I highly encourage you to look no further than Exodus. Exodus has two main options to choose from as far as cameras go.

A budget friendly option that doesn't compromise quality. The Exodus rival is the camera for you. Simplicity meets functionality in this easy to use feature rich cell camera. The rival offers crystal clear photo [00:46:00] quality, easy setup, and use with complete remote management through the app anywhere in the world.

Two already are set up in Northeastern PA for me, and they're working flawlessly. And if you're looking for an all-encompassing cell camera, seriously look no further than the render. It's their flagship camera. It stood the test of time for thousands of hundred across the country. I have one deployed here locally where I live, and another one I'm saving for back at Northeastern pa.

Again, zero issues and I'll tell you what Exodus stands by Their five-year warranty for accidents or for theft. Top of the line customer service. So see for yourself why so many made the switch to Exodus and experience the Exodus difference. Use code au to get 15% off your first camera today. I have one like that here, where same thing, the entire beach tree around 360 is just completely just shredded on the ground, bitten off.

I had a buck still holding when I put [00:47:00] that camera up back in March. I think like a buck was still holding both sides of his antlers and he was just destroying that, that beach tree. I was like, wow. A lot of times I get deer still holding up into April when they're still hitting scrapes. Yep. I've had bucks from in April.

Both sides still hitting. Yeah, I, it was funny because when people say what warrants you to throw out a camera? Like I've asked that question to a bunch of different hunters, like on that scrape, like you said you're walking by a certain amount of scrapes and you're like, Next one.

Next one. Until you find that one, you just know. And I saw that and I, yeah, that's 360 degrees. Let me look at the map a little bit. Where did I just come from that I liked and I liked where it led me down into, and then I'm looking around the surrounding area and I ended up walking that other side as well.

And I pretty good sign. And I just was like, yeah, I'm going back down here when I head back to throw up a camera there, because it just, I, it just felt like it needed it. And again, immediately, like that night I had some dough like crossing through a little dough hit that scrape, and then the next day is when that [00:48:00] buck ca came and hit that.

And I was like, what the heck? That's crazy March like this. It was a younger deer. It wasn't like some giant or anything like that, but it was, he still had both sides hitting that scrape. And it was pretty cool to, to watch. I think that's a lot of guys' issues too. They just picked the wrong scrape to hunt.

I think a lot of guys just walking the woods. They just see a spot that they like visually. They're like, oh, this looks good. Oh, hey, there's a scrape, man. I should hunt here. Man, you wouldn't believe how many scrapes I walk up to. I'm like, nah. Next take dude, this right here, this notebook, trash with notes.

If I could give one tip to guys for anything, for life, for hunting, for anything, that notebook is by my side every single day of my life. It is in my car. It's in my lunchbox at work. If I'm at work and listen to a podcast, I hear something I like. I can't, I like, I can't hear something that I like and then I'll be like, I'll write that down like in an hour.

You know what I mean? I can't do it. Nope. I'll be welding at work. I stop exactly what I'm doing. [00:49:00] If I hear something I like, I'm writing it down. Yeah. Make a checklist, man. Like I, I have this for scrapes too. Like I have a checklist if I walk up to a scrape that's in my head. I have a book that I keep in my pack too for hunting.

I'm like looking down the list, does it have a lick branch? Does it have the height? Is there a big track in the scrape? What's the scat like? Is there a bunch of scat in it? How big is the diameter of the scrape? How deep is it? You know what I mean? I have all those things. That is an awesome tool.

Just being able to just stop and remember to write all this stuff down. It's huge. I'm the same way I could be out working out in the garage when I'm listening to a podcast. I have to have my notebook with me, or I have to have my notes up that I then transfer from my phone into my notebook because like you, if I don't do it then and there I it's long gone.

Even though it might be the best tip ever. It's long gone because I've just, I didn't do it. And write it down. Absolutely. I've done that way too many times. I'll hear some or I'll hear something I like and [00:50:00] I'm like, man, I need to write that down. Yeah. And I'll just be well in the way of work and then 20 minutes later I'm like, what was I thinking about?

I can't, it's just it's just going, it's just going here's another question for you that I've been trying to implement into my scrape strategy is if I find like a pretty good one or like a cluster of scrapes where I think you know this, I'm onto something, but it's still, something's missing in a sense, whether it's the terrain features where maybe I, I don't find the bedding or where's the food and if it say, if it has the food or along those lines and it has a scrape there.

I'll throw up another scrape, like nearby, have you messed around with throwing up some mock scrapes as well, like near some of these pretty decent, other scrapes to really make it like a little scrape hub, if that makes sense. So you wanna run this podcast past an hour because you're gonna hit a rabbit hole.

That's all right, man. I'm as long as you have the time. I got the time, man, dude. I got all day. [00:51:00] So yeah, I do, I lay a lot of mock scrapes. I have laid a lot of mock scrapes, but I think lately what I do is I try to I try to sweeten the pot on the really good ones that I find. Because I, that scrape has already been laid by the deer so that, that scrape is where a deer wants to be.

So once you find those really good ones, there's a pile of deer that just used that spot. But as far as a mock scrape, I think an example of where I would use a mock scrape is maybe if I am getting that deer on that scrape on camera, maybe just a little bit too late in the evening, maybe I can push in just another 50, 60 yards to cut that time down.

And if I can find a spot, lay a mock scrape, have something. From where he's, if he's coming from his bed to the scrape and you know that, and there's no feet in between, that's gonna stop him. Maybe you can ease in another 50, 60 yards to cut that time down, lay a mock scrape and set yourself up to where when he comes in, he is gonna put his face in it and he has a place to stop where you can get that shot.

Yeah, dude, I love that's the [00:52:00] example you gave because I'm gonna make my dad listen to this because I know he, he obviously has been listening to me more so because of wonderful in individuals like yourself that come on and share knowledge. But there's the one big deer that we're, we've been chasing the last couple years and we, we've never gotten a velvet photo of him.

We know, potentially up until February. Yeah, it was towards the end of February that he still had on his one side and he's extremely recognizable. Had him on and I think early on in spring, my dad. This. He had a big deer he had, and you could tell it was a buck. 'cause he of, when he lost his antlers and he came from the same damn way and he just had the same posture.

You could see he lost a little bit of weight because at the end of the year basically, but I'm pretty sure it was him. But I told him, I was like, listen, we need to I've written down his, [00:53:00] like the wind direction, like all his, all the times that we've either seen him physically or on trail cameras.

And I told him on the one scrape we need to get in there 60, 70 yards, create either another mock scrape or put another camera to verify like that's that travel route. And if we could get him to hit that scrape before the other scrape in the evening. I'm like, we have potentially to kill this deer.

And he's yeah, I know we, we need to do that. And I'm like let's do it. You know what I mean? It's like one of those things. Is he just showing up? Is he just showing up at a certain time of year? Yeah. So he like, is there a specific date that he shows up on He comes towards that like October 19th on definitely I feel like this deer make that first big mistake between the 14th and like the 22nd. Yep. Just left for a window, I guess a longer window. If I was gonna pick a shorter window, it would probably be like that 16th or 20th. Yep. [00:54:00] But I wouldn't think he would be super far away if he's coming that early in October.

I was thinking maybe that deer was showing up later in October and I was gonna tell you like, you need to figure out it sounds like a dough group that comes into Estro early. Yeah. And you need to find that dough group. That's funny you said about that, that you still told that story about your dad and I bought, that reminds me a lot about my dad.

I'm like, I'm the same way with him. As long as I can remember hunting with my dad, he grew up hunting with his rifle. You know what I mean? Yep. As a kid, I guess what they did, they rifle hunted and back in like the late eighties and early nineties, he was telling me stories. There's so many deer in a deer drive.

He had to hide behind the trees because they come on both sides of you. Yeah. So he's never missed a deer that I can even remember. Yeah. With a gun. And he killed this like 142 inch nine point Wow. In 2000? 2014. Yeah. And it was just me and him. I was just making a one man drive to him, just zigzagging his bench system.

And it's the same thing. You always hear that first shot and it's he is probably dead, whatever he [00:55:00] shot. So I hear boom. Boom, boom. I'm like, it's gotta be something good. But yeah, he shot that deer three times. Yeah. In a triangle like this. Yep. Running and I'm like, I could never, I don't know.

I don't know how you do it. Yeah. That dude he shot that was a hundred, like 42 inch, nine point weighed like 230 pounds. That was a big deer. Who? That is a toad dude. It's so funny how similar stories and things like you're, it's so relatable in certain situations and, you super relatable.

Yeah, I was thinking that. I got one more funny story for you and I actually have two questions for you. Yeah, dude. So you said about your dad shooting that lid, that it was hanging. So we were making a drive a couple year, I can't remember what year it was a couple years ago. We had this giant six point, I mean like an 18 inch wide.

Oh. It was G two was probably like, I don't know, eight to 10 inches long was one of those big giant it sixes. Yep. And when we were driving the steep of the mountain down and it like [00:56:00] pinches at the bottom and we had a couple guys in the bottom, but there's just one bowl that sits right below this bench.

And it was wet 'cause it had just rained the day before. And I would like soft whistle, but I just had a, I just had a feeling 'cause that bowl on the inside of the bank is covering Greenbriers. Yep. So I'm like, I'm gonna quit whistling a hundred yards from this bowl. So I sneak down to the edge of this bowl, I look down in and it's so thick you can't see.

But it's real quiet. And I think if a big buck hears you coming, he knows exactly where you're coming from. A lot of times they won't move and there's deer drives. But what I like to do is I'll whistle, but I'll cut my hand two different ways. That way it shoots it and they they get nervous.

Yep. So I go to this bowl, I go, boy, he just blew outta his greenbriers just. Darting up this clear cut and it's got all those little maple trees like this big around that are like this far apart from each other. Yep. And dude I had a family gun, an old [00:57:00] savage model, 99, 300 savage. That was my great-grandfather's.

And I borrowed it off my uncle. I just emptied that thing, man. But every time I pulled the trigger, I swear to God, I had to cross stairs on his front shoulder. Yep. And I just, nothing. I emptied the gun. I'm looking for shells. I dropped my shells somewhere in the drive and the deer's standing at a hundred yards broadside looking back at me after I just emptied the gun.

Oh my gosh. Are you serious? I like, I had no she to even use. I'm just looking at 'em. I'm like, so that's how this played out. Yep. Yep. You won today big fella. You won today. Gee. Yeah. You could see these little tree maple trees bent over. All shot over the whole way. Yep. But we were talking about scrapes.

They got a little off the scrape thing. Yeah. But there's two things with the scrapes. Yep. So I actually, I got this on camera. I've heard this from buddies. And I've asked other guys this question and I've never had a solid answer. Okay. Why do Buck, why do bucks bed in [00:58:00] scrapes?

My, have you ever seen that in a scrape? I actually have my educational guess. My educational guess would be to like, what like with dogs, like how they just take, like they'll, they wanna be that alpha. I could be completely wrong. My, my guess would be, I'm thinking it's like an alpha thing.

I asked that question because I think it would make sense during the rutt. Yeah. But I get small bucks bed and then scrapes in the summertime. Yeah. I don't really have a picture on my phone from two weeks ago of a small velvet book just laying in a scrape, just hanging out. I'll send it to you.

It's crazy. No way. That is crazy. I'm actually writing that down. I'm hoping to have a Mississippi University professor on and talk about some whitetail stuff, and I'll ask him. I'll ask him, see if he knows. And I've heard of big bucks bedding, [00:59:00] really close to scrapes where they can visually see in the rutt. That way they don't have to do anything. If a dough comes in, he can just go right to her. Yeah. But I was just I've asked that question to a couple of 'em of close buddies that are also good whitetail hunters, and they all have a theory, but I don't think anybody has a, an actual answer.

Yeah. I don't know. Just random. It is, I don't know. Yeah. I, man I wonder if it is Like you said, even if it is like a younger deer, like just thinking he's king shit. You know what I mean? Like I, I'm just trying to yeah. I dunno. Because and the scrape that I seen this buck bed in, it's one of those big ones.

Full scat. Yeah. Buck spent a lot of time there. Yep. Yeah. Wow. I don't know if that had something else to do with it or not. 'cause I had a, I have a buddy that shot a buck in Ohio two seasons ago, and they said that's what that deer was doing. He was basically pretty much betted in that scrape.

He got up from that bed around that scrape and that's how he killed that buck. Yeah. So do you use what type of cent are you using for your mock scrapes? [01:00:00] I'm curious. So I was using some buck fever, the forehead gland. Stuff. I tried some preor orbital stuff into dirt. What's been funny is this summer, In the dirt.

I've just been personally peeing in them. And man, it's so funny just seeing how many deer you're ballsier than I am. Oh man, dude, these deer are like, I could never, oh man, these deer are coming right to it. And then they're like, they're nose down into it and then they're biting on I have a photo of a dough just like completely just GNA on this, the tree.

'cause I, I had two cameras. One, I set a mock scrape on that one and then I found a pretty good scrape here locally. And I did hang a camera 'cause I wanted to just see if the deer are using both, like if I could get the same deer on both cameras, 'cause the one that I've set the mock grape on, I'd be able to have a easier quote unquote, easier access route that I think I'd be [01:01:00] able to sneak in, in there and hunt and kind of hunt between the two.

Hammering it. And I actually just had my first buck come on through there. But usually I just use some buck fever, forehead, gland in the ground stuff. I put some of the, I'll, even now even, I'll even put some of the rutt stuff in just because that way it could lay something down, like along those lines.

And I'll put two different ones. That way it's not just 1 cent basically. If that makes sense. How about you? So there, there's a reason I asked that question. I know a lot of guy, like the forehead gland thing. Yep. Absolutely. B fever. I have had good luck with that stuff. Yep. Nothing, this is not against buck fever dog.

'cause I love the pro the product itself. The only problem I have with Buck Fever is I think everybody else has this problem. The bottles are trash. Oh, terrible. Tell me the Yeah. The bottles. Gum, yeah. As soon as I buy Buck fever. What I do is I go to Walmart and they have that section like for travel stuff where they have the 97 cent bottles and things like that.

Like the weed, little tiny hairspray bottles. Yep. I buy those and dump my [01:02:00] buck fever in 'em. Yep. Same. And they spray the branches like that. And then I've had really good luck with the code blue wrap rub. Okay. Gel. Okay. But it's got like a brush underneath of the cap and I just brush it on. I like that.

I have really good luck with that too. But I actually quit using ground scent. So this is where I'm at with that. This year. I feel like a lot of times I've bought the scent off the counter, put it in a scrape and just it doesn't tell you what's in the bottle. It doesn't exactly specify what's in the bottle, like supplements and For real.

Yeah. We do ingredients, right? Yep. I don't know. It weirds me out and then I started doing something different. That's just worked a lot better. And also back to that, I feel like putting the wrong type of scent in the ground, deters doughs away from it. So I feel like, your main source of let's just say scent, the dough walks in.

If the dough walks in, [01:03:00] she's the first one to put her face in it and pee in it. I, that's the starter right there. Boom. I feel like the start to end a good scrape is just to have a dough come in and put her face in it and pee in it, and then we're gold. Mean from there. That's what take, it's gonna take off.

Yep. So I've actually been putting deer shit in my scrapes. Okay. So I did this last season post-season. It was just a random idea. I made this mock scrape and there was just a random big pile of fresh buck. Shit. Boom. I'm like, man, I'm gonna put that in a scrape. Yep. All the good scrapes that I find have a big scattered them.

Exactly. I put that buck shit in that scrape dude, that camera blew up that small bucks. Those, they were just tearing it up. And I, fierce shit. Deer shit. Yep. But I feel like it's just that one little thing that adds more natural real. Yeah. Makes it more natural. So now what I'm doing, and I actually got a little bit of feedback on this.

I've been doing this all summer with my cameras over my scrapes. Dude, [01:04:00] I, my girl laughs at me, makes funny of me. I carry a like a little lunch baggie in my pocket all the time. And if I know that I'm gonna make a scrape and I see deer shit, I'm bagging it up and I'm taking it with me. Dude, I'm gonna, I'm gonna test it out for you.

I'll frigging do that too. Yeah, dude, I just did this For that buck that I'm hunting, there's a scrape really close to his bed up on the top too. It's an okay scrape, but it's just an intersection where all the deer congregate, I think, before they actually lay down. And I have a cell camera in there so I don't have to go in and bother with it.

But a couple weeks I went in there just to trim some branches and freshen the scrape. So I added an oak branch, put forehead, gland on it, opened up the dirt, and then I just dumped deer shit in it. Nothing else. Five hours later, Adele walks in, hits the liquor branch and she pisses in it. That's last week.

Yep. I feel like I was like, dude, that might be the ticket. You know that dough come in and she just started that right there. Yep. But maybe, yep. Grounds open up. There's deer shit in it and there's fresh scent in the branch. She starts it, dude. Now I feel like if [01:05:00] maybe I went in there and dumped too aggressive of BPU and that scrape, she might have been like, eh, I'm gonna walk past this.

Yeah, there might've been your missed opportunity. Yep. Spartan Forge stands at the nexus of machine learning and white-tailed deer hunting to deliver truly intuitive and sign space products that saves the hundred time spent scouting, planning, and executing their hunts. You have deer prediction, journaling, and the best maps on any hunting app platform there is.

Use code antler up to save 20% off your Spartan Forge membership@spartanforge.ai. Last year when I met with some friends, we forgot stuff and so all I was doing was just kicking up the dirt. Like just getting it as earthy smelling as possible. I did have some forehead gland stuff, but I didn't have anything to put in the dirt.

And same thing, like as soon as that first dough came, it was just do dough, and then it was like, boom, A buck showed up and then it was dough, boom. A buck. But every time I have a dough hit those scrapes, I'm like, yes. Like I'm more [01:06:00] fired up to see that happen early on than I am anything, because then later down the line when you are in season, those bucks are gonna for sure.

Even if it's not your buck that you want to shoot, you're going to get a buck on. The, to hit that and then it just snowballs like Troy Poncher says, then they just take it over. That's absolutely, that's what you want. Yep. I like that man. One of my, one of my biggest pet peeves is watching people open scrapes with their boots.

Oh. Drives me nuts. I don't dunno if you do that. Nope. I I don't know if they still, I think they still sell, they have a scrape maker tool. It's got like a deer hoof on one end and it's got the quality on the other. I like that. I carry that with me and I don't actually make the deer hoof print with fat tool because that tool is five inches wide.

I'm like, yeah, that doesn't really look that real. Yeah. Deer might come in and see that and be like, oh, Jesus Christ. Yeah. Yeah. Everyone, dude, I think visual. I think visual's a big thing too. I think so. Lately this year I've been making more rubs all around my scrapes too. 'cause the deer can see that rub from a lot further away than what they can scrape.

Yep. So I'll take my hand saw and I'll scratch up the [01:07:00] trees and put forehead, gla on those too. I got a picture of a buck in Ohio and March or April. Yep. He just had velvet like this pretty come off his head. He was still rubbing his head on trees. Make it as authentic as you can man, and that's gonna put you in the ballgame.

Definitely. I like to take my little clippers too and like the end of the branches snip 'em. I think a lot of this is like to save fault pitchers on my camera too. If there's a lot of green leaves, I'll, a lot of times I'll clip all the green leaves off and just leave the single branch.

But I'll take it and I'll twist it and break it so it hangs down just like a buck would do in the fall. And I'll break all those off and leave them hanging down. And then if I can, a lot of times I'll add a grape vine. I really good luck with the great vines on my mock scrapes. Yep. And if I could, dude, if I could get those branches broken off at like head height for me, which is six foot a great vine.

And then if there's any trees that are like a good diameter around and I rub those up just like a mock rub and put forehead land on it makes a good visual for the buck. You know what I mean? They're gonna see that from a long way away, and [01:08:00] he's almost gonna be so intrigued that he can't walk by it.

Like he's gotta go over it and investigate it, oh man. That fires me up. Have you had any experience with using like the hemp ropes at all? I tried ropes one year, probably like 2019 ish and I just, I don't mess with it. Yeah, I haven't, they my work. My work out west, I think like Don Higgins and those guys have good luck with those, like out in Illinois and Iowa.

But here, I just don't think it works. Yeah, it might like on private ground where you have more comfortable deer, but out in the public ground, I'm not hanging a rope to be a more efficient hunter for this upcoming year. What are you doing and maybe what could someone else do preparing anything along those lines that you think you wanna do to become a more efficient hunter?

Oh man I feel like you could answer this question a million ways. Yep. I'm probably gonna go back to [01:09:00] just the boots on the ground gist of it. So I feel like years ago that I used to put too much thought and I'll say I. I used to put too much time and thought into my actual hunting gear rather than being in the woods. You know what I mean? Yep. My bow is a hundred percent head to toe ready to go, and I had everything top of the line, but my knowledge wasn't on par with what I needed to know in the timber. So I feel like the boots on the ground, the scouting, understanding the ground that you're hunting, knowing what the deer are doing and why they're doing it, is so much more powerful than having the latest, greatest gear.

I love that. So I think just being a better outdoorsman in general, get out in the woods it costs nothing to make a scrape if you really want to. You know what I mean? Yep. If people are worried about money, you get out and make scrapes for free to wind map your [01:10:00] spots. If you don't have no wheated around cotton balls, dude, I used to use cotton balls.

You just spray 'em real light. They'll do the same thing. They're a little heavier, but they'll do the same thing. Just get out and just learn the grounds you're hunting. I think it's a lot more powerful to just understand exactly what the deer are doing and how to hunt the area than it is to have top line gear, dude.

Amen. Dude, that was awesome. I love that answer. Dude, you have Pa Ohio, Maryland, potentially West Virginia, anywhere else that's going to some deer better be hiding under a rock from you for this upcoming year. Oh, man. I was actually planning on doing a random, maybe in Arkansas bow hunt, but I think I think four states might be enough for one year, especially when I got I got a big one here in PA that that I'm gonna be chasing.

And I was actually talking to my buddies about that too. I got a. A buck that's gonna be potential. Boone a Crockett in Ohio, but I got a buck that's gonna be probably one 50 [01:11:00] here. I'm like to be honest, I was like, I wanna shoot a Boone a Crockett really bad. I said, but it's almost more rare to see a one 50 PA than it is to see a one 70 in Ohio.

So it's gonna be a shake up and I'll be spending a lot of time here at home. No, dude, that's awesome that, that's, all things that we all dream of and man, I wish you nothing but the best of luck and I hope you just, I can't wait till I get a message and you're like, look, what happened, Chris?

Where can people find you Fall along? What you got going on Again? I've, I said it on the Instagram post, we didn't really touch upon it here. Fitness is a big thing of you in your life and for you in your life and Yep. Same here being a health and phys ed teacher and we're all preparing for to live that, I think it's cool right now.

A lot of people are getting into it, it's a, it's a. Living a healthy life for one yourself to live long, hopefully. But then also for our family and friends and everything like that. It's cool to see that. So you're really into fitness. You're awesome. Buck Hunter man and trying this endeavor with the tra bow.

I'm really excited to [01:12:00] continue to fall along. So where can people do the same and see what you're about? Yeah, so it's basically just my Instagram. My Instagram handles unleashed the least. I post stuff on my Facebook, but I really don't use Facebook anymore. It's kind just for family. So if you want to tag along on, on what I'm doing and everything's on Instagram I post stories pretty much if I'm doing anything outside.

And I try to post as much as I can. So if you wanna see what's going on that's where you can find me. Awesome, man. I appreciate you. Thank you so much for coming on. I'm looking forward to another one, dude. Absolutely dude. Let's do it. A hundred percent. Awesome, man. Thanks again everybody for tuning in this week.

Enjoy this one. Please go follow Chris 'cause I'm telling you, awesome dude, I've just, even having this conversation, I've learned a lot and I hope you did as well. So we'll see you next week in Antler Up.

‍