Show Notes
This week on the Pennsylvania Woodsman we are proud to announce a new partnership with Radix Hunting! Our guest is none other than the founder and owner of Radix, Clifford Martin. Clifford is originally from Southeastern Pennsylvania, but has been blessed with the opportunity to move to Iowa and live out his dream. In the time he has spent hunting the midwest, he has been able to hone in and consistently connect with big mature whitetails. During that time, he has learned how to fine tune his approach and mindset when pursuing top caliber bucks. Even with all his success, you still won't find a more humble individual who continually says he is a student of the whitetail, learning almost daily.
We gain some background knowledge of Clifford and harass him a little on how he convinced his wife to move to the whitetail capital of the world! Then we transition into his stewardship of the whitetail, learning their behavior and some of the consistencies he gravitates towards. We address the question, "what does it look like to be an aggressive hunter?" and how his patience has improved throughout his hunting career. Last, we dive into his most valued tool - trail cameras. Clifford mentions multiple times that he feels "cameras don't lie" and his need for quality video to collect as much information as possible. Quality was a driving factor in producing Radix trail cameras, check them out for yourself!
@radixhunting #radixhunting
Show Transcript
[00:00:00] Hey everybody. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman Podcast. I'm your host, Mitchell Shirk, and this week got some exciting news and I'm just gonna roll right into it because it, it relates to this episode and it's it's pretty exciting for me and this individual.
I'm looking forward to what the future holds for us. So right off the bat this week, our guest is Clifford Martin from Radix Hunting. And what I'm really excited about is this is the first episode and the announcement that we're bringing on a new partner to the show. I'm really excited to work with these guys.
Radix Hunting is is an awesome company. I met [00:01:00] these guys at the a t A show and I've been connecting with them ever since. And you want to talk about Die Hard, down to Earth dedicated hunters. That that have a purpose greater than just hunting. They're all about hunting, don't get me wrong.
And knowledgeable guys with quality products. But there, there's a greater purpose to what they're doing, and that's why I really like these guys. I really like I'm just really excited what the future's gonna hold. But this week we're catching up with Clifford, and Clifford is a guy who you're gonna hear hear a little bit about his story, but he's originally from Penn.
And I tease him a little bit because he is the one man that I know that has made the joke that so many whitetail hunters talk about. He has made that come true. And that's he's picked up and moved to Iowa and he is living the whitetail hunter's dream of chasing big deer in Iowa. And he's been very successful in his career as a whitetail hunter.[00:02:00]
We talk about that journey and the things he's learned over time, how he's become successful, and it's it's a really great conversation. We talk about the tools of the trade, some of his experiences, and we lead into talking about radix hunting products. And that is a great transition because a lot of the products that he that they have with radix hunting, They're solely connected to hunting strategy.
And, he has these products in place. These products are available to us as consumers because they're quality and he believes in 'em, and they're valued important things for the success that he has. And I feel in a very similar manner. I'm not gonna waste any time.
I'm gonna get right to this episode. This is a deer hunt. This is a mature buck hunting mindset conversation. And this is the kind of conversations that just get me fired up. I love to hear different people's perspective when it comes to hunting mature deer. [00:03:00] There's, they're different. And whether you are somebody who is all about chasing mature deer, maybe you don't care about mature deer at all.
It's still a conversation from somebody who just invests a lot into whitetail hunting and the knowledge and just loves to learn about whitetail deer. And those are the conversations that I love no matter where you land in the spectrum as a deer hunter. Real quick, let's get to this episode.
I'm gonna do my first commercial for this company and I'm real excited to, to talk about these products. So if you guys are looking to up your game in your trail cameras, if you want to expand your camera arsenal, look no further than Radix hunting, you can visit them@radixhunting.com and check out their trail cameras.
The Gen 600 Trail camera has incredible video and image quality and is extremely competitive when it comes to the price of cameras in the industry. Not to mention they're coming out [00:04:00] with the Gen 700, which all the fantastic attributes that the 600 have, it's just gonna be on steroids with the 700 and it is really priced well, guys not to mention we've also got MCO cellular cell cameras and they are priced at a very affordable rate with quality that is unmatched compared to anywhere in the industry and not, and lastly, I wanna make known with Radix, you've also got the option to check out their hunting blinds, soft shell and hard shell hunting blinds.
Feeders, if that's something you guys have on your farm and you want to get into supplemental feeding throughout the off season. Keeping in mind our rules and regulations with c w D in our state now, and there's also plenty of trail camera accessories for you guys to check out. This is a company that has fantastic products and I'm excited to work with.
And if you wanna check them out, go to radix hunting.com on the internet and you can also check them out on Instagram and Facebook. And with that, let's get to this episode.[00:05:00]
Hey, on the phone with me is Clifford Martin from Radix Hunting. Hey, how's it been going? Thank you for taking some time outta your day and chatting with us. Yeah, hey, absolutely. It's we're doing good. Out of Iowa here and got a little bit of snow this morning. So really, I'm actually like, I still have the wood stove going at my place every now and then to cool off the mornings.
But we got, we're getting into the fifties right now and like yesterday was absolutely beautiful and made, made me think Turkey. Yeah, absolutely. I had a shredder on my cameras this morning, my cell cameras and yeah, it's getting pretty close. We, I had to Kansas.
First of the week, so we're getting close, but we're still here in Iowa, it's still for some reason we can't get rid of this wind or weather. But yeah, we have Turkey hunted in the snow here, so I see it might be one of the this years again, long. It's long overdue too, cuz we were chatting last week and you it's [00:06:00] par for the course.
You've been going running ragged here with with show season running all over the, pretty much all over the country, busy with that. So it's it's probably long overdue to go chase some turkeys. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I the Turkey season got here a lot quicker than I thought.
But, normally me and the boys we do a lot of shed hunting and so on, and boy, this year we did more trade shows with radix than we have in the past and. Yeah, we got out a handful of times for shed hunting, but a lot of 'em are probably gonna be left alone this year just because of busy.
And then I'll, once you move into Turkey season for me, I don't know how it is for you, but once we move into Turkey season, the sheds kinda get left in the back and you start chasing turkeys. So yeah, it's a light switch that slips and you start going crazy over turkeys. But you know what, that craziness of show season and everything else, it it's all part of it.
We did an episode not that long ago with Bomark Tonic from the East Meets West Hunt [00:07:00] podcast. We were talking with him about his transition from his day job to full-time in the outdoor industry. And he was talking about, the struggles and the time commitment it takes to work for yourself and have their own business and the struggles.
And then, he was talking about how, people only see the I guess the reward, so to speak, when you're out there, multiple weeks during the hunting season, hunting and you're laying out great content for hunting, and people go, oh, it must be nice and . He made the comment, he's it is nice.
He goes, but you don't see what's behind the scenes of what I have to do in order to allow this to happen in my lifestyle. So that's what you're going through. No, nobody's talking about the craziness that you go through this time of year with that kind of line of work. Absolutely, and that's exactly right.
It's, I got a love and hate relationship with what I do. I love it. And then you still have on the back end there, you just have a lot of things going on. You work, I say, I tell people I work day and night, and you gotta just. , it's when it's your business, you just gotta put all the effort in [00:08:00] that you, you can.
And, but still, it does allow you to have your own schedule when when you can get that balance right for, hunting and fitting that in into the crazy world. It is still great. I look at, yesterday morning it was Monday morning and I was out frost feeding plots for a couple hours.
and I was thinking, yeah not many people can do that Monday morning , if you got a nine to five job or eight to five, or however you wanna say it. But yeah, so you still can do things at your, your schedule and pace, if you can find that right balance. That's absolutely right.
And I'm gonna, I'm gonna pick on you a little bit for a second, but I think it'll lead in really well to letting you introduce yourself and how you came into Radis. But folks, this is the man that is living the dream who moved from Pennsylvania to the Promised Land of Iowa.
And he's gonna tell us all about how to do that and how to convince your wife and just move out and chase big bucks. But no, I'm, yeah I'm picking on you a little bit. That [00:09:00] is a little bit of the story, but there's a lot more to it than that. So I'll let you do a better job of introducing yourself and how you got rolling with with Radix.
Sure, yeah. I'll keep it brief, obviously, but. , I did grow up in Pennsylvania, hunted the, in the eastern part mostly, and hunted up in the, northeastern part of PA for, oh, for many years. I think I was 25 when I got married. And my wife was from Kentucky.
And obviously that was a pretty new adventure for me. I had, I did have family that lived down there in western Kentucky. And anyway, we lived down there for six years and had some chicken houses, farming, kinda had my own schedule. , but it was a little, it was not quite my cup of tea. I was doing construction and doing a little bit of farming on the side.
But anyway, we, I always dreamed about moving to Iowa. We had a church group up here that we had our eye on that was in Northeastern Missouri. And so I did convince my [00:10:00] wife. I actually came up here by myself a time or two just to check it out. And finally brought my wife up here and we thought it would be a great place to, to have our family up here.
It's a really awesome area. If you love hunting, obviously we're right. We, the church group that we were with or are with is just on the Missouri side and obviously with the Iowa draw for deer. And if you like big deer, we moved on the Iowa side and , let's put it this way, it was the best move of my life.
and reclaimed about it. ? No, absolutely. The hunting's great. The, there's a great group of people here in our church. It's just it's just a really awesome place to be. And I'm sure as far as for my wife, I try to, her family is in Kentucky, so we try to spend as much time down there for her.
She sacrificed, coming with me and leaving her family behind. And I'm a loner, so it's easier for me. I could, I personally could move anywhere in the [00:11:00] world. It wouldn't bother me, but not everybody is like that. . And so yeah, it was a great move. And then it kinda led into, what do we do out here?
And I did start helped a friend kinda. Started a trail camera company, didn't, never really panned out. And obviously I had my fingers into working with manufacturers and so on to help him and it didn't work out. My light bulb went on and I'm like, Hey, why don't I just, I really enjoyed it.
Why don't I just do my own thing? And that was in 2017. And yeah, Radis has gone quite a few places since that and and yeah. And, we can't complain about the hunting. The hunting is great. Absolutely. And I wanna dig into that a just a little bit more because, we were talking We were talking about that, and you I talked about some of the places in Pennsylvania that I've hunted, and you were very familiar with those places in your your life back h back here.
Yeah. So I was curious, the experiences you had here and then you go to a [00:12:00] state like Iowa where the deer density's different, the dynamic of the herd is different. The age class is different. Did you I'm curious did you take a lot of what you had learned in Pennsylvania and it.
Applied really well to Iowa, or did that change in the landscape and the deer herd change you and your mindset as a hunter? I'm thinking along the lines of, progressing mature buck, because I know you're somebody who pursues mature buck and you like to get 'em to harvest mature deer at an older age class.
So I'm just curious, like what did that chronological process looked like for you? Yeah, as far as age structure, obviously in Pennsylvania it's definitely harder to get your age on a mature deer and honestly back then when I was 25 year, all the way up to 25 years old, I was very passionate about chasing deer and, maybe a bigger buck for Pennsylvania.
I, I did have, that bug and. . [00:13:00] I spend a lot of time obviously it is harder there because, you're, it is to get a deer to that four or five years old is just not as easy in Pennsylvania. As it is in Iowa. But I still did have that big buck craze. I spent a lot of time out in the temper studying deer.
And it's just, that has helped me moving to here and applying what I've learned in there. But still, I think, I moved to Kentucky and there we did have a little bit Western Kentucky is known for some big deer and and that just kept escalating and I'm like, got that bug.
I started running more trail cameras back then. Actually when I lived in Pennsylvania I only had one or two trail cameras and I didn't really use 'em to help me. It was more just a fun thing to do. . But as I got into Kentucky, I started using trail cameras and I learned what I could, the information you could get out of 'em, target your older deer, once and so on.
And then when I moved to Iowa, that's kinda where it all fell [00:14:00] apart, and then I was really hooked . But yeah to take what you said I did, a lot of stuff that I did learn in pa in, in Pennsylvania it takes a lot of time and effort and persistence to chase deer.
. . And even in, even living in Iowa, you still gotta apply that. There's a lot of people in Iowa that everybody loves the big deer, but they take a lot of time. And if you love mature deer, even, they turn into a different animal, so obviously they, they're not as easy to kill.
Even though in Iowa, we do have more than other states probably as far as deer reaching their maturity. But they still become a tougher animal to hunt. And I just absolutely . Yeah. And I just tell people, it is, you still it takes a lot of time and I, when I talk about a lot of time, I personally tell people it, it's an all year process.
sometimes, I kill a, a deer. I was, most people would dream about on opening day, but [00:15:00] it didn't really start there. , it, it's a lot of stuff before, prior to that, before you get to kill him. . And so as far as spending time to hunt, it's, I don't maybe do as much as I used to.
I just try to be a little more precise and I use. , the months prior to that to try to put me in the right place. . Absolutely. You're hunting all year. It's just the season when it opens the time that you would actually spend in the tree you're becoming more efficient with what you've learned over time.
And I was curious if, when you came to Iowa, like I'm sure when you moved to Iowa it was just a different world because there are prob I'm, and I'm assuming this, I can't speak from my own personal experience. I'm just assuming that your amount of mature buck encounters had to naturally go up just by sheer numbers.
And I've heard you say that before too, that like a mature deer, regardless of where you are in the country, is just a different animal. Yes. How do you even go about somebody like, I think about people [00:16:00] I've chatted with in Pennsylvania that have not experienced mature deer just because.
Whether it's their hunting experiences, their or their maybe lack of knowledge. What are some things that mature deer have taught you in your career, especially going out through an island and just being around them more ? Sure. That's a good question. Like I said I just tell people that a lot of people don't understand.
Obviously, I do not want to come across. I am learning every day. I enjoy it. I enjoy sharing it with people, but I don't want to come across as, Hey, I know it all. That's the biggest thing that I can definitely share with you. What I've learned, and a lot of it is big deer don't make many mistakes.
Sometimes they get dumb and they walk around. , I've seen that where they, maybe the, like the one I killed in late muzzled, or this year was a deer that I've had about, I think three or four years of history with them. and he didn't make many mistakes. And he had me a little flustered.
He was in a bigger area.[00:17:00] And but this year he kinda, he lost his I don't know, he was just comfortable. And he starts just walking around in the daylight. And if you listen to Mark jury or somebody like that they say when sometimes a Darl just one year, they just lose it and they decide there's nothing to worry about or whatever, and they start walking in the daytime all over the place.
And I've sensed that. But overall, a deer doesn't. I've majority of the ones that I've shot , they give you one chance and if you mess that up, your odds definitely are, decreased like crazy. But it's just you gotta make that first op, that first encounter with them, make it count.
I don't say doing anything dumb, but just playing it really smart, not doing anything dumb because I've learned in life, if you can get that opportunity to lay your eyes on 'em and make it count. And a lot of people that I think that's where they kinda mess up is they think they're gonna get [00:18:00] another chance.
And big deer are so touchy and it comes down to scent control, hunting the wind. And the way I set my farms up with food plots and stuff is the less intrusion you can do. . It is, it's a huge list. It's actually not that hard, but it is a big list and once you figure it out, you can apply it to wherever you go.
And I'm not, definitely won't, don't wanna say I have it figured out. I have some things that work for me and like I said, I don't mind sharing 'em, but biggest thing is, if you can get that first encounter and make it happen and don't be shy about making it happen.
Getting a little aggressive with and right out of the gate. And Yeah. It's like I said, it's, it, every and every deer, every scenario is can be very different . But if you have your basic things in line and let him make that mistake and then making it count right out of the gate, super, super important.
I don't think any of us have it figured out by any means. We're always learning. But the experiences that we have, that's why we love to share it. Just cuz [00:19:00] I, to me wisdom is in a multitude of counsel regardless of the topic in life. And I love to pick people's brains over that.
And I'm curious, you've gone through a journey from PA to Kentucky to Iowa and now you know you've been very successful in Iowa. I'm curious now with, as you think back through your hunting career maybe you can remember things you used to do in Pennsylvania or hunting tactics or things that you would approach that.
Now you say, man, I should approach it differently. So I asked the question if let's say something happened in your life that forced you to come back to Pennsylvania and you were back to I'm not gonna say square one. You have the knowledge of the state and places to go, but you're just putting yourself in a different environment.
Are there things you would approach differently now if you were putting that situation versus when you were 25 years old? Yeah, I think so. I think, you gotta be very that I've learned with big deer, older deer, mature deer is I probably [00:20:00] lacked how would I say? Being consistent. Basically if you like big deer, you gotta be consistent, you gotta be happy, basically.
Maybe not seeing a deer and that's something I lacked in PA probably is just being, moving too quick, et cetera. Big deer don't, they don't make a lot of mistakes, so especially mature deer, obviously I'm not saying it's the mature deer is not always a big deer, but let's say you're targeting a mature deer in pa, one thing you know is just being comfortable not having to harvest that deer that day.
And back then, I would move around and jump around. , even though I knew there was a big deer there, and I still do that actually, sometimes I trail cameras don't lie. And then they remind you that you should have been somewhere else and you move too quick. . So you get what I'm saying is, one thing that I've learned as far as, mature deer is put your time in be comfortable.[00:21:00]
I don't really call it be comfortable with failure, but anytime we're in the temper, it's, for me is a win. So it's not a failure. But, I think a lot of people if they don't get what they want, one or two times out they try to change their plans or move, maybe move to a different area or different woods or something.
And you gotta just be consistent and as long as you're not pressuring that deer, just be consistent. And some of 'em come easy and some of 'em take a couple years . Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I think one of the things you're alluding to is the patience that it takes for mature deer and patience is a virtue in anything, so to speak.
Yes. Have you grown in patience in all in your life with that ? And I tell people obviously I've been very fortunate, very blessed to take some, shoot some really big deer in Iowa. And it does get easier when you have. big ones on the wall. It, I tell people it's like climbing [00:22:00] a ladder.
And when I moved to Iowa, I started off with a one 50. I couldn't believe it. My first year I shot an opening day. I should have never shot 'em, but that was like a big deer to me. And and it is a big deer. But when you're talking about comparing it to what, what else was out there?
There are bigger deer and there's nothing wrong with pursuing bigger deer. It's all par for the course of where you're hunting. Absolutely. And it was a mature deer. It was a very mature deer, so there was nothing wrong with it. But I probably could have shot a lot bigger deer, but, oh man, when I seen that deer, I was like, oh shoot, I'm gonna kill that thing.
And it was opening day, the first day I was here. , my first day of hunting Iowa. And but it is I tell people it is it is easier. I shouldn't say it's a lot easier, but your patience you get better with patience. . The more the after you have, let's say you step up the ladder and it's easier for you to pass up a one 60, actually wait on that one 70 or 180 you [00:23:00] had on camera all summer.
But man, when you don't have a lot of patience you know you're gonna shoot that deer or most people will. And you kinda, I don't know if what the right word is for it, but you get a little stronger the more deer you get under your belt. , absolut Experience.
Experience as a teacher. Yes. Correctly. Like I said, it's just I don't really have all the answers. I definitely enjoy it and and like I said, I don't mind sharing what I've learned and each gear kinda teaches you something new. E even though you can apply all the basic principles to how you've shopped the prior deer.
And then this one will throw you for a loop. . I think they're definitely all individuals for sure. I'm curious. Yeah. I want to pick your br I have a question. Like we're I think right now, in this day and age with the amount of content for deer hunting and all these different trains of thought first of all, one thing I will say that I'm really thankful for is there's a [00:24:00] lot of people out there that have really put enjoyment or made it cool to hunt public land, which is great, and I love that support.
And I think what one thing I've personally learned in my own hunting is there are some similarities to hunting public versus private, but there's also some differences. And I think the word of the term that I'm thinking of is aggressive. So I along those lines with your experiences and the settings that you hunt what does an aggressive hunter.
Look like how do you define or how do you say or know when is the right time to be aggressive? Because there's a lot of talk out there that if you're not aggressive, you're not gonna capitalize on a mature deer. And I think it's just a matter of how you define that. So I'm just curious, like you connect on Big Deer, so obviously you're being aggressive to some case in point, but how would you expand upon that?
Do you know what I mean? I, yeah, somewhat. It is being aggressive, [00:25:00] I guess the first thing that pops to my mind that would actually carry over to even a public land hunter for me, I hunt a lot of smaller parcels. I don't hunt a lot of big parcels. I actually have more success with smaller parcels.
And so obviously, When I hunt smaller parcels, I have neighbors even in Iowa. And I have good ones and I have bad ones, just like anywhere else. And I shouldn't say bad people, I'm just saying some of my neighbors are, big deer hunters or they have a nice farm that's set up and, they're very management minded.
And you have the guys that shoot everything, even in Iowa, just like any other state. And I've learned, and it would probably fall back to just even the public land hunters is, scout your people, , scout your neighbors. I shouldn't really maybe call it scouting, but I study what my neighbors do and that goes back to public land, figure out what the p and I'm obviously [00:26:00] don't hunt much public land anymore like I used to when I was younger.
. But a lot of it goes back, what is everybody else doing? And And what are they doing? And then you try to hunt around them basically. And I actually do that in Iowa. If you want to kinda look at it that way. I do the same things when I look at a farm or a little piece that I have.
Some of 'em are down to 20 acres and I'll, the first thing I'll do is I'll study what is everybody else doing around me, because that's gonna determine how I hunt my deer and probably how my deer are gonna be acting. And I'm hunting some pretty tough neighborhoods. and that can be, the neighbors make it tough for me to shoot a big deer.
And then there's other neighbors that that are, the neighborhoods are easier. So I think I don't know if that's answering your question, but I think there's one thing that I could take from public to private, using the same concept is what, what are other people doing and try to do it differently than what they're [00:27:00] doing.
But basically I always say scout, scout your neighbors or the people that are hunting around you, , if that makes sense. It absolutely makes sense. And I struggle with this a lot, Clifford, because like I, I've hunted. , I've hunted both private and public land. I probably do. A little bit more private land hunting than public.
And I, I think one difference that I've experienced, and I'd be curious what your thoughts are when you're hunting private land, you're confined to that border. When you're talking about public land in Pennsylvania, heck, I got tracks where my camp is in Northern Pennsylvania where it's 35,000 acres of state, fourth on one side and another 30,000 on the other.
And we got sections of the state that are a hundred thousand. You're talking about the confines of a border. You can enco, you can encompass an entire bucks home range in that area and bounce around and find that. And when you're talking about parcels, and you said small parcel, I wonder what a small parcel definition is to you.
To me a small [00:28:00] parcel is, Anything under the home range of a whitetail, and that might be, 1,640 acres. To me, that's actually a small parcel. Most of the parcels that I think we hunt and work on are, I would almost define 'em as like a micro parcel. You're talking about 10, 20, 40, 50 acres.
Talk about the daylight movement of mature deer. That's small. And I think when I'm, when I ask that question, I like to pick everybody's brain and see what their thoughts are. Because an aggressive hunter, I think that definition of aggressive is dependent on where you have access for that specific deer.
Like that, that changes drastically in my mind. Yeah. That you're right. And that kinda goes you're exactly right on that. That kind of goes to exactly what I was thinking. And I'll try to explain it in my terms, which might not make sense to everybody, but. . One thing I've learned is the smaller parcels [00:29:00] obviously the deer, like you said, has a bigger range.
Let's say, let's take a 20 acre piece, for instance. And personally in Iowa, I like to put a little food plot out, maybe a little clover plot or something. So most of the pieces I hunt, I try to have a food plot on them. And just help increase that odds of making that deer come to my 20 acres.
But a lot of it is you really don't need just the biggest piece because it, I used to look across the fence and say what I wouldn't give to hunt that farm over there, that 300 acres that my little 20 acres butted up against. And I've learned in the, 11, 12 years that I've lived in Iowa, I really, actually do better when I can't get over there because those deer are comfortable there.
and I just basically gotta wait 'em out and play their game and let them make a mistake. And years ago I would've went after [00:30:00] 'em. Let's say, like you said, a big piece of public and where you can actually move on 'em. I don't always think that's, from my experience, I don't think that's always good because any, all of a sudden, you go deeper into his area where there's nobody intruding you might not bump them in person.
My theory is, they come through there and trail cameras don't lie. Going back to, Radis I have the luxury of running lots of trail cameras and I run the majority of mine on video mode. So I can see I learned so much more and I can see how the deer react, et cetera.
And a lot of people I don't think understand how touchy those big deer are. You might still be getting pictures of him, et cetera, but the more you push into where he's. Sleeping or spending more of his time, that's when you know what I call pressure on a big deer. And me not having access to those bigger pieces and hunting the smaller spots [00:31:00] keeps, I think, increases my odds because the deer stays around there and he just, I'm not intruding into his area, his comfort.
Absolutely. That makes a lot of sense to me because you're talking about if you're gonna move on a mature deer, you better have a calculated move that they're not gonna see you here you, or smell you regardless of its private land or public land. Because, a lot of guys talk about being a mobile hunter and that kills deer.
I, I believe that if you're mobile, it's probably going to deter scent going in the same places. And if you're bouncing onto the right places. But the parameter in my mind still stays the same. That you don't want deer to see you here, you or smell you and get them off of that comfortable daylight pattern.
Yeah, exactly. And that's just my thought. I know you can get away, let's just say we kinda exclude the the rut and maybe a little bit you can get away with more. They're running around, et cetera. But I guess my thing is prior and after, prior to the [00:32:00] rut, let's say October, and then maybe after the rut, they get a little finicky again.
But there is a couple weeks there you can get away with being super aggressive and diving into where they, they are. But I guess my p I kill a lot of my dear in October before they even know what's happening. You just gotta be there. Goes back to being patient and hunting the smaller parcels.
If you really like big deer, just be patient and let them make the mistake and don't go after 'em. A lot of people, I think just from and my own experience, like you asked me what I do differently. Not did in Pennsylvania, I didn't have the patience. I would be too aggressive, too early and wouldn't let them make the move.
And now I sit back, watch my trail cameras, watch everything, including how I go in my wind. I try not to walk where they can even smell me in the evenings or at night. I'm sorry. When they come through there, I try to. And there [00:33:00] again, just to clarify, I hunt smaller parcels and a lot of them do not have much woods on 'em at all.
I've learned those are the better pieces for me when I don't have any timber and I just get 'em on the edges where I can hunt, my little food plot or where they walk along the edges doing, working their scrapes. . So I have very little intrusion, and I think that really helps me stay on big deer every year.
But as quick as you dive into there where they're little, what I call their comfort zone, you're flirting with making, moving. And a lot of people don't understand how smart they are. They'll come through there at night and they are sniffing every branch. Everything, every step you took, and they're putting that in their little computer, in their head and it can change him just like that.
And the snap of a finger. . I think it's easy to underestimate , the importance of that nose on a whitetail and what they're using that for. Yeah. And what they could process. I think if we had any [00:34:00] idea what they could smell on a daily basis , it would completely change our thought process when hunting.
Oh, a hundred percent. If you can eliminate a lot of that where they can smell you, I'm telling you from my experience, and obviously I'm learning every day, but I'm gonna tell you that is I can't stress enough how super smart and how important that is. And man, I've seen some of in front of my camera at night where I was checking a card or something that, that day before.
and they are just standing there video after video. And I'm talking a big deer of, that he was just r just smelling everything. He sniffed the ground. He wasn't spooked or nothing, that's the thing. And they don't always just blow out of there, but they are definitely reading what any sign you they, that you have left and you almost can't beat their nose, , the more you can eliminate of that, oh man your [00:35:00] odds are just gonna get better. And then, don't be too aggressive as obviously you guys have more luxury of, bigger pieces. I do too here in Iowa, but I've just learned, I actually target the little pieces because I do better. It keeps me.
making dumb moves. . And it's actually been, it's just been so much better for me when you try to hunt a big piece. It is completely different versus when you're not allowed to go any further. . Yeah. There's a discipline aspect to that. Do you have a, do you have a favorite time that you like to target mature deer throughout the year?
Or is it any time of the year that they're gonna be daylighting? Like I, I was curious if there's a time you just prefer more than, the, from the beginning of season to end. I'll tell you what. So o obviously in Iowa October 1st is when our season opens. And ever since I lived here, I had very good success the first week.
And it is just a point where, they're getting back in their groove. Let's say the 1st of September they lose their velvet and then all your [00:36:00] cameras die in September and you're like, where'd they go? And then October they start getting a little bit more consistent.
I don't know, after they lose their velvet, they scatter here in the Midwest. . And that's just, like I said, other people might say different, but from my experience, they kind of scatter. Your camera's done. You're like, oh, my work, where do all my shoot, my big bucks go. And in October 1st, around the October 1st, you start having some that are making themselves at home in an area and okay, this guy's gonna stay here.
And a lot of people overlook should maybe not in Iowa, but a lot of people are like, maybe friends and so on. They're like, oh, it's just too warm, et cetera. I'm not, I wanna go closer to the rut. And a lot of people miss that first week of October. . And then obviously my second best would probably be just before the rut last week or so of October.
They're very consistent on their feet, but but a lot of my favorite times of all would probably be the first week of October. [00:37:00] Interesting. And it's just an overlooked time. It can be a little warmer, but boy, if you can find a big deer, he's probably gonna keep doing, he's probably gonna do the same thing almost every night.
And it's just a killer time to shoot a big deer. I have a little bit of a different question, different avenue I want to take with this next question I had. Yep. So let's go back to the basics. Whatever essentials that you and I would agree upon that are needed for hunting. Being a bow hunter, so I'm just, basically I'm thinking your boots, the clothing on your back, your bow, your arrow equipment set up and your hunting license and a knife for dressing.
Beyond that there's not a lot of true essentials you need in order to truly kill a deer. So if we go with that mindset of whatever those bear essentials are as a bow hunter then , in addition, I say I'm gonna give you the ability to have one additional tool in order to harvest mature.
Like what is one tool in [00:38:00] addition to your bear essentials that you find the most value when it comes to chasing mature deer? , I know we're getting a lot of debate on this item, but a hundred percent a trail camera, . Yeah. And not just because, we sell trail cameras, but that is by far the best tool you can have.
and there's a lot that goes into running trail cameras that I've learned over, the last 10 years. And it's kinda like hunting, you can get good with trail cameras. , obviously here in the Midwest and obviously Iowa, it is a little easier. You can put a food plot out and probably get a picture of a, your target deer.
But overall it is no doubt your trail camera is gonna, and then obviously there's people that can get, anybody can get a picture of a big deer. That's how, that's just the word here in the Midwest. Anybody can get a picture of a big deer, but you still gotta, to kill it. There's a whole completely [00:39:00] different story.
So there, but as far as for me personally there is no other tool that gives you more information. and I always say trail cameras don't lie. . , you have a picture of a big deer. It's up to you to what to do with, how you wanna go about chasing that deer. Yeah. I like what you're saying about cameras don't lie, but I think there's definitely something that, that to be said when it comes to interpreting trail camera information.
You said you run yours on video mode. I've noticed that a lot of people who are darn good deer killers say that. And I'm curious your thought process and how, and also how you manage that with a number of cameras. Yeah, that's obviously it takes a lot of batteries if you're gonna run 'em on video mode, but but no, it is it, you learn so much more about the deer.
Each deer is almost like a person. They act different. They operate differently. They're just, every big deer is different. Some are, I call 'em [00:40:00] softies. Some of 'em are still soft. And, the way they, and there again I'm completely different and probably most people, I've studied deer since I was younger and I just been fascinated with deer.
So I've watched deer back since I was in Pennsylvania. I would go out in the evenings and study, or watch deer with a spotting scope. And I've learned that there actually, and this is nothing new. I'm sure anybody that likes big deer whatever, will tell you the similar things.
But big deer are all of their, they're nature different. Some are like just on edge, and they're like that from, two years old. They're just a edgy little deer. Then you got these, 200 inch deer that are just softies. And you. . And so going back to the video mode versus a photo will just take a picture of that deer.
That's just one of the things. But over the summer, let's see it. I'm gonna just put myself in Iowa here. I get to see these, this big deer almost every night on my trail [00:41:00] cameras, and but if I would only be getting pictures of him, I really couldn't read that deer. What type of deer is this?
Is he gonna be tough to kill? Is he gonna be and by running a video mode, you learn what type of deer he is. Just how he's natured. And that only leads to all the other things that I learned from video mode is which way is he coming, which way is he going? Where a camera won't tell y'all with won't always tell you that.
And the information, if you can reach a read a video versus a photo, There's so much more information packed in a 22nd video than a single photo or a photo burst. , it's, and it, and that's another thing. It's, it's not for everybody. I just enjoy big deer and I'll sit here and I'll study that trail camera and let's see how a deer walks to a scrape and how he acts.
And it, it's probably some stuff I really can't explain, but I [00:42:00] read every deer, like how they're natured and so on, and that's kinda how I apply how I hunt him then. . And like I said, that's, it's probably stuff I can't even really explain. It's just stuff that I've kinda been doing since I've, been what, 14, 15 years old?
. Yeah. It's a lifetime of learning. Yes. And it's just I don't always have answers for what I do, the reasons I do what I do, but A lot of it is because I run my TRO cameras on video mode. I know the deer, I know how aggressive I need to be. Like I said, I have some deer that just, they're just like I tell 'em, I tell, my wife or somebody when I'm watching the video, I say, man this deer's just a big old baby and a big softie.
Just the way he operates . And, that deer might be a little to me easier to kill than a high wired deer. You have some I've chased some 200 inch deer here in Iowa that were, they were just, oh man. They almost wouldn't make, I [00:43:00] barely ever got a daylight picture of him.
And they were wired completely different. That's probably why they worked 200 inches. But it is, every deer is natured. They're almost like people. They're. Nature different. And I read that because of, to answer your question about the trail camera video and yeah, just the information that is packed in, like I run my trail cameras mostly on 22nd videos.
And the information that's packed in that 20 seconds really will help you become a better hunter in my book. Interesting. Sorry, sorry about giving you the whole runaround on that video thing, but Yeah, I could go on and on about why I do that. I very seldom run camera on photo mode anymore, unless I'm just not in, if I'm just trying to get pictures of Deere or maybe I'm not chasing one, I just wanna say battery.
, I still will do a couple but 99% of my cameras, I will [00:44:00] run 'em on video mode when I'm hunting just because I want all the information I can get. So then that begs to ask me the next question. How do you set the delay up? Or what's your theory on delay? Does that change from location to location with the camera?
Not really for me. Obviously I have a, I'm spoiled. I do have access to cameras, battery, solar panels more than the average person obviously. So I have the luxury of that. So I actually keep my delay at five seconds. And I might get a lot more than, and I run, 30 majority of my cameras.
I run 32 gig cards, and then I will check them every, about every two weeks, just, that's just how I, how I do. And I check, obviously I go in, I have the luxury with my business and. To check him at lunchtime. I check mo 99% of my cameras I check at midday.
Just for [00:45:00] scent reasons. And if if the sun's out, it'll burn your, send away a lot more than, if you go in at three o'clock in the afternoon just a little before they get up, move around, so I try to always do the midday thing. And so yeah, just, I have, like I said, I have the luxury of that, so I keep mine at five seconds.
I try to get as much information as I can. I get a lot of nonsense videos, of 20 videos of the same deer standing in the same scrape, , before he walks off. But yeah, so I'd probably look at it a little different than if I would wouldn't have that opportunity to have, the batteries, the solar panels versus an average person that has the.
Only can get a handful of them. No, I, it's a little easy. I can definitely, I respect that answer and that makes sense because you're getting as much information as possible, and I like that. And that's you talking about trail cameras being so important in your hunting strategy part of the reason why you got into th this, and I think that's a [00:46:00] great segue.
I'd really like you to talk about the cameras that you have available. Talk about your products and, how you position them in the market. And, what makes Radix the awesome camera that it is, because, I'm excited, this. cat out of the bag on this one that you know we've been fortunate to I'm anxious to, to work with you this year and use some more of your cameras and I'm really excited about that.
And I think that'd be great for everybody listening to this to to just hear hear it from the horse's mouth your experiences with these these cameras and the awesome successes with them. Yeah, absolutely. No, I appreciate that. Like I said obviously when I designed the, probably one of the better ones would've been the Gen 600.
We had a couple models prior to that and they were all good cameras, little higher quality photo and video mode videos than maybe some of your average brands out there. Obviously when it comes back to getting information to hunt, and I'm a type of guy, I like to see nice [00:47:00] videos, nice photos, and so that's what I, when I.
Start at Radis. I want to have basically a premium, excuse me, a premium camera that does, top-notch video, audio, everything. And I think we've kinda reached that point. I am, we are working on the 700 the gen 700 that should be available later this summer. And that one is 4k. And honestly, a lot of people say, it's hard to, it's gonna be hard to beat the 600.
And as far as audio and video it's probably one of the, the better ones out there for video mode. It's just and there again I want to create something that you can get as much information as you can and I want a top-notch video to do that. That's what, how I set out to, to Filled something and it took a lot of time, a lot of different, if maybe not everybody's familiar with how it works, but it took months and months, actually , I should say, over a year of [00:48:00] just testing different firmwares to get it, to tweak it.
It just took a lot of time. And we just it's probably more than I probably would've needed to put into it, but I want something that was premium and I feel we re kinda reached that. And I'm still trying to up it a little bit with 4k this year. So fingers crossed we're doing testing as we speak, but no, I wanted something that when I have it on video mode, that I can get to see everything, hear everything.
And I think as far as reaching that, point we definitely hit it and a lot of people. Really love our cameras for the video mode. Absolutely. That is one awesome attribute to the cameras. And there's a a, a quality that's really not talked about when you compare to other companies.
And I I can echo that one, one thing I'd be curious too, there's, a lot of people talk about how they use cameras and how they position cameras because and this is something that I don't I will say that I am not as experienced at as I should be, or I [00:49:00] probably don't pay attention too close enough.
But people talking about cameras, spooking deer and how to position cameras and why certain cameras are better than the others, do you have any input on that? That is obviously people won't won't quite understand look at it the same way as I do obviously. It goes back to the point where I said deer and nature differently, each deer.
And yes, cameras can spoke deer, but what a lot of people don't understand and obviously I might stick my foot in my mouth here, but I'll tell you what I've learned with deer and you can take it or leave it, but most people think that cameras spook gear now. And I'm just gonna say it this way.
Every camera goes to sleep and when a camera goes to sleep, it basically powers down to save battery. So it [00:50:00] basically goes into sleep mode. And what spooks more deer. I'm not saying all the deer, but what if a deer spooks from a camera, every camera on the market that I'm aware of will make a click when it wakes up.
that click will spook more deer than a white flash or a red glow or anything like that will, that's just my experience. And it, it's that clicking sound of that camera coming outta sleep mode and that will alert a deer more than the light. Of a camera. Cause I used to run
I used to back in cutback, had their white flash cameras. I would used, I usually would run them. And I had, 180 to 200 inch deer licking the cameras while this camera was flashing in their eyes. And believe it or not, I think some deer are actually attracted to it. . Cause I would have [00:51:00] deer walk across a field to my camera.
and it was flashing in their eyes. And I have pictures of 'em, right up in basically licking the camera, working the camera with that camera going off in their face. And there again, that deer pipe didn't care about it. But to answer your question, positioning cameras, et cetera for good photos that's a whole nother subject probably.
But as far as positioning cameras to not spook gear yeah, you could put 'em up high, shine 'em downwards point 'em downwards, that probably would help. But I think the biggest thing that people don't understand, your general p your, your average person that doesn't really understand how cameras work are thinking that flash, et cetera, is gonna spook deer.
From my experience, it's more the click of the camera. Waking up is what spooks more deer than any flash wheel. I really, no, I don't know if you've ever heard of that , but I know there's a lot of talk out there about, these cameras spooking deer. But[00:52:00] I think just from my experience in working with cameras, that camera coming out of sleep mode will spook more deer than any flash.
I I think I definitely would agree with that. And the thing that I've, this is just my opinion that I formed about Whitetails , and it's very general statement. I just feel that whitetails, they don't process stimuli the way humans, they don't have that high level of intellectual thinking.
They, what they can do is they can associate a negative stimuli and a positive stimuli. And what I've often wondered, and this is my theory, are there places in the country due to hunting pressure due to the things in the neighborhood, is there a possibility that. That has influenced a negative stimuli to the herd with a camera.
It's possible. . But do you know the clicking sound? Yeah. That's a sound that's unnatural and I think sounds spook [00:53:00] game a little bit quicker than stuff with sight. But that's, , that's not a rule of thumb. It's just my general observation. But, the unnatural like flashing, glows, things like that.
That's not a normal like that's not a natural occurrence. Anytime a nat, an unnatural occurrence happens, if it doesn't harm them a lot of the time, I don't think it's a negative stimuli now for some reason. They could associate that with a negative stimuli then.
Absolutely. I would believe that. But I sound is one of those things that's a little bit different. . Yeah, I think so too. And like I said, you're so right. And def definitely don't want to throw it out the door that some areas, higher pressured, maybe public lands even just the visual of a trio camera hanging on a tree, they'll pick that up.
, don't get me wrong, even if that thing didn't even make a noise or a flash even in the daytime, I have some deer here that don't belong where they're, let's say I have a new deer show up and I know he doesn't belong there. The first thing [00:54:00] I see him doing even in the daylight is he'll stand there and he'll check my trail camera out cuz he knows it doesn't belong there.
He doesn't belong there. So he's a little nervous already. And he's outta his box . And so they're definitely gonna be a little more fidgety about that. But as far as. If I would say in general the noise I always go back to the noise is probably the biggest factor, from all the states that I hunt Kansas, wherever the waking up of the camera, it doesn't sound loud to us, but you put a camera in a quiet room and you can let it go to sleep and put your hand in front of it, it's a pretty loud click.
And a lot of people probably never even noticed there is a click and and some are louder than the others, et cetera. But, if I put everything in a box and say what is the biggest factor for me, it probably would be that there again, there are so many factors from, they might have had a bad experience.
There might be a young guy [00:55:00] going out and putting cameras out with his. , I just got back from eating Casey's pizza and he got pizza grease all over his camera and , he's been pressuring this deer and all of a sudden this deer's oh that's, that thing that where that guy's going.
It might associate it a little bit more as a danger and I would say higher pressured, states probably that your odds increase where they'll say, oh, that's something I don't wanna be around. But as far as Iowa, as far as Iowa, I would say, my biggest thing is the click clicking noise, cuz I can have a deer basically be walking past the camera and that thing clicks and I can just see 'em tense up a little bit and they'll stand there and look at it.
and then they'll do their thing. Like they just noticed it and it doesn't spook 'em off or nothing, but some states I, I could see it doing happening. And like I said the click is something that I think now that you mentioned that I think I want to pay a little bit more attention to that.
But, me coming from Pennsylvania, having [00:56:00] experience with a multitude of hunting environments and we are a highly dense state of hunters, I would absolutely echo everything you're saying as far as what deer do. I think that it just comes down to do they associate it with any negative stimuli outside of the camera.
And then the other thing I think is a big component to this is something we talked about earlier in our conversation, and that's deer are individuals and they're all wired a little bit differently. And how one deer reacts to a camera might be different. And I can think of there, there's one buck in particular.
I won't talk about this buck too much, but a buck that I was part of that. He lived his life listening to us go past him on equipment throughout the calendar year. I learned where this deer spent a great deal of his daytime betting time. And he was, yeah, always within earshot of people.
He was, he, we had more pictures of that deer than any other deer [00:57:00] that, that I've been a, a part of pursuing. And his demeanor of that environment and where those cameras are placed is completely different than, other deer that I've, and I just think that's a, an important thing to note.
Yeah, absolutely. And it's, yeah, I can't express enough, you can't put your finger on just one thing because like you said, they live in different areas. Some deer are more comfortable round people and noise. and let's say smells and whatever else. And even in Iowa, we don't have quite the hundred density as you do, but it is amazing where they get comfortable.
And I could tell you stories too of deer that even in Iowa that have been around people and obviously the one I killed this year by my house, I think he lived here all, all his. That's where we found his sheds were, was a hundred yards from my house. And my children are out there playing. And nobody would chase him [00:58:00] where he was.
And even me, I was overlooking it. He was comfortable there. He, the road, the, there's always traffic going and, as you said, noise and he made himself at home there and he was comfortable there and a lot of people overlooked that. But yeah, you can't really put your finger on one thing.
And it goes back to what we talked about earlier. They're all nature. It's so different that you're just gonna have to kind and there again, let's throw that trail camera in there on video mode. It'll tell you the nature of that deer quicker. It might help you make different decisions on how you wanna hunt them.
. And there again I can't tell you exactly why I do what I do on everything. , because it's just a. I still scratch my head sometimes. Why I do what I do. . It's funny you mentioned that because not only do I scratch my head, why do I do what I do, but my wife scratches her head in what I do.
That that's very common for me. . Yeah. That is very true. I'm [00:59:00] sure my wife does too. Pipe pulls her hair out too. . I don't see any bald spots yet, but we haven't been married long enough, , right? That's true. . Oh man. We do you and I do a good job of getting off on and just talking about deer and I wanted to continue down the road of talking about Radix products.
We're talking about your cameras and we didn't even talk about cell cameras and you've got some other stuff that's really cool and unique to Radix hunting and, I let the floor open to let you talk about that here before before we let you go. . Yeah, absolutely. I know I've taken up a lot of time.
I appreciate you having me and like I said yeah, we have, as far as Radix, we started with trail cameras and I'll be trail cameras. I always will to have trail cameras with Radix, but it is a saturated market as from a business standpoint. I knew that, hey, if I, wanna do this and for a living I probably need to expand some of my product lines.
And we started with a soft shell blind as comes with a 10 foot tower. And we started off with [01:00:00] that after the trail cameras and kinda added that to our product line. And that has been accepted very well. I think we've been selling them for four years and it's been great.
And then we added a hard shell line to the product line. and that's been going really great. We're super excited about that. It's our first full year of selling hard shell blinds and yeah, it's it's just been awesome and trying to keep 'em in stock has been a lot of fun. But like I said we're learning a lot of things as we broaden our, our view of products or line of products. And but for 2023, we I wanted to add basically majority of the products that I personally use from ladder stands to steps to hang ons to ground blinds, just basically the whole nine yards that'll be available later, this early summer.
So yeah, we're super excited. We've been working and that's probably another reason why I haven't gotten to do as much shed hunting, et cetera, but that's part of it. Once I'm excited to, [01:01:00] to launch those products later this year. Yeah. And I'm gonna be anxious to have you back on to talk about some of those products and how they're, because Absolutely.
Because one thing that I one thing that I will, I've said, again I do some private land hunting and I think this is a whole other podcast in him and of itself, and that's talking about those blinds, blinds have a bad taste in some people's mouth, and I understand the reasons why people say that, but at the same time, you want to talk about, in my opinion, one of the most valuable tools when it comes to hunting food plots. Man, in my opinion, it's hard to beat. Be blinds like that, especially the hard side of blinds where you've got the ability to have good gaskets and have windows that are silent that you can open.
To me, that is so valuable. And I think, and I know we talked about this one other time, that's one thing that you really value in the blinds that you produce. Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. Blinds have really changed it and, I definitely don't wanna take the credit. I think I [01:02:00] would say a lot of the credit should go back to the juries mark jury and Terry, they started with kind of the blind thing, I think as far as using it for your benefit.
I think hunting vibes have been around for a long time, but obviously we don't want to get on that subject too much. I'll talk for another hour, but going back to what you said is it's kinda like running trail cameras. Once you figure out how to set up your blind on a food plot, even just a small plot the luxury it gives you as far as, getting away with movement scent, et cetera.
Oh man there's just endless possibilities. You can get away with a blind, right? To increase your output, making that shot. And yeah there's nothing like sitting in a tree, don't get me wrong, I still do a fair share of sitting in a tree, but I definitely have kinda inch more towards using the blinds more and more , not just because I sell 'em.
I just see the advantage, I the advantage you have. Staying there longer in [01:03:00] weather, et cetera and everything included from scent to movement to everything. Just so much to value to using them. Oh, exa, absolutely. It's like for me, like you, you said it best if I had to choose my pick as far as the level of enjoyment when we're talking about going hunting and just like the the aesthetics of deer hunting. Like you can't beat being, being in a tree. Stand the flatout. I will say that. But I will say in my experience, if I don't know what it's like where you're at in Iowa, but I can tell you right now if the forecast is a west wind and a lot of the places I hunt, it might be dominant outta the west, but winds swirl here with our topography in our landscape, like a lot.
And yep. There's nothing worse than sitting on a food plot in a tree stand and have swirling winds. Bust your hunt. And I would tell you what, when it comes to just the level of encounters, Of mature deer that I've had and the success in actually connecting and killing a mature deer I will.
Wholeheartedly [01:04:00] put that into a blind. And I, like I said, I think that's something that we'll have to we'll have to elaborate on more at another time, but I want, I just wanted to make that that statement because the blinds that you produce are of that quality and of that standard.
And I really appreciate that. And we'll, like I said we'll get, we'll connect again later this year and talk more about the, those products and how to position. But I'm really I'm really excited moving forward, talking with you. Connecting you with you. And I, again, I really appreciate you taking time outta your day and chatting with us and talking mature buck hunting and trail cameras and everything.
Yeah, no, absolutely. I appreciate you having me. And like I said I'm just talking from my experience and what I've learned definitely don't Think I classify as knowing at all. But like I said I definitely love and sharing. I don't share a lot, honestly I've learned with big gear.
You, you can't have too many friends , so I don't share as much as I probably should. So this is kinda interesting. I don't, like I said, I don't share, I don't share a lot, but I don't mind sharing. It's just you [01:05:00] kinda become a loner when you, if you like chasing big gear. It's probably a little bit more of a one man game and you kinda grow into.
Just hunting by yourself. And so yeah, it's it is fun talking about it cuz like I said, I don't share a lot about it, but I definitely enjoy it a absolutely. And that's a fine line that I try to walk because, I'm doing this show, I wanna bring quality information that's entertaining, inter informative and stuff.
And I try to relate my own personal experiences, but I've been in those situations where you're targeting deer and you don't wanna say too much because again, it's, that's just a hard line we walk in. I hunt with people and I know people that feel the same way and you don't want to give out too much information and you know what of all things they're right.
I don't disagree with 'em at all. It's, but for the fact that you are willing to chat about some we'll try and we'll try to make sure that in the future we don't let the cat outta the bag too much. We don't want to give away all of your secrets. No it's [01:06:00] fine.
There's, there's a lot of space. I tell people it's dumb that we're fighting over deer. There's a lot of deer, but, deer deer do funny things. I'd just say deer do funny things to people, and I've been on, the bad side of it. So I've just kinda tried to find that balance, where, you can still have friends and still enjoy chasing big deer.
But like I said, it. . It is funny what deer do to people. deer do crazy things to me, to be honest with you. And the pursuit of a mature, I've said this so many times, I'm gonna say it again, the pursuit of a mature deer. There's nothing wrong with it, but at the same time, you gotta keep your priorities in line, in order Absolutely.
For that to not get ugly. And one of the things I'll just make mention of, we talked this whole entire time about mature deer, but at the same time, one of the first things that you brought into your conversation when you moved to Iowa was you moved there with consent and the blessing of your wife and went there to Yep.
To be part of a community that You know, part of your church and your church community, which was the [01:07:00] foundation of everything. And that is something I talk about on this show so much. And I don't really care what deer, where you hunt or what you're hunting throughout the country, that is the core principles and foundation of life.
At the end of the day, who cares how many big deer you have on your wall? There's a lot more important things to that. Absolutely. That's exactly right. And, if it wouldn't be for my family support, my wife's support, she supports what I do. And she like I said, without her, and it I couldn't be doing what I'm doing.
And obviously our church family as well, we have a good church family up here. And it is it's great. But like I said that's where it starts. You don't have that be behind you. Yeah. It wouldn't be the same for sure. Bingo. Hey, I think that's a perfect way to end it on that note real quick I know you're not the social media guru that some of us are, but I would at least to throw it out there.
Where are the places that people can connect to find [01:08:00] information about radis? And just a, an asterisk behind that you're gonna see that stuff on my page pages and all the places you can follow Pennsylvania woodsman you'll also get those links and connections too. But, I'll just want you to throw that out there before we go.
Yeah, absolutely. So for the hunting products for Radix products, it would be just you can go on our social media pages. We do have radix hunting on Instagram and Facebook, and then also our website. Our website's a little bare right now. We are doing some in between some orders.
It could be a little bare as far as what products are available, but you can go to ww dot radix hunting.com. And then also for trail camera mounts you can go to ww dot stick and pick.com. And that is mostly trail camera mounts. And like I said, all of them are on social media, which would be Instagram and Facebook is where we do a lot of it.
So yeah, you can interact there and if you have questions, feel free to give us a shout on any of those platforms and we'll [01:09:00] be happy to help any way we can. Fantastic. Fantastic. Hey, thanks again. And hey, I'm looking forward to connecting with you again, and also best of luck chasing them them thunder chickens.
All right. I'll keep you updated and same to you. Thanks for having me.
