Last 7 Days Wk 3

Returning guest Shane Loney joins Michigan WIld to recap the last 7 days of bowhunting with Nate. Shane does give a quick recap of his season so far which consisted of passing a couple 3.5 year old deer along with some tough hunts. Shane is targeting 3 separate bucks, but this last week he struggled getting on them. He shares a few observations with why he has struggled and the direction he plans on going for the upcoming week. Shane did have 2 successful doe kills already this fall and broke down each hunt. Nate then shares how the week started in a similar fashion for him and how he quickly adjusted. That adjustment paid off when he ended up killing a buck October 22, 2023. 

Look out for next week's episode on Michigan Wild for a full breakdown of Nate's hunt and how he killed a buck he has hunted since 2019. 

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

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[00:00:00] Welcome to the Michigan wild podcast.

We're just here walking around. We're going to go set a tree stand. Don't worry. My dad's weird. He never shot a huge buck. I just shot a fricking big buck.

Oh, you got a. Go get that one, Henry.[00:01:00]

Right here. The size of Michigan Wild. This is going to be the last seven days week three. And I have returning guest Shane Loney. He did not make the drive this time. I would have felt pretty guilty if he did that twice. But we have Shane here. How's it going, man? Doing well. How are you? Good.

I'm on cloud nine because the last seven days been pretty good for me. So a little bit opposite. I've had two debacles, but I do not have three debacles. So we'll get into that a little bit, but yeah, I just wanted to do a little quick hitter here with you. Cause I know you From talking to you in the past, the first few weeks, October is you're usually pretty aggressive.

And then the third week is a really tough week for guys and, technically the lull or whatever may be, but you can still be in on some deer or you can feel like you're in the middle of no man's land. So why don't you just quick, give us a, like a season [00:02:00] update for what you've seen and then maybe we'll just start things off with, and you could like, that's the whole, from October 1st, whatever, kind of some highlights if you have any.

Yeah. So it started out. Pretty solid. I passed two three year olds that were both the biggest year I've ever passed. One, both of them were probably right around one 30 yeah and one of them did get shot already backfired, but that's the game you play, but Yeah, so I, like one of the first nights I like went back and hunted one of my pretty good food plots and he showed up and I passed him and, saw a bunch of does, whatever.

And went and hunted it again like maybe a few days later, like the, towards the end of like the first week, maybe I didn't have much right in the beginning cause of how warm it was, but then once it cooled off, I've, started hunting a little bit more. And yeah, I went back in again and saw the one that 10 point that he almost got it.

He got to 25 yards and the heart was pumping. If he had hung around too much more, he probably, he might've gotten it. But but man, like [00:03:00] I've had a couple of there's one real nice one. I haven't had a picture of him since the second week of September talk to a neighbor though. And he got a picture of him not too long ago.

So I know he's still around. There's a 10 point that's got a kicker off his G2 that makes him 11. I've been getting some pictures of him. Haven't had a picture in probably four nights, five nights, maybe. He's just not right there. You know what I mean? They're for whatever reason. Maybe it's because of how many acorns have been dropping this year. Like the couple of properties that I hunt mainly, both of them don't have much for oak trees. And then like my main property, the neighbors have some real big ridges. I have a lot of oak trees. And one thing I've noticed in the past, like bumper crop acorns like this deer.

Especially when there's a lot of trees that really spreads them out and it's hard to concentrate them. And as, and you're not going to see them if you don't have those oak trees, as good as my food plots look and everything and little pressure I've put on them. I've probably hunted the one now four times.

I put a little bit of pressure on it.[00:04:00] But yeah, it's tough when you don't have them oak trees and them deer, they're just not right on me. You know what I mean? I, they're moving in daylight somewhere, like that one that I hadn't had a picture of since the middle of September.

Like I said, my neighbor got a picture of him and he saw him one night, probably like a week and a half ago now. And he saw him, it was like, he came out and he said it was like 540, so he was moving the whole. Last hour of daylight, at least, if not a little bit more. So it's one of them things that I feel like they're moving, it's just, they're not right on top of me, so it makes it hard to kill them.

The, yeah, those that's the, people. Sometimes asking like, how come you like, like the first two weeks, October so much, like it can be so it's difficult. You have to have the right property for one, like we've talked about and you have a really, you have a decent property, but then two, it's, it is hit or miss just because of the good one year, early October.

It doesn't mean it's going to be good every year and those acorns drop in, like I have a bunch of them too. And [00:05:00] it was, it's been funny cause I, when you attack a property early. In the year, let's say a 10 day window, you can just watch it change day to day. It's crazy. Like all of a sudden once they figure out that those, the acorns are somewhere and they don't, and it's weird.

They don't like all acorns. It's like certain ones they really keen on and then just spreads them all out. And when they're spread out in early season with lots of deer in the area, it's hard to hunt them because you're blowing deer out. You're, you don't want to get too aggressive because they're all scat.

Like you said, they're. The does and the spikes and the four pointers, they're just walking around three o'clock, four o'clock in the afternoon, scooping up acorns or whatever else it's hard to sneak into a good spot. It's hard. Yeah. It's just, it's hard to, when you've only got a couple of deer that you're willing to kill, and if they're not right on top of you, it makes it really hard to see them.

It's I've been seeing deer every time, especially them first couple hunts, I did see quite a few deer and like I said, a couple of three year olds and like last night I went. And saw a three year old and like another two or [00:06:00] three nice two year olds, and it's like you're moving, that's not the question.

It's just a matter of if they're right on top of you and, if you're where they want to be and, I run a lot of trail cameras and, you would think if I were getting some pictures or, if they were on me a little bit more, I'd be getting some more pictures of them, now, there is one other buck that I, haven't super like keyed in on, but he's a five year old. He's missing a back foot, so I've known him since 2020, he lost his foot his rack's grown goofy since, but the left side, if his right side matched his left side, he'd probably be like 138, 100, like low 140s, 8 point, so he's a nice deer.

And so it's I bet I early on, I was getting a lot of pictures of him, but I was, hunting towards the back for the mother, a couple of bucks. And I was like, yeah I'll make my way back to the front and kill him at some, or, try to kill him at some point. And then all of a sudden he just quit showing up on camera.

I was like, gosh, dang it. Like that, I might've missed an opportunity there. It was like every morning, just about. And so that's the thing too. You're so scared of hunting them in the [00:07:00] morning. I did get a picture of him last night for the first time in four or five days. So there's hope for him.

I actually might go in tomorrow morning and try to get them, but we'll see. You're in the, you're in the morning window probably. Like now that we're starting the fourth week of October, like I've, I only hunted, I hunted some mornings up until right today. Only two serious ones though.

Like the other ones are more like I'm just sneaking into a spot, overlook a big area or preset right by the house. It's just I want to go hunting and I'll see if I can shoot a doe kind of a thing. But yeah, when you're talking about the trail cam thing, I've. Or not necessarily that, but twofold, like with the trail cam picks and with trying to find a buck.

I've burned a lot of sits trying to go after the wrong deer, because, maybe it's a characteristic or I really dig how big he is or something. And then I've also, so then I've burned sits on that. There's probably more killable bucks, close by, but that's like what you got to do as a hunter, as your journey through the [00:08:00] fall, you got to make these decisions and whatever keeps you happy, but yeah.

So no doubt. So let's break down the last seven days. And how many hunts did you end up going on? I don't know. I've been a handful. I've, I have sat two mornings now. And I've had decent mornings, but I haven't seen any real good bucks or anything. I've hunted a couple evenings.

I hunted like probably about seven days ago. Man, I hunted a bean field. So I can see my beans, like the property I can hunt to the south, are all to the south of me. And from where I can sit, I can see the neighbor's beans to my north. And normally I go and sit that stand. I see 30 deer a night, cause just cause I can see so much.

And I only saw 15 and I, it just felt slow. I didn't see one two year old, but it's man, out of all these beans. Not one, like three year old or anything, and it was a pretty nice night, like weather wise it was cool and whatnot, but yeah, it was just it was a rough night, I, like I said, I've been going and seeing some deer just, like I said, the bucks that I want to kill just aren't right on top of me, I'm [00:09:00] hoping that change is coming up soon.

Yeah, and it's like one of those things like you understand this, but my confidence level is if he's here, I'm going to kill him, or I'm going to see him. But the problem is we don't have these giant chunks where you have a lot of opportunities. You can't necessarily like some spots I can like progressively hunt into the property, but like for the most part, it's you don't have that freedom.

You have to be strategic about it. So you could be thinking, Oh man, everything's right. Your access is great. When's perfect. You're set up good, but if he's not in this little betting pocket. You could do everything right. And you're never going to see them. So it's like such a game to try to get there, especially like what you're saying, like your movements slow because, at third week, October is a really difficult time to hunt because of what you just explained, acorns are starting to drop in places that you're not used to it.

There's. There might be a lot of other deer stacked up into certain areas. So you don't really feel like blowing into the place because then you're going to be, then why do it now when you can just wait a couple of weeks, maybe when it's a little more pre rut or [00:10:00] that November timeframe, so there's a lot of things that kind of stack against you.

The first two weeks of October, it's like, Hey, I got the early season pattern going on that really hitting green food sources still. They're still grouped up and they will move in daylight a little longer because days are longer and they're not pressured as much, but right now we're in that.

That mix this third week where they're starting to feel each other out. I don't know if you've seen like more scrapes or more rubs, but like the little bit of hunting I did, it just, yeah, just been blowing up, like with scrapes and rubs. So it's that hard time. But like you said, if you're not right on top of a deer, it's hard to hard to make a move and I hunted last Sunday and I had a very similar hunt to what you were talking.

I felt like I was in a good spot where I could see, and I didn't even see the first. The first deer until about 30 minutes before dark. And it was a little six pointer or something. And then after that, it was quick, like a bunch of does move through, but it was so late. So then I was like, okay something's changing here.

So then I waited and [00:11:00] I didn't, I hunted like another evening hunt, just like the last, Our behind my, or I can hunt behind my house, but it's like down the road a little bit, so I can see pretty far. It's mostly just like a, just a doe area. Sometimes I get a good buck. So that was like, I'm gonna go see if I can find a doe hunted there.

Not a deer. I got skunk first time and skunk there in a long time. So that kind of told me like, okay. Something's going on. And I just just assumed it was, the way the deer were, like you're saying is going through this change. So then I changed my approach and I waited until this weekend, like Sunday to hunt again.

So that'd be the 22nd. And it was, yeah, cause I had a, I think I had three bad hunts. Not like bad, like I screw anything up, but just like lacking movement when I want to see, so I was like, okay, there's something's changing. And I went in Sunday morning and had a great hunt. Like it's a sweet.

Little piece. I can like backdoor the property as a walk along ways. But I saw 10 does and one two year old buck and they were doing things like, perfect. It was a hanging, hunting a tree. I've never hunted until this year. And it was like, okay, light [00:12:00] bulb went off. They're no longer doing what they've been doing all year.

Like it's drastic change. And when that happens, you have to like it's discouraging. It can be discouraging or it can be like, yes, finally. That just depends on how your property is. Yup. And that's the thing too. I don't think there's so much of a lull. It's just a matter of they're changing so much, it's just a matter of staying on top of, whatever it is they're eating, whatever it is they're doing, exactly. But yeah and then I guess I'll touch base on here a little bit because I'll probably do a podcast later about this more in depth, but. So after seeing all those deer moves Sunday morning, and I'm like trying to kill a doe because my confidence is just low right now.

I have killed two does. You did? Nice. I should have mentioned that earlier. Yeah. Quick touch on those first. When did you end up shooting those? I was, I did take one little stab at that three legged buck, or, the one who's missing a foot there. And I had a doe come out and I was sitting on the ground actually.

And cause I was like an East wind and I don't have any stands up there for an East wind. I really don't have many good stands for an [00:13:00] East wind, just the way the property sets up, but I went and sat on the ground and actually worked pretty well. I had quite a few deer come out. And not see me, but this one doe, she saw me and she was blowing at me.

And it's right up in the front of the property, where that three legged buck hangs out. And I was like, she started blowing at me and she was at like 30 yards and she actually started coming closer and got to like 23 yards and stood there broadside blowing at me. I was like, screw this.

I'm shooting her. So I shot her. She goes. Yep. And then I had another one. I had a guy tell me that he he said, whatever deer you shoot, I'll, I'll take them. Yeah. All right. Sounds good. So I went and bought a couple more tags and had one come out and I really wasn't planning on shooting a doe, but it wasn't in like one of my good spots or anything.

She came out. And man, it was just too perfect not to shoot her, I just, I got all giddy and I was like, yep, bill wants to go. So I'm, she's going to be the one. So I heard it was actually perfect. I shot her. So there's this point that comes out in those field I'm sitting on and [00:14:00] She came out and, it's probably 70 yards from the edge of the woods, like where it drops down into the swamp, shot her, she ran.

And like where it drops off, there's the farm lane that I usually walk back. She literally jumped off of that and died right in the middle of the farm lane. So like I could drive right up to her. Didn't have to drive her anywhere. It was great. Nice. So you're feeling pretty good then. You got two dunk hills down.

Yeah. Yeah. So first shot on the ground broadside, how was that? Was that, have you shot a few deer with the bow on the ground before or ? No, not really that. So yeah, I've shot a few and it's definitely different yeah. Oh yeah. Where you aim, you got, you're not thinking of angles as much and they feel I bet that 23 yards felt like 10 feet, they feel somewhat closer that way.

Was that a good shot and stuff too? Yeah, she was actually quartering towards me just a touch and I had her a little bit forward, but she probably only ran like 70 yards. But she did get down into the cattail side. I don't know. I probably had to drag her like 80 yards, but she wasn't huge or anything.

So it wasn't too bad, [00:15:00] but then the second one, was that more of how was that shot? How'd that kind of play out? Yeah, I went through the top of her heart. Yeah. Yeah. Like I said, she was 27 yards. I shot her and like I said, it was perfect. She probably made it. It's at least 80 yards.

Cause she looped into the field and, heading back, towards the swamp and hit that, I think she was running dead, when she was sprinting and it drops off from the field to where it drops down to that farm lane and then to the swamp, I think she just.

Pretty much jumped right off of it and like face planted into the lane is what it looked like, effective. So now just because I just want to ask you, how low did you aim on these two deer? Not overly, I've watched the. The newest trends of where you need to aim on a deer.

And it's like almost in the leg, I have mixed feelings about it because I've also watched a lot of videos and had it happen where you think a deer is going to drop and they don't. I think when a doe is really spooky, she's going to definitely duck, but,[00:16:00] buck wise, man, I have a hard time getting myself to to aim low forward.

Like as far as, some of these guys like the hunting public's telling you to do it, cause if they don't duck, you're screwed and you hit where you're aiming, you were screwed. I'm aiming at the heart, I'm not aiming any lower than that. Okay. And if it's a real spooky doe, then yeah, I might aim a little bit lower, but like when a deer.

It's hard not to be hold on a kill spot. Yeah. But when, if I get a shot at a buck, I am not aiming at his leg, I can tell you that. Cause I'm asking cause that, that buck that Mr. Crabs deer I screwed up on. I aimed, I didn't even aim low enough for heart. I'm talking, I was. That was double long, all day long.

Never even thought about the accounting for that. So then, and then I was like a 29 yard shot probably. And he, Dini my arrow. So like I shot my doe early season, she was looking right at me cause I had like that at her. And she looked up, and I just pegged her and she, she went to leave, but it was more of a quartering two shots.

So when they go down, you're still like [00:17:00] driving into her. So yeah, I was just curious, like how your kind of mindset is on that because. I'm adding that to my repertoire of my like checklist in my head. When I pull back okay, you hit your anchor, you hit your, you look at your bubble, your site, maybe, or whatever that made me.

And it's okay, I need to be right there. And if it's over 25 yards, I'm going to do what you said. I'm going to just heart shoot him. Cause I've never been a heart shooter. I've always been a double lung shooter, like gun, all that stuff. So I think it's a good, I just like talking to other guys, and see what they like to do.

I think. Theory wise, I like, like heart, like low, it's low. Y'all if I knew that deer wasn't going to duck, I would aim top of heart, bottom lungs area, a third of the way, halfway up the deer, the fact that it's probably going to duck at least some, I'm definitely aiming low.

But, and a lot of guys are, like I said, like the hunting public guys, it's like almost the leg, and if you hit high, you hit the vital V they call it, but it's man, you, I don't know. I think [00:18:00] you'd take a little bit of risk aiming up there because I'm shooting a mechanical man.

So if I had a little bit back in the liver or something, that big old G5 is going to kill him either way. You know what I mean? But if I had the scapula, I'll probably not, I don't love how far forward they're telling people to aim, it is what it is.

Yeah. I think it's all depends on your setup, right? Them guys are shooting like I, I, until this year, I've been shooting a 630 green arrow with a, single, not single bevel, but fixed blade, one piece with a little bleeder, not invented, and. You can, I've zipped through everything.

It doesn't matter. I hit a doe one time and had four holes in her because she bent so far and a half. It went in and came out and had four holes and yeah, it was nuts. Cause she like accordion when I hit her, she had turned and looked at me and it went in by her front shoulder came out like her last rib and then went back into her like back leg and then out her same side.

It was crazy. Dude, it broke her hip in half. It was, it was like a 24 yard shot on a two year old doe. [00:19:00] So it was like this world's giant is deer. But if I would have, like I wouldn't even have attempted to shoot there with a mechanical, because like you said, just like from what you know, but back in the day when I shot mechanicals, I had a 400 grain arrow that was going through the air, not tuned either, there's a lot of different things, but like now I've shot court in two. So that's, I think it's set up related. If you're shooting a cut on contact head, you lose surface area. So like you need to tuck that thing where there's more stuff to hit because you have less of a cutting area, but yeah, like a big mechanical.

It's tough to beat that when you put that in the rib cage. The day I shot with mechanical, I just, I shot a buck Sunday night and I hit him with mechanical and the ribs perfect behind the shoulder. And it was, it's pretty impressive. I don't, you can't really beat it. At that point, it doesn't matter what you shoot.

If you hit them where you're supposed to, that's the thing, like if you miss forward, do you want to have a smaller fixed blade? But if you miss back, you want to have mechanical, I think he, I think you have. Cause I have thought about it a lot and I think you have [00:20:00] a lot larger, like a margin of error, shooting a fixed blade and staying back a touch.

And when I say a touch I'm talking, maybe not just not aiming at the fricking shoulder. Like these guys, like guys with a heavy arrow and, just right on the backside of it, right at the heart, and I think that to me, it seems like odds wise, the best thing to do.

So what are you, what mechanic, so not all mechanicals are create equal to me. How do you feel about that? Yeah, I haven't played around with a lot of them. Last couple of years I've shot the muzzy hybrids and I had pretty good luck with them. I shot two does in the guts and my buck last year in the shoulder with it and it killed all three.

Dude, I, yeah, I've been having some issues this year though. I was shooting, I went to shoot them. And I've been shooting, finding my field tips. I went to shoot the muzzies and they would flutter and go low. And I thought the blades were opening up. So I went and bought mega meats and turns out they're doing the same thing.

And I wouldn't do it unless I was like past 30 yards, like at the longer ranges, like 30, 40 [00:21:00] yards, it sounds like, huh, I guess I have an issue. So I went and. Had my arrows refletched and shot them, shot, have shot them again. And they're better, but that's not completely fixed in my opinion.

So I'm going to keep my shots, within 40 yards, which you should do anyways, but I don't know. I killed the one doe with the mega me. The first one and then the second one, it was before I got my arrows fleshed and I actually use my girlfriend's broadhead. It's, one of the, I can't remember the name of the style they call them, like you said, a single bevel, it's that same style, but it's not a single bevel.

Yeah. They're okay. And I shot her and that's the thing, I put it right through the top of her heart and I went, I walked where she went, like you could see in the beans where she plowed them over and then the trail she went into and there was hardly any blood, and like I said, I went through the top of the heart.

I don't know if there's something to that, or it's the fact that it wasn't a big mechanical, but I was, when I shot that double four, like I said, I hit her the first one, I hit her forward with the mega meat. And dude, there's blood [00:22:00] everywhere. It was the easiest track job you're ever going to have, so definitely a philosophical difference. What are you looking at to get I've shot. I've been shooting other than this year, the two deer I've shot this year, the bow I've shot fixed blades for the past seven years, six years. So I've been, and I've done different types of fixed blades cause I did, like ram cats and muzzy troll cars and, oh, I can't think just pretty much everything until I bought these really nice, they're the day six ones and I have flawless like I, I, the reason I like those so much is because they like pop a hole through the hide similar to a mechanical, like a, like when you shoot a deer, the mechanical, takes like a chunk out.

Yeah. So like you'll get a big triangle if it's a three blade or a big slice. And so I really liked that concept. I just dealt with very similar thing you're talking about. I got different, except I did different arrows and I didn't tune my bow to them correctly. And then I believe I am over spined cause I just, I messed up either how I ordered them or whatever.

Instead of buying full length shafts and doing it [00:23:00] myself, I use like a arrow ID thing builder. And I just a little over spying. So my arrows, wagon left and right, and then it plays with a fixed blade worse because you got like wings on the front. So that's why I'm shooting the mechanicals and yeah.

They shoot great out to 65 yards, so which is good. See. And it's crazy and I've got a couple buddies who are like actually really good with archery stuff and like I said, the two mechanicals I've shot, shot, have shot worse than that two blade. Single bevel style. What's that style called?

So you have like single bevel, then you have just like your regular, does it have bleeder blades or is it just no, it's just a straight up tube blade, like Indian looking head. What do you call 'em? It could be a, it could be a single bevel. I think you're right. It depends on the brand, but so my day six is their, they're dual beveled because they don't have, yeah, they're like a normal, so like just a normal, fixed blade.

I'm not sure. But are they vented or non vented? They are vented, yep. Gotcha. So anyways, those shot better at 40 yards that, and then the archery shop I was [00:24:00] at, they gave me them tooth a tooth of the arrow broadhead and those both shoot better for in that 30 to 40 yard range. I was going to shoot longer today.

But I I got cut short. My buddy showed up to hunt and he hunts behind my house and the horse lady who runs the pasture, she showed up too. So I went back and shot closer, but anyways, yeah, so I, I haven't totally, and you should have this crap figured out by now and I tell you what, I was shooting great or I am shooting.

Really with the field, and I shot them broadheads before the season, the muzzies and thought I had an issue with them. So I went and got the dead meats and I shot them at 30 yards and, 30 yards, everything's still good. And so I thought I was good to go. And I ended up shooting them at 41 day and one thing has led to another and I'm still in the rabbit hole.

Yes. What's fine. Were you shooting? So these, so the arrows are two 50 spine, the new ones, and they're like closer to five or just over 500 grains which they're dramatically lighter than my 630 green arrows, however, they're much [00:25:00] shorter, so Mike, my weight. My spine's the same, but they're just a shorter arrow instead of opposed, like almost a full length.

So I think what I need to do is just like load up the front a little bit more and you have a little heavier in the front because I just, I've never seen an error, like I've shot. Bows with like arrows out of tune. And you, if they're like flexing too much, they have a weird look and I'm shooting four flats and all this stuff.

So it should be perfect to fix blades, but I don't notice it until I put a nocturnal on and shoot low light. Like I can't pick it up, like shooting without that. And then it just, you can just see that thing going left and right. And then I had to end up shooting it through paper. I read, paper tuned it.

And like I said, I could shoot great groups like all summer. And it was really weird. Like when I was shooting the summertime with my broadhead, I was hitting good at 50 yards and like 35, 37 yards. And what was happening though, that in between range at 30 to 50, like if I was 40 or 45, I was like six inches off.

So I think my arrow was just correct. [00:26:00] Like the fletchings were correcting it soon enough, or we're just getting out or maybe it was just pure luck. I don't know why, but I can promise you if I was shooting. I'd never missed the little target at like 50 to 60 yards in the shots I did at 40.

I was almost missing the target going on. We've been doing this for a long time. Like we're not like me shooting an arrow is not a foreign concept. So I was just like, Perplexed with it. And, I ended up having to move my rest a little bit and got it shooting. I'm like, like I said, I'm shooting great groups still.

Everything's good. And now I just feel like my aero flights a little better, but throw a nocturnal on there and I can still catch it. And I've tried everything I've tried. Like I give it a break. Like I waited a whole day. I go in the night time, shoot it at the middle of the night with lights on, just to try to focus on that and just execute a great shot.

And no matter what I do, the arrow is just like wagging and with the broad head, like with the fuel point, I can't hardly tell it. It's there I don't notice. Only with a broad head on, yep. It's just a, it's just a crazy, fun game that we play. Yeah. But like you said, keep those shots under [00:27:00] 40.

I've big, yeah. I've never been a real big techie guy. I just kill shit, yep. Nothing wrong with that. By four 50 is like a pretty basic setup, but I, I believe in having a good scope, and I got a pretty good scope, Nikon and BDC, radical, whatever. Yep. And I killed deer 200 yards all day with it.

You know what I mean? And kill a bunch of them and save my bow, man. I've never really had this issue and here we are. And it, it peeves me off, hopefully we got it figured out enough to kill one. So kill one and then you'll, if not, then you'll be going down the rabbit hole. I'm sure, trying to figure that out, but no, I guess we'll just roll into Sunday night for me. So after seeing a great movement Sunday morning, I had the windows great. Like I was able to slide in. It's a cool little piece of property. I have a Crick access. So I snuck out of there and then got a bunch, had a bunch of things going on Sunday.

And it was getting to the time where I was like, I, if I'm going to hunt, I need to like, get going. So we were like, good to go. My wife and Henry were actually going to go to the in laws [00:28:00] and have pizza over there for dinner. So it worked out great for that. And I just looked at Henry and I was like, Henry, where do you think I should hunt tonight?

Should I go hunt by one of the food plots or hunt somewhere? Like where I hunted, this morning, he's dad, where'd you see all those deer? Cause I saw 10 does and a two year old buck, and he's you should just go hunt back over there. Cause that's where all the deer, that's where all the deer are like, you know what?

You're dead. Dude. And there's a lot more to the story, which I'll probably, I'll do the other podcast, but essentially I did another hanging hunt in a tree I've never been in before, just used the, use the quartering wind, like people talk about and this spot, the spot is good because.

Either between I remember saying this to the GoPro, I was going to film everything, but then I just left my camera in the bag. Cause it was a debacle getting set up and I was like super late. And I was like, that camera stand right in the backpack. But I never saying to it, I was like, I'm hunting here.

I feel good. I'm glad Henry told me to do that because sometime between now and like November, this place blows up with sign like rubs and scrapes. And [00:29:00] I never had this deer on trail camera. I shot him, he was grunting, he grunted so many times, it was so thick, I couldn't see him, I thought it was a button butt grunt, because I just heard so many grunts, and then he came out, lip curling, grunting, and bumped a doe right by me, and I shot him at 23 yards, like the textbook, yes, and then my whole season just went, just sky high but that, a couple things to take away that I want to talk about with this last seven days, yeah the late teens of October are rough, but as you get to 20th and on, it starts turning on, and you can, like you said, morning hunts are coming available, find those properties.

Cause I think I just, so sometimes I struggle the last, few days of October and the first few November, cause I usually don't hunt much more than that both seasons. Cause I always go out of state, for the premium times of November, I'm hunting in Illinois or wherever on the hunt trip.

I've just been behind, so I'll go and scout a spot. And they're just like, I'm talking, shredded [00:30:00] trees and, fresh scrapes and my mock scrapes started getting hit. And then I go hunt and I'm like three or four days behind, so this year I had the game plan. This is before everything else that happened to me.

The first bit of the year with the misses and the mess ups, my plan was to try to get into this area in this as soon as the 20th of October hit and throw some hunts at it just to figure it out. Cause it's I know they're in here. I've seen good bucks, just got to get it to figure out and it, dude, it paid off in a big way.

So I couldn't ask. It's tough to beat. Big old buck that comes in and you put a great shot on them and you hear him crash and you get to go back to the house and pick up your brother in law and your wife and your kid blood trailing. And it's like a carpet of red blood and it's tough to beat that, man.

So that's what it's about, man. Yeah, that's sweet. It can change in a minute, three bad hunts in a row to all of a sudden the best time of the year, that's what I was going to try to touch on is, don't let like this, like I said, I haven't had bad hunts, but I haven't had good hunts, and just got to remind myself don't let it discourage on I [00:31:00] haven't been pushing into real good spots or anything.

So it's it can change just so fast and you just got to keep your head in the game. And, this is the time of year that we all dream about and, come this, these next like three weeks. And it's this is what you dream about. Get your ass in the woods, hunt hard, hunt smart, and, let the cards fall where they may and don't, don't have any regrets about anything and what's meant to be will be.

Keep that big smile on your face and enjoy what we do. That's though, when you're, it get to the grind when you're grinding, then it's like November 9th and you haven't seen a shooter . It's oh my God. Do I know what I'm doing? I do. I know what I'm doing. That was two years ago. Yeah, that was me two years ago.

Man. There's that big one I told you about before was split G twos on in 2021. I didn't see him once and I was like tired of waking up early and this and that, then fricking 1045 on November 10th, there he is 40 yards. And, just couldn't get him killed. It's it can change that quick.

And during the rut, you just got it. Tell yourself that so often and stay after it. Yes, sir. [00:32:00] All right. I want to touch base on what your plan is the next week. Is there any days, have you looked at the weather? Is there anything jumping off? I know.

Yeah. So actually, like I said, I'm going to hunt tomorrow morning and then it's supposed to get warm, so honestly, I'm going to take these next few days to really make sure I have everything dialed in on my bow the way I want it. I like probably three days ago, I went to my one property.

I had a camera that dead batteries, then two cameras that fell off the grid. Needed us. Two new SD cards. Yeah, I already went and fixed them up on a day it was raining. So take these days and do that kind of stuff, especially we're supposed to get some rain, if it's going to rain, that's a good time to penetrate a farm, and read some sign get your stuff taken care of.

I got a spot that I can't hunt until like tomorrow actually is the day he told me I could start hunting that. And so I'm going to go get a couple of cameras up there and just read whatever sign I can. And just, take these next few days, like I said, to make sure that my bow is good to go.

And this weekend, the weather was looking like it was going to get [00:33:00] really cold. But I looked today and it looked like it got pushed back. And this weekend is actually going to still be a little warmer, but it's still going to be like mid fifties and it's going to go from like high of 69 to mid fifties.

So that's good. If you're around, you should definitely hunt that. But I think I'm going to go up north to the cabin. We got some things to do before opening day, some cabinets to put in and stuff like that. But the following week, like Monday, Tuesday, it looks like it's going to be them forties.

And so at that point, I'm just going to be balls to the wall as much as I, can, and hopefully something works out, yeah, dude. I like your mindset with that is exactly how I try to attack things too. I feel like it goes in waves. Like you're saying, you're just saying you have like your game plan for early season.

And then as you notice, your hunts are slowing down. You're like, okay, take advantage of, like you said, warm weather or rain days to go do your little scout. Try to figure out where the deer are. The deer are still moving. There's just somewhere else. Or you never know when a new buck will come in.

You never know when a bully will like a lot of times these bucks will get. The dominant buck [00:34:00] will push other bucks around or vice versa. He'll come into an area like the buck I killed the order. Yeah. The buck I killed, I've never seen this deer. If this is a deer, I think it is. This is, I've only seen this deer three times.

Well, honey, and since 2019, so he is. He is just that, and he's a bully. And when he rolls into a property, all my other deer disappear and then all of a sudden they come back and then he's nowhere to be seen. So it's a cool story and it's you can change like quick, but that was just, I had a game plan.

Like you had said, the deer were not doing what they were doing earlier. They were somewhere else. I was fortunate that I have great access to the back door, another property that's in proximity of the same neighborhood. So I was like, Hey, if they're not here, then they must be somewhere else. And then you circle the spot on the map.

It's like history is shown. They're here this time of year with trail cam data or sightings. And then you just go in there strategically set up. Yep. You go in there strategically set up and follow the sign and good things can happen instantly. So yeah, that's encouraging. [00:35:00] But yeah, thanks for doing this, dude.

Yeah, no problem. I wish I had a better news to report, from my hunts, but if you kill one, we'll do one like this and there'll be as good news as it can be. Yeah, I'll be, yeah, I'll be a whole new man. Yeah Hey, this is really relatable. This is relatable. Like I like doing these because this is talking to you guys.

We're just the same kind of people we love hunting. We, we got knock on door permission properties. Like I said, the buck, I shot this buck on a property that I got permission on. And what's crazy is I still have yet to kill two big bucks in the same property. This is another property. I've never shot one on and got them.

It's just, it's, that's like my circumstance, you're, it's relatable, so it's good. It's good stuff. And being relatable and you look at you've had a great hunt, obviously, and you killed them, I put in a lot of time, a lot of effort and I haven't had that great hunt, like I said, I've missed a couple of good ones early, this and that, but a lot of people, if you're listening to this and you're seeing the, you're seeing the, michigan buck pull, start lighting up with some bigger [00:36:00] bucks and you're not having good hunts. It's like that's a relatable feeling, because everybody has been there a lot. You know what I mean? Then you feel like it's starting to happen and you're like missing out on it or whatever. Just keep your head in the game and, don't overpressure things quite yet.

Let this warm front pass and, as soon as it gets cold, start getting a little bit aggressive and getting into some better spots, yes, sir. This is my first Buck of the Bowl since 2020. So I did have two tough years. And what you're saying that's happened to you this year?

That happened to me last year, some great three year olds that you let go, but to let them go, they'd come four or five eventually, and then they can all pay off, so it's just you're failing this year probably is how you feel, but really you're having a great success because you're not many guys get the opportunity to pass the three year old deer, which it's.

It's, I know what you mean, cause I've been there it's, but we were trying to strive for another goal and you have to do some really tough things. And it's Oh man it's hard. Like you said, that one deer, what would you say? 28 yards, 25 yards [00:37:00] broadside and you had to let them walk. Yeah.

25 yards. He's probably 130 inches. Yeah. Yep. It's a tough one. 10 point. Fair amount of mass. Yeah. It's probably one 30. Yeah, for sure. If it's the one that you said, yeah, that's a good, yeah, that's a point. And then the eight point I passed was pushing one 30 as well. Yeah. The guy who shot him, he, I don't think he's had 'em scored.

But I'm gonna ask him if I can go over there, score or whatever and, just see him. But he is only like 14 inches wide, but his G twos are both like 12 inches. Yeah. Big boy G threes are like, nine inches a piece and so he is, he was pushing one 30 too, I think. So it's yeah, it may, it is hard to pass, but hopefully it pays off

Yeah, dude. And it's, it, and I try to, like I always told myself when I went through these. These, a couple of years, like I had a five year drought one time, and then I went on a tear and then I had a, two year drought. I was thinking it was projecting to be a three year drought.

Like I was not feeling good as this year was going on, but I had, I always had to remind myself like, Hey, you are, you're not failing because you're having a plan. [00:38:00] You're sneaking in there, you're accessing and you get an opportunity to shoot you're passing, but you're have a three and a half year old buck come by.

You're learning stuff. You're that's a win. To an extent, not the same kind of wind is fist pumping. Yeah. No, he shot something, but it's still wins. So you're learning. And, one thing too, like there's some spots that I go and sit where I might not even have a shooter, but it's I need to learn this area because this is this area of the farm, because if one does show up next year, two years, three years, whatever it is down the road, I need to know where I can kill them.

So if you don't have shooters that you're, super excited about to go shoot, you should still spend a little bit of time, learning some different things, or if, you're hunting a certain buck and you've hunted them hard for three days and you feel like you're putting too much pressure on a spot, go change it up and sit somewhere else and learn that spot, that a great point, dude.

That is exactly what I did last year. And the property I saw Mr. Krabs, the 10 point I missed this year. He was, I saw him three times on this property and the property I kill my buck [00:39:00] on this year is that property. And I hunted it the way I hunted it because of what I learned last year. How they were using it.

Yeah, dude. It's you're preaching, man. That's like a great point. It's long game. We're playing the long game here. So yep. Playing the long game and just fricking when the opportunity comes hopefully it works out. Smack them. All right, man. Hey. Thanks for this and Hey guys appreciate you guys keep following Michigan wild and hopefully you like these little weekly updates.

Sometimes they're, structural different, but we're in the heart of deer season. And I do want to say going forward, I know I'm at the kind of stockpile some podcasts because everyone's gonna be gone out of town hunting and stuff. So if I do miss a week in there, it's because I didn't quite get everything done in time, but I'm trying my best to do it.

And I do appreciate everyone giving this a listen. It's been a lot of fun. I love talking to you, Shane. Doing this kind of stuff, it's getting me fired up, rejuvenated, learning and it's just good stuff, man. Good stuff. Yeah, I feel the same way. Like I said, I've been a little, not down, but just yeah, I haven't seen one of my shooters, man. And it's gosh, it starts getting to you [00:40:00] after a while. And yeah, just, some reassurance and, just knowing that things are about to get better and just keep your head on it. Yup. You got time. It's, we're doing this on Monday, the 23rd.

Like you said, from what we've seen and learned and past history, like 24th of October. On is usually been when I see one of my big guys, I don't always shoot them, but I get eyes on them. So yeah, I'm rooting for you. My date's the 25th. I shot my second biggest bow buck on the 25th and then a nice one on the 26.

And I had actually seen him the day before on the 25th. So that's where my head's at right now. Like in a couple of these spots where I've had pictures of that kicker tan he's been within an hour of daylight a couple of times. So it's I feel like this is where he's going to show up that last week of October.

And, I've, like I said, I took a stab last night in that spot and he didn't show up, but I had a pretty good hunt, so it's and I really don't think I heard anything by doing it because he didn't show up, and I think I got out of there, probably [00:41:00] without bumping him.

Cause like the way I go out, like he should be the other direction. Obviously he might not be, when he shows up, he got to be there. And you'll be waiting for him. So next podcast, hopefully it'll be the kicker 10 or the three footed, the three foot bully Bucker or whatever, and call that one there.

Gnarly buck. No, there's he's. There's three of them. There's the three foot Kugerton and then the freak. That's right. Okay. Yeah. There's one I haven't had since the middle of September, but your neighbor is seen and you got three options. You got three possibilities. It might happen.

And I hope I just need one, just one time. That's all it takes. Yes, sir. Hey, thank you guys. Thank you. Have a good week. Yep. You too. See ya.[00:42:00]

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