Show Notes
In this episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman, Mitch is joined by Aaron Pasquarette to discuss his successful trip to Ohio this fall. They begin by elaborating on the challenges and joys of balancing hunting with family and work commitments. They delve into Aaron's strategies for scouting, setting up, and connecting with deer in the Buckeye State. The conversation highlights the importance of preparation, adaptability, and understanding deer behavior in the pursuit of a successful hunt. In this conversation, Aaron shares his thrilling experiences and emotions during a recent hunting trip, reflecting on the challenges and rewards of hunting. He discusses the importance of preparation, the balance between family life and hunting, and the fulfillment he finds in the adventure of the hunt. The dialogue emphasizes the significance of communication in family dynamics during hunting seasons and the essence of woodsmanship in achieving success in the field.
Show Transcript
Mitchell Shirk (00:14.245)
Well, joining me for another episode, I'm going to butcher your last name. know it. I did it the last time. I'm going to do it this time. Aaron Pascaret.
Aaron (00:24.492)
Yep, that's pretty dang close.
Mitchell Shirk (00:26.489)
Okay. How far off was I? Good deal. Well, I'm glad to have you back. It's good to talk to you again. It's good to have you back on the show. how have you been?
Aaron (00:28.725)
you're right there. Aaron Pascaret.
Aaron (00:38.594)
Doing good, Just in the heat of hunting season here, trying to balance family, work, and time in a tree. But I'm doing great. Can't complain.
Mitchell Shirk (00:48.079)
and how's that and how is that balance going does it feel like your float pretty well you just keeping your head above water
Aaron (00:54.178)
Just keeping my head above water most of the time. Honestly, the older I get, I feel bad sometimes whenever I take time to go be in the woods for a few days. So I'm trying to pack for New York tonight. I'm leaving to go up there tomorrow for opening weekend. So just go, go, go.
Mitchell Shirk (01:15.909)
Yeah, it all comes, it all comes to one point, right? Because with, I'm sure with your lifestyle, as it was with my lifestyle, there's sometimes where it's go, go, go outside of hunting. And then once it gets to hunting stuff stops at all at once. And then it's go, go and that go in that department. And you know, you're hunting three States this year, which that's quite, that's quite a bit. Were you planning that all along or did some of that kind of fall into place? The closer you got into season thinking, well, I could kind of make this work in my schedule.
Aaron (01:42.84)
Yeah, well originally I thought I was going to draw my Iowa tag this year and I did not end up drawing it. I think last year the guys that had my points, 90 % of them drew the tag and this year maybe 20 % of them drew it. So that, that point creep is just getting worse and worse out there. But once it, once I knew that was off the table, I mean, I like traveling. like trying to hunt different areas.
Mitchell Shirk (01:59.729)
Mm.
Aaron (02:12.674)
So I grabbed an Ohio license, I think in July, just that way. Like I bought it, I have it, that'll make me wanna, you know, it'll push me to get out there. So, and then New York, we've been doing that the last couple seasons. So that was on the books already.
Mitchell Shirk (02:29.457)
Yeah, a couple of people that were asked after me this year. So the way New York's gun season works, I think it's one out of four years. It will fall the week before Pennsylvania's bear season. So I never go and a bunch of my buddies never go to New York's hunting season because of that. We always go opening day bear season for that weekend. But this year, I had a couple of buddies that said, you know, we should we should really think about doing that. We should go to New York. I was like, yeah, that sounds great. And I looked at my schedule and the week leading up to
new bear season in between new york's opener in bear season is i have a conference i'm away for work for three days so if i would want to new york i would have left friday came home late sunday been home for about twenty four hours and then went to ocean city maryland for three days
Aaron (03:16.279)
you
Mitchell Shirk (03:19.909)
came home Friday, then would have turned around Friday evening, went up to Bear Camp for three days and then came home for Thanksgiving and went back up to Deer Camp in Pennsylvania. So I was like, there's no way I'm doing I'm doing this whole New York business. But it was a cool thought while it lasted.
Aaron (03:34.847)
Yeah, for sure.
Mitchell Shirk (03:37.081)
So, hey, first of all, congratulations. You just shot a fantastic buck out in Ohio. Are you still on cloud nine with that one?
Aaron (03:44.93)
Yeah, wishin' that I would've soaked it in a little bit more just cause, you know, it happened. You get back to life and just sit here replayin' the details in my head a little bit to, you know, still try to be there a little bit.
Mitchell Shirk (04:01.275)
well i'm kinda curious when you elaborate on that a little bit when you say about and let it soak in little bit more i mean were there things you did that made it go made it seem to go quicker than it did or was just you know anytime you squeeze a hunt in it just sometimes it goes quicker than you want it to
Aaron (04:15.673)
Yeah, I think it just always goes quicker than you want it to. I mean, you get out there, you're trying to find where to set up at. You actually end up getting a deer on the ground, but then you're a mile from the parking lot and then you have to worry about coyotes trying to get them out of the woods. just, I always take a few minutes and sit beside them and look up at the stars and thank God for my success. But it just, you wish you had a couple hours to just.
sit there, you know.
Mitchell Shirk (04:44.145)
100 % so with not drawing Iowa and then deciding to go to Ohio Correct me I'm wrong, but a couple years ago. You were hunting Ohio pretty consistently,
Aaron (04:55.672)
Yeah, before our group started doing the New York trips, we were in Ohio. I think we started out there in 2017 and our last year there was 2020. So I've had some experiences out there before for sure.
Mitchell Shirk (05:11.361)
And with that, did you just kind of fall back? You hadn't been in Ohio since 2020. So did you just kind of fall back to some of those areas you hunted in the past and that was where you had started? Or did you go to a new area?
Aaron (05:23.28)
No, I mean like I've had experience with this area that I hunted It was always in December during gun season and we're we're doing deer pushes For four days straight, so it's definitely a different kind of thing to go there in both season and try to break it down To find like a tree, you know instead of Trying to make the deer do what you want them to do. You're trying to go You know how it is go into their home
Mitchell Shirk (05:32.506)
Mm-hmm.
Aaron (05:52.288)
and him within 30 yards. So it was definitely a different approach than my past experiences there.
Mitchell Shirk (05:59.381)
one of the things that I've been trying to, to do, and I'm relating this, I'm kind of relating to you in a sense of when I, if I go to my cabin and archery hunt there, cause I've done a lot of this like late November into December deer hunting, whether it's still hunting or hunting with a group. And you know, again, like you said, that's a lot different, but you are kind of scouting the woods in a pretty naked form. It's the early side of it, but you're, you get to see.
a pretty clean slate as far as being able to see the woods open and know, tracks and sign and all this stuff is. you know, some of that I've learned, I didn't realize it until I started bow hunting there that some of that I kept in the back of my mind and some of it actually took better notes and pins and on X and Spartan Forge to try to help make some decisions for this year based on what I was seeing. And I was
I was curious, did you kind of see some of that too or was it kind of like just a restart button for you in Ohio with a bow?
Aaron (07:00.34)
No, I mean, it's definitely so like when you go like say you're any kind of rifle season, you're already like the deer have already laid down all their rut sign for the most part. And it's like about time you get there at rifle season. It's about as fresh of deer sign as you're going to find throughout the course of the season. So definitely like I always am taking mental notes. I don't do as good of a job of dropping pins on on X, but like I definitely like will make note of an area.
But just any time that I come through a spot in gun season and it's like you got multiple scrapes, even if they're covered up a little bit and like those rut rubs, like where it's like cluster rubs, everything's shredded, that kind of thing. I'm definitely making notes of it for later if I ever get to go back.
Mitchell Shirk (07:50.171)
Sure. And talk to me a little bit about how the hunt went down for you as far as when you got there. And I know I watched the video. I think he just posted it on YouTube here not too long ago. And I watched your hunt and you you did exactly what I was expecting you to do. Go out and put a lot of boots on the ground. And it sounded like it was not, not so easy going in the beginning.
Aaron (08:11.894)
Yeah, no, I mean, you know the way it is with schedules when you have family and work, it's, not at a point in my life where I can just take off for the cold front and leave for four days. Like I kind of have to set four or five days aside a few months ahead of time. So that's the way this trip was. And leading into it, I saw that they were calling for 75, 80 degree weather the first two days of the hunt and
It's a little bit discouraging just cause like, mean, there's nothing I can do about it, but you almost are like writing off the first two days. So my mindset was I'm going to go out and scout pretty hard. The pieces that I had in my mind. when I'm scouting like that, it's, like, call it speed scouting. It's just like, I'm running into an area, taking a very quick look at it. It's like, yes or no. And then.
back out so that I'm not, I don't like going in like say you're hike up to the top of the ridge and there's a brushy field up there. I don't like to like wander all through the field or all over the ridge top just because you are being intrusive and like even though we're hunting the rut like deer definitely the bucks might be getting a little bit dumber but the does will definitely still pay attention to you and and your presence there.
So that's what I would do. I would just pop in, look for scrapes, look for rubs. And if I saw that, I just have to go off of that one for the most part, because I don't want to keep on pressing in. It was kind of like you go until you see enough, and then I would back out. And then I did that for two days. In the evenings and in the morning, I would sit for about an hour, just throw a sit somewhere. In the mornings, was more like I'd sit on a big hillside.
there was dry crunchy leaves from the hot weather and just listening more for like deer in the area than it was hoping to have one in bow range, even though I was ready, obviously.
Aaron (10:20.408)
so I did that for two days and I came down, I was going to head up onto this big ridge, but when I got down to the bottom, it was only a couple of hundred yards off the road and there was a, a crick bottom there and there was two big scrapes. Like I'd say three or four feet across within 30 yards of each other. And there was a big walnut tree there. And I was like, that's good enough. I'm just going to go up right here.
So I threw a sit at it that night and the wind was swirling. mean, creek bottoms. That's typical for that. I ended up spooking a couple of does and saw a couple of does, left my stuff in there, came back in the morning and the wind was consistent. Then it was pulling straight down the creek. And even though I'm giving up like the lower half of the valley, there was a wide swath of area that a buck could come cruising from.
Mitchell Shirk (10:54.957)
100%.
Aaron (11:16.36)
And I sat there till noon and I did not see a flicker of a deer anywhere.
Mitchell Shirk (11:23.095)
Mm. All amidst pretty hot weather, you start to see the tail end of that yet.
Aaron (11:28.425)
Yeah, so that morning would have been the first morning of the cold front that came through and we're still looking at like 60 60 degrees 62 degrees, but it had dropped 20 degrees from the day before So my hot my hopes were pretty high for that morning because I was like, you know, I didn't wasn't too intrusive the day before temps dropped
Mitchell Shirk (11:43.705)
wow.
Aaron (11:52.044)
And think it even rained a little bit overnight. So I really thought that those bucks were going to come in and have a decent shot at opening those scrapes up again, like checking them. And I kind of got a bad feeling when I went in there in the morning and it got daylight and the scrapes both had leaves in them.
Mitchell Shirk (12:11.249)
Yeah, absolutely.
Aaron (12:12.879)
Yeah, so
All through this hunt, I had this one spot in my mind and we had, we had gone hunted a couple of times and we never, we never pulled a big buck out of there, but we always like got a glimpse of one during our hunts. And I just, I was being like, I just wasn't going there. Like the first two days it was too hot. I was being lazy. I think, you know, I was like, I mean, if I'm, if I'm completely honest, like
Mitchell Shirk (12:30.288)
Okay.
Mitchell Shirk (12:36.827)
What was holding you back?
Mitchell Shirk (12:42.321)
I can attest to that.
Aaron (12:46.336)
In Pennsylvania, I hike a lot and I hike into pretty deep places to get away from pressure and to find older age class deer. And I was just telling myself, like, I shouldn't have to do this out here. Like the hunting pressure isn't off the charts. There's good sign within a half mile of the road. I just shouldn't have to do that. But it just kept on eating at me that I hadn't gone back there yet. And granted, it's only day three of my hunt. Like I really haven't even.
Yeah, yeah for sure.
Mitchell Shirk (13:32.493)
Okay, 10 or 15 miles from where you would have been the first two days, so kind of clean slate for you in this trip at this point.
Did you kind of commit yourself that you were just going to put a sit there regardless because you drove that far away? Or were you kind of just saying, Hey, I'm going to do this whole speed scouting thing. And if I don't like it, I'm going to go back or where were you going at that point?
Aaron (13:53.447)
I mean, I was when I hike to when I went to this other spot, I took my stand in like I wasn't going to go in, look and then walk the whole way back out to my truck. My plan was I'm going to go in there regardless of the sign that night. I'm going to set up and I'm going to give it an evening and a morning.
Mitchell Shirk (14:11.717)
Mm-hmm.
Aaron (14:12.492)
which is usually how I approach spots that I'm not too sure about. Like go in, give it a evening and a morning and then make your decision from there.
Mitchell Shirk (14:23.526)
Gotcha.
Aaron (14:25.1)
Yeah. So I hiked, got my gear on, hike back in here about a mile and there's, there's cattle in this area, the state leases the ground to, cattle farmers. And I noticed that this time that they were in, they were on the side of the block of timber that I wanted to be in. And every time I'd ever been there beforehand, they were never on that side. was kind of like set apart from where they could like run through and do their thing. But.
The whole way back in there, I didn't see any buck rubs, no scrapes, and there's a lot of autumn olive in that area. So it's not usually that hard to like see something, you know, and the wind, I'm sorry for all the detail, but the wind was going like kind of hitting me in the back and going caddy corner through that block as I would approach it. Cause there's only like one way to really get there. And I had to
Mitchell Shirk (15:17.723)
Hmm.
Aaron (15:22.54)
go that way. So I ended up j-hooking like down and kind of out and around that block of timber hoping that my wind wouldn't they wouldn't get enough of me to to spook out of there. And what it is is like a big decent sized block of timber and it necks down with two brushy fields on both sides and then it opens back up into another big block of timber. So I snuck down around and came through a little bit of a thicket
And when I popped out on the other side and there was like a crest of the ridge that went down to the brushy field and I noticed that there was some acorn caps on the ground and I said, well, that's a good sign because this is the first bit of acorns that I had seen the whole trip to this point. Still hadn't seen a buck rub or anything. But as I see the acorns, I look up to my right and a nice buck is running away from me on this oak, this oak ridge. He's taken off down over the hill.
Mitchell Shirk (16:07.695)
Mm-hmm.
Aaron (16:20.924)
He looked like a 16 inch wide eight pointer I don't I don't think it was the buck that I ended up getting but it was a nice buck. So right there Yep, yeah that coupled like the the feed that was there plus the buck sighting I was like, alright like this is it. I just I stopped in my tracks cuz I
Mitchell Shirk (16:31.067)
So that had to completely change your tune 180 at this point.
Aaron (16:48.31)
I don't want to be wondering all over the place. And I just was like, what tree can I get into here? Usually.
Mitchell Shirk (16:55.441)
Can you describe what you're at at this point? you walked in and you found a course, like lay the setting out or did you get to a point, a bench? Was there edge transitions in vegetation? What were you seeing at that point that made you say, hey, let's stop here?
Aaron (17:07.83)
Yeah, so when I entered this block of timber, it's kind of like a a flat ridge top, and then it just breaks down over, but kind of like where it goes out towards the point of the ridge is just as like this big rolling oak ridge. Like there's a bunch of underbrush on the top of this, this knoll, this hill, but on this like...
the spine of this ridge is just like wide open beautiful oak woods, but it's only probably 80 yards wide at the widest point where it's not thickets. It was just kind of picture perfect. Like the leaves were yellow, the sun was coming through it, buck running away. I didn't know that there was going to be those, the acorns there because in December, when I had been there previously, you're just hoofing, covering ground. And I didn't note
they weren't giant oak trees like they weren't like what we see here in the big woods they were smaller so that just kind of like I completely missed that in previous trips
Yeah, so usually I like hunting out of a climber. It's just versatile. I can get up 18 feet. That's where I like to be. But no, and for Ohio, I knew that the trees were pretty, they're not straight out there. So I took my hang on setup. Did not, I did not bring my climber and every tree on that Oak Ridge there was a perfect climber tree.
Mitchell Shirk (18:23.173)
Some places don't allow that.
Aaron (18:40.47)
They're straight up and down, no branches, no cover, and there's not one that's, you know, they're not 10 feet close to each other. They're all separate. Like you're just sticking off the end of a tree in the wide open, basically.
Mitchell Shirk (18:53.861)
And that's one of the things I do want to bring a point up because I just had that exact same experience. like New Jersey's that way with gnarly shore trees crooked. And it makes it really good to set up and use a hang on or the saddle and use my bring a steps and walk around the tree and stuff. And I was at camp. I was looking at so many times, like I had my saddle with me and I'd go up three sticks and have that have two of them that have an, an eight or on it, get up about 18 feet. You know, I can make it work.
I can kind of hide behind the tree if things align for me, but, you know, lot of people talk about, you don't need to be very high. You don't need to be very high in some cases. That's true. But the big woods, I'm not exaggerating that if I have a climber and I can get up in the tree canopy, I will go 30, 35 feet sometimes to get out of that line of view, because exactly what you're saying, there's no covering some of those trees. So I feel like higher is better in those situations.
Aaron (19:43.224)
you
Mitchell Shirk (19:52.101)
And guess what I'm getting at is it's all a matter of the setting that you're hunting and using the right tool. Like I'm using the saddle, I'm using the hang on for certain places. I am looking for a lone wolf hand climber because there are places I'm going to go that that would be a better tool. But anyway, I'm sorry I cut you off there.
Aaron (20:09.848)
No, you're good. I was standing there and the only tree I could figure was there was a small cherry tree and it split about 14 feet off the ground and the splits were still close together. But I thought if I can get up in that split, it's at least going to give me enough back cover to give me a chance here. So I climbed up and I stepped on to my platform and I looked down and there's a four pointer feeding at like 30 yards.
He came up out of the brushy field behind me. Ended up feeding up around me and going off. So I pull my bow up, put it on the hook, turn around, I'm trying to get my, the rest of my stuff situated. And I look over to my other side and there's now a six pointer at like 20 yards. And granted it's windy, like I'm a pretty good, like I'm pretty on the ball with things like realizing what's around me and everything.
I did not hear either of those deer approach me and I was so focused on trying to get my stuff together. But at that point I was like, I'm hunting here for the rest of my trip. Like I'm in the deer, that's three bucks I've seen in the first 20 minutes of stepping foot onto this ridge.
Mitchell Shirk (21:24.305)
Mm.
Aaron (21:26.476)
And the wind the wind was coming through the block where I thought all the deer were it was coming through the thicket and Going over straight behind me out into this field so the only way that these deer were going to get to me were if they got directly behind my tree and The funny part about that is is that every deer I saw before my buck came out Ended up directly behind my tree
Mitchell Shirk (21:50.577)
Mmm.
Aaron (21:51.612)
And but not not one of them blew at me. They'd they'd get your whiff. They'd take two bounds down the hill and they'd work off into the field. Not one like ran out of there. Not one snorted at me. So that probably helped me a little bit because I think I was I was set up like right on top of these deer. Like they were bedding within 100 yards of me and they were feeding right right on the edge of that thicket.
Mitchell Shirk (22:15.675)
Gotcha.
Aaron (22:17.656)
So night goes on a little bit and you I love to rattle like it's it's just like what I what I do Real antlers nothing gigantic like usually like a hundred and like a hundred inch to a hundred and ten inch set of shed antlers I've never had luck with big big antlers, you know, maybe in Iowa. I'll try that when I'm out there, but
Mitchell Shirk (22:27.397)
What's your go-to? Do you take a rattle bag or do you take real antlers?
Aaron (22:46.986)
It seems like the smaller the antlers, the less dense that they sound, I've had better success with, if that makes sense.
Mitchell Shirk (22:54.777)
It absolutely makes sense. it's kind of funny that you talk about that because I just had a buddy that was telling me he's looking for the opposite. He said there's a, goes, if you're after a certain caliber deer, they can tell the difference in that with that density and that, that tone. And I, and I was, he has this big set of, of sheds from Iowa. And he was like, this is what I'm going to use. He said, he said, I'm probably not going to call in a lot of two and three year old dairy goes, that's not what I'm hunting. goes, this is.
targeted for a certain thing. was like more power to you buddy, but I completely agree with you. That's what mine are like a hundred inch set eight eight pointer sheds that cut the brow tines off and, they work great.
Aaron (23:35.113)
Yeah, my mindset is like if I'm a big buck and I'm hearing these two little bucks fight over a doe over there I'm gonna be pissed off and want to go check it out like hey, man Like what are you doing in my territory? But that's just that's just you know my mindset on it But I was I was so close to betting and I like to rattle pretty aggressively I knew I couldn't do that or else I was gonna blow every deer off of that hilltop there
Mitchell Shirk (23:46.641)
Right.
Mitchell Shirk (23:50.154)
Me too.
Aaron (24:01.708)
So I just as lightly as I could, I tickled the tines together, followed it with a couple grunts. You know, I probably only rattled for like 15, 15 seconds. And almost immediately this five point emerges from the thicket and just comes straight to eight yards in front of my tree. Yep. Buck number four. And I've only been in the tree for an hour and a half. And he ended up.
Mitchell Shirk (24:19.823)
And that's buck number four at this point.
Aaron (24:30.486)
Like he wasn't too concerned with the rattling. think he came to check it out, but he wasn't really looking for a fight. He started browsing in front of me and it was, it was pretty cool. Cause every, every like three steps he would take, he would grunt and it was like, would grunt under his breath. Like just as he was feeding, it was like, it was like.
Mitchell Shirk (24:45.361)
Yeah, and you can actually hear that on your video.
Aaron (24:48.182)
Yeah, it was like how like a turkey purrs when they're feeding. Like that's what I pictured him doing. Like he was just, he was content. was, you know, vacuuming up acorns. And just like all the other deer, he ended up right behind my tree again. I swear I was like, I must've been right beside the oak tree that they all wanted to feed at. Like it was, you know, cause every deer came within 20 yards of me.
Mitchell Shirk (25:09.137)
Mm.
Aaron (25:15.234)
So he went down over the hill and when he jumped and went down into the rushy field, I grunted a couple more times just to in case another deer had heard that. And it was probably five minutes later, I saw a doe feed out to my right, 40 yards away. And I was filming her with my camera and she was like to the extreme right of my tree. And as I'm filming her, I hear footsteps directly behind me coming out of the thicket. And I'm like, you know, in my head, I'm like, another deer.
maybe a small buck, you know, and I turn and I wish I would have took that camera arm the whole way with me, but I turned to look and the eight point that I ended up arrowing that night is standing at like 30 yards and he's, he's marching in to my spot right there. The camera is the whole way to the right of the tree and my bow is the extreme left off the other side.
So was kind of like one of those situations where do I want to get this buck or do I want to try to move this camera arm the whole way around? I don't think I could have done both. I don't think I could have grabbed my bow and got the camera arm around. I grabbed my bow. He's he's now at like 20 yards head down walking to me and I ended up drawing on him probably when he was 15 yards away. Earlier in the night, I had dropped my hat.
onto the ground and he like none of the other deer noticed that hat laying there but he locked onto it and it was laying right at the base of my tree and I swear he looked at the hat he looked at my first sticks second third fourth and then he looked at me up in the tree he's like he walked his eyes straight up the tree to me and in hindsight I should have put the sticks off the back of the tree but I really wasn't sure where they were coming from being the first set
Mitchell Shirk (26:50.385)
Mm.
Mitchell Shirk (27:10.423)
Yeah, right. Hindsight's always 20-20 in that situation.
Aaron (27:13.781)
Yeah. So we're having a stare down at eight steps now because he took a couple more steps as he was looking at me. And I'm just below the crest of the hill and he's coming straight off the top of it. So at this point I'm only eight or ten feet above him. And I'm just like as soon as he turns there and you got to bury that thing behind his shoulder like you got to be ready to go left or right. You know and he just he would not turn he was just
and had his head down, like everything was covered up. Finally, he's head bobbing me and he lifts his head way, way up and just exposes his whole entire front. And I shoot like not a, not a ranch fairy arrow, but like a somewhere in the middle. It's not super light, you know, but it's got some weight behind it. Fixed blade broadhead. And I was confident that I could make this shot.
but I don't recommend anyone, don't recommend it and I don't want to have to take this shot again. Had I been in a climber and been 18 feet up in the air, I would not have taken this shot because it's just too steep of an angle. But I buried that pin on his, below his white patch, above his brisket and I touched it off. That arrow hit hard and when he turned,
Mitchell Shirk (28:16.827)
Right.
Mitchell Shirk (28:25.327)
Mmm.
Mitchell Shirk (28:37.529)
Yeah, it sounded very hard.
Aaron (28:39.744)
Yeah, it rocked him. And when he turned, just saw, you know, bright pink blood just shoot out probably three feet in front of him. He turned, bounded back into the thicket, made it about 50 yards and crashed to the forest floor there.
Mitchell Shirk (28:57.633)
Mmm. Yeah, talk about, talk about a rollercoaster of emotion.
Aaron (29:05.182)
I hope I never lose that feeling. Like, people make fun of me for it. People say, like, grow up, act like you've been there before, and I just... I don't care. I just... If I ever... If I ever lose that feeling, I just... I'll quit hunting, because... It's... You know, I was... It's amazing how calm you can be in the moment sometimes, and then as soon as that arrow...
touches off and you see him go down, it's just, I lose it.
Mitchell Shirk (29:34.345)
absolutely. And that's a big part of the reason why we hunt to the degree we hunt. mean, yeah, we hunt for the meat, but at the same time, we could do it a lot less difficult. There's probably other things we could do to make things easier for ourselves or more killing and not hunting, but that's not as rewarding.
Shot a doe behind my house this year and the hunt lasted about 20 minutes. I went behind my house, a doe came in and I shot it. Yeah, it was cool. But I was like, wow, that was, that was really not overly. It wasn't the same as some of the other experiences I've had shooting deer. I was thankful because I mean, I needed meat. I'm getting very low on my burger supply. So fit the script there, but it really wasn't that fulfilling description of talking about hunting hard for two days, looking around new areas, scouting.
getting your tail whipped, convincing yourself to go to a spot 10 miles away, driving there, hunt, you know, dealing with everything. And all of a it just flips 180 and you see five buck in one sit and kill the biggest buck of your life.
Aaron (30:43.69)
Yeah, yep, I was, I mean, it was a blessing. I'm super thankful for just, I'll never forget sitting on that ridge with the sunlight coming through those trees. And I just, if I could write a perfect bow hunt up in my head, like, sure, you'd have like different little variations, but like, that was it. Like, that was just, you know, and I just, like, I, it sounds like I've been playing about struggling for the first two days is just like, it was more like a mental thing. Like you're away from your family. It's hot. You feel like you're just
you're not in it like you're wasting your time or you'd be better off spending it elsewhere, you know, but the one thing I wanted to say real quick is that on this trip here, I, don't know if you saw, I talked about it in a different post, but I, had brought a target with me and the second, the first day I was there, I shot my bow just to make sure it was on and it was a touch left.
You know, I just chalked it up to my my error the second day. was there I I shot it again the first arrow barely hit the target and the second one missed it left altogether Just eight inches nine inches off to the left so I Yeah, I had my toolbox with me. So I adjusted it got it back on but had I not had that target with me I
Mitchell Shirk (31:58.523)
Wow.
Aaron (32:09.302)
would have wounded that buck for sure. know, I either would have missed him outright or I would have, you know, I might not have recovered him being nine inches to the left there.
Mitchell Shirk (32:19.843)
Absolutely. My goodness. it was just a site error that you think it's just, think a site got bumped at some point walking around.
Aaron (32:26.95)
Yeah, I had a friend give me that site he works in a bow shop and someone had traded it in and he didn't have the model I wanted so he gave me that site and whoever had it before me they must have used like a half-inch ratchet to tighten down the nuts on it because they had actually bent the aluminum like where on the windage adjustments and I think what it was is like
It was so bent that as I had been shooting throughout the summer and into fall, it was just working. It would just like, it might've just been a tick, but it was working its way left. Cause it like, was kind of like a shelf where it was bent at. I think it just slid down off that shelf and it just moved that slight amount.
Mitchell Shirk (33:12.305)
Correct me if I'm wrong, you had to use your spare release in this hunt too, didn't you?
Aaron (33:16.039)
Yep, yep, and that was the first time that I ever carried a spare release with me too. When I get up in the tree and I get everything set, I always like to draw my bow back just to make sure nothing's gonna pop and get my muscles feeling good. And I went to do that and my release wasn't on my wrist. I was just kind of like shocked because I always have it on my wrist. Like it's just drenched in sweat after walking around for two days. And I looked down at the base of the tree and it was laying there in the leaves. And like normally...
Mitchell Shirk (33:43.483)
Do you think it just came off and you didn't realize it or did you take it off at one point?
Aaron (33:47.52)
I must've took it off. don't know what, I don't know what I was doing. just, or maybe I had it in my pack that time because it was such a long walk in. And when I pulled like my, my vest out or something, it just fell to the ground. And like, normally that's not the biggest deal. Like it's like, well, at least I know it's right at the base of the tree. But being that I had deer around me already, it was kind of a lifesaver to be able to reach into my pack and pull out that spare. And you know, who would have ever thought that I'd
Mitchell Shirk (33:58.833)
Mm.
Aaron (34:15.96)
I don't practice with my spare that much, you know, and ended up shooting my best buck to date with with a spare release.
Mitchell Shirk (34:22.929)
And it's good to be prepared. I catch myself getting lazy quite often when it comes to things like that in the season, you know, preseason I'm, I'll, I'll shoot, I do everything I need to. And then you get into season and I start throwing the bow in the truck and walking here and walking there and everything else. And I'm not checking as much. And just tonight, I think it was the first time I could remember the last time happened. think this is the first time in two years that
My site got knocked off in hunting season and it had to be from this past weekend, walking in the mountains, my site, was shooting about, I'm going to say I was shooting three to four inches low and I was shooting to the right pretty significantly. I'd say a good five to six inches and had to, had to make an adjustment tonight when I was shooting. So I was thinking I, there's a good chance I might actually go into woods tomorrow at some point. I was like, had I not done that, that could have ended catastrophic.
Aaron (35:17.302)
Yeah. And it's, mean, I think we, think probably like say like 98 % of people do that. Like we overlook it. Like we shoot right up till season. And then it's like, we get into the heat of the season and we just don't check our bows. But like we, we put way too much work into this, like taking time off of work away from family, scouting, all of that, just to get that one opportunity. And man, it's a kick. If you don't just check your bow here and there to make sure it's on, you know, like to miss that opportunity because you just.
Mitchell Shirk (35:45.35)
Right.
Aaron (35:47.202)
Didn't take two minutes to check your bow.
Mitchell Shirk (35:51.309)
it's an easy thing to do that when you're going going going going going is the the little things can get overlooked and i mean that's that's so cool so now you've you've got ohio markdown you're going to new york this weekend in pennsylvania is going to open up in their gun season what else you got planned for the rest of the season here
Aaron (36:11.468)
yeah, I mean, New York's going to be my last kind of hurrah for the most part. Rifle season, I'll probably try to get my, my boy out a little bit. He's, he's really chomping at the bit to get a shot at a buck. So we'll try that. in Pennsylvania, I've been telling myself the last couple of years that if I don't get a shot at a really nice one, I'm going to try to save my tag for Flintlock season. I'd really like to get a buck with my Flintlock.
Mitchell Shirk (36:35.833)
Mmm.
Aaron (36:39.096)
Last year I missed a nine pointer at like 50 yards with it. just, I completely whiffed him, but that might be where we're at this year. I spent four days up in the big woods last week here in Pennsylvania. Hit it pretty hard, had a couple of great encounters, kind of get an arrow off of the shelf.
Mitchell Shirk (36:46.225)
Mm.
Mitchell Shirk (37:01.865)
Sometimes that's a low if you want if you want to do something if you want to shoot one with the muzzleloader You can't do it if you shoot them with the bow So sometimes that's a blessing disguise and I even said this to I said this on the podcast, too I think that for whatever reason the first time in my life. I have not been Chopping at the bit to go bow hunting this year for whatever reason
And now I've got the edge. I want to hunt. I'm getting Ramy seasons almost over as far as archery goes. And we're going to win the muzzle and the rifle season stuff, but I'm the same place. You know, I shot a shot that bear. shot a doe with the, with the Flintlock here in October. And I'm like, I kind of want to shoot a buck with it. I'm thinking, well, maybe that's, maybe that's what it is. Maybe I need to do some hunting with that. And I'm at this weird place and maybe this is a good thing we can talk about. Cause I think you're.
got some similarities to like I'm in this weird place of like trying to figure out what makes my hunting seasons satisfying. There was a time where the satisfaction was chasing the absolute biggest buck and trying to kill the absolute biggest buck and I'd become obsessed with it and I hunted until I filled that buck tag and then once the buck tag was filled it was like, this pressure is off. And I'm not saying that I'm
comfortable shooting small deer like you know a lot of smaller but i passed a few small buck up so far this year and doesn't bother me one bit that i might eat my my buck tag but it's just it's it's just different trying to find what makes this season fun and fulfilling and satisfying slick for you you just shot a dandy ohio buck here and you got more season like what what what do you think's in your mind i guess what's
what would make this like that the perfect seat what what makes any season the perfect season for you at this point in life
Aaron (38:56.485)
That's tough question, that's a good question.
Mitchell Shirk (38:59.161)
I know that's why I asked it for you, because I figured maybe you'd have some wisdom for me.
Aaron (39:04.074)
Yeah, I just try not to be greedy with it. Like I shot that buck early, you know, mean like early I'm saying like November 1st.
I don't like being like the one where it's like, all right, what's next? Like what's the next, you know, had, I have these trips planned. So it looks like that, but I, just like, I'm chasing the adventure of it. The story. I'm not one to like pass up a ton of bucks. Like if you followed me for a while, you'll, you'll see that. And if it's got the right story to it, that's just like, I love, I love being able to go back and just relive those, those
those deer stories. But like for me personally, like this year has been the, my son started hunting last year. He got a doe and in the youth season last year, but he's a little bit bigger this year. He's a little bit more like able to, to do all the stuff. You know, he's seven years old. He took his first archery deer back mid October and he just,
smoked this doe at 30 yards, put a perfect shot on her. Like we had been practicing with his crossbow and he did that. And then it was like the following week, a week from that day, he shot a big old white legged doe with his 223 during the youth season. Watching him hunt and growing up and enjoying it like I do. that, I mean, I'm probably going to, this is like a cop out to your question, but.
I'm gonna be set for the next like decade watching him, you know, and when I shot that buck in Ohio, someone said like, well, that was enjoy that one. That's the last big one you get. Cause cause your son's your son's running the show now, you know, and I was like, if that's the case, that's okay too. But
Mitchell Shirk (41:01.551)
Right. And that could very well be. it's, it's tough because like, I being away from anything never bugged me. Like I could go, I could hunt 10 minutes from home and I could turn absolutely everything off in my mind. The minute that I shut my truck off and I got there. I mean, that was always that way. It was, it was go time. I'm in hunt mode and
I've come to realize I was always in hunt mode my entire growing up and the more life starts to catch up with you and responsibilities and stuff like that. I found myself in different modes. Like my mind is just not in it. My mind is in dad mode and it's in work mode.
This is a tough one. I try to be in husband mode. It's probably the mode I'm in the least amount at this point in my life and I'm trying to make that tough. So like you get all that and like I try to throw maybe a quick cone or something like that and I just I can't get into it. But the the thought like you said of maybe seeking adventure seeking some freedom in a sense regardless of where you go like that's that speaks volumes to me and like I'm
I used to set my schedule like, know, I've, gone with, the logic for a long time of like how, if you've ever followed whitetail habitat solutions, Jeff Sturgess, talks about, you know, looking at the weather and looking ahead at your schedule and trying to barter days. And, know, if, if you, if you have to put in a day, you know, maybe make it for a Friday, but if the weather looks better for Monday, maybe switch it to a Monday, if your boss is willing to try to set it up that way and, use your time efficiently.
And I just thought that was the greatest thing ever. And I was trying to do that all the time and, you know, everything revolved around that. Now it's like, you know, the thought of saying, Hey, I'm going to do what I have to do. But, you know, the first week in November, the, you know, first week of rifle season, my, the week that New Jersey bear seasons open or something like that. Like just saying, this is what I'm going to do it. And come what may, whether it's.
Mitchell Shirk (43:23.835)
crappy weather, warm wind, whatever. That's just what I'm going to do it. And I'm going to make the most of it knowing that it might not be my perfect situation, but there's something to that that nobody else is, I don't hear people talking about. And to me, there's, I don't know. I'm just finding myself gravitating towards that.
Aaron (43:47.926)
Yeah, for sure. It's funny that you say about husband mode. When I shot that buck, was November 1st, and that was my wife and I's anniversary. We were married 10 years that day.
Mitchell Shirk (44:00.433)
Yeah, let's talk about that for a second. So I've just realized that my friend Aaron here is another one of those people that's getting married in the fall. I was just complaining to somebody at work today because I had three weddings in October. Four Saturdays I had three weddings and I just got an invitation for next year on October 4th, opening day of Archer season, another one and I'm just like...
moderate number of breath what's wrong with this is like these people don't know that I watched your video and you're like today's my 10-year anniversary I'm like
Aaron (44:36.226)
I mean, that was, that was kind of the trade off, you know, it like, get, okay, we'll get married November 1st, but like, don't expect me to like, you know, mark that day off for the next decade. Basically. It was just pretty funny that it just happened to be the 10th anniversary that I happened to be in a completely different state, sit sitting beside a big buck. You know, that was.
I chuckled pretty good at that one.
Mitchell Shirk (45:00.657)
I would too, I would too. you know, how is, if you don't mind me asking this kind of a personal question, I'm curious, like how is life during hunting season with family on your mind? Like for me, that's been a revolving door that's been changing a lot. How is it for you? Like how do you make the, how do you have conversations and plan and, you know, compromise and stuff like that?
Aaron (45:28.66)
Communication is like number one and it's hard because life you know how quickly a month goes by and it's like It just like I plan like we just try to plan things out far ahead of time. I
Usually every day I drive my kids to school. that's like a whole nother, thing that goes into this is like my wife works 45 minutes one way and I'm driving the kids to school the other way. So it's just like, for me to disappear for a couple of days, it's the logistics of it. Aren't easy, you know, and, I'm blessed. she's the best, not just from a hunting standpoint, but just like everything about her. but yeah, we just try to communicate.
Mitchell Shirk (46:00.881)
Mm.
Aaron (46:13.4)
I'm pretty like, you know, I'm a hands-on dad. Like I'm here 355 days a year. So I try to, you know, she's, she's really good whenever I try to get away and in deer season. yeah, just.
Mitchell Shirk (46:31.973)
That's tough. And how, how well do you do when it comes to getting in the woods and getting your mind into hunt mode and actually turning off family mode? Not that turning off being a dad and husband, like not, not, that we should do that, but you need to, to some degree in order to focus and concentrate and do what you came to do.
Aaron (46:55.126)
Yeah, it's definitely, it's not easy. I don't have the best advice for it. It's definitely like the first day, like when I was in Ohio and I climbed up a tree that first night and it's 80 degrees, I'm sweating, I forgot all my stuff and I just was sitting there and I felt pretty rotten for like...
for being there, you know, for leaving my family and being up the tree and like, I shouldn't feel that way. You know, it was like, it's just like, it's probably a good thing that I do. It's probably a good thing that it's not easy to disappear and not worry about things or not think about things. you know, I like the second day, like as a hunt progresses, then I like the second day I'm thinking about my family and I'm thinking about how blessed I am and how thankful I am and the things that they've been doing. it kind of like,
Life is so chaotic and it's so it moves by so fast that like it's a big deal for me to be able to sit in a tree and and take a step back and think about it all because like I don't my mind doesn't seem to work like that when I'm in the the hustle and bustle of every single day. You know and like that's you know by day three I'm pretty like I'm like okay like I'm doing my thing here.
family's fine, we got that all taken care of. I'm more like, I'm in it by that point, you know?
I know if that answers your question, but that's... it's definitely a struggle.
Mitchell Shirk (48:23.823)
what definitely answers the question at the end of the day it's one of those things that everybody's gotta learn how they deal with it for their their family in their situation right i'll be of the first admit i have not figured it out and i've talked a little bit that my wife coaches field hockey and she is the first year coaching this head this high school program she's doing really well
on the team did better than they've done the past few years you know it's it she's got a long way to go if this program's gonna turn in a in a positive direction for a long term and you know let's face it when you're coaching at the high school level you can't show up for preseason and the season and then be done and show up next year it's it's more involved in that and and i know that
But me being selfish, you know, I was thinking about it from August, September, October, you know, six days a week. you know, she's gone and I'm at home and I'm not doing what I want to do and this and that. And then, you know, all of a it's over and thank goodness. And we've only gone a few weeks and now winter season is going to start and they're going to start working through different stuff and playing games. And I'm just like, my goodness, this never ends. And it's like, no, it doesn't end. And, the biggest thing that I've.
I think where I'm trying to learn to mature and I've done much better now than I have in previous years is saying, you know, this is the way it is in my family and I'm going to support my wife. I want her to do this and be successful. And if I'm going to have a piss poor attitude about it, I'm not going to accomplish anything and neither is she. So I either need to work around it and learn, or we're not going to advance as a couple. We're not going to advance.
she's not going advance as a coach. I'm not going to advance as a Hunter and, nobody wins. So really just realizing that sometimes I'm not going to get what I want, but if I can make do with what I have and find fulfillment in that, and that's kind of where it's. That's kind of where I've, I've been with it and the whole process of doing it all at once. I'm rambling at this point, but I mean, it's, it's just a weird place right now.
Aaron (50:36.007)
No. Yep. Yeah, if you, if you figure it out completely, make sure you let me know. I do, I do find that on like, I don't do very many like solo hunts, like that Ohio hunt. I had a couple guys come into camp the second night.
but that's like the first day that that's the first solo hunt outside, outside of PA that I've done in a long time, you know, but what I'm saying is like, it's easier whenever you're on these trips, when you have some guys in camp, like it's not as, it doesn't weigh on my mind as much. Like maybe that's a bad thing, you know, but like, when you're like, you go from like a hundred percent.
Mitchell Shirk (51:02.619)
Really?
Aaron (51:20.63)
going hard every single day to like the quiet of the woods and you're on your own. Like definitely all those things can really, can really get at you a little bit.
Mitchell Shirk (51:30.075)
Hmm. A hundred percent, but Hey, it seemed to something seemed to align for you in Ohio. And I hope it keeps aligning for you in New York and Pennsylvania and whatever else you got going on. fantastic start to your season. Thanks for sharing it. That experience with us. I appreciate it. you know, everybody, if you have not watched legendary pursuits on YouTube, if you're not following them, you should really do that. I like to watch Aaron stuff because it's relatable to me. You know, he, he's, he's
Bow hunting dad and you know got a lot going on in his life. I really love the flintlock videos, man That's my favorite thing and I mean I've always been like bow hunting is first But I tell you what man that the longer things go the more I love shooting stuff I like to see in my tally sheet how many how many things am I killing with that flintlock and it keeps going up It keeps going up. It's starting to surpass other weapons, and I don't know It's just something about that gun that just intrigues me and then watching people do it and that time here. I love it so
You know all that stuff that you have to offer check out the hunt that Aaron just posted from Ohio and everything else he's got going on Anything else going on in that realm you like to share before I let you go and go finish packing for New York?
Aaron (52:43.503)
No, I just appreciate anybody that follows along I'm nothing special I just I like to record my adventures and if I can throw out a tip or two that that helps people along the way then that's great Just trying to keep it real kind of bring woodsmanship back into the the fold a little bit and Just try to enjoy hunting for what I what I think it should be
Mitchell Shirk (53:07.105)
One of the things I did want to bring up earlier and I forgot now it just resurfaced is you talk about being a woodsman. I have noticed in a lot of your videos that you have like a calling card in your videos and it is your coat.
Aaron (53:20.747)
Yeah, yeah, I get some,
Mitchell Shirk (53:21.873)
Is there anything significant about that coat or it's just you like that coat and that's your hunting coat?
Aaron (53:27.713)
No, I've For almost a decade now. I've worn some sort of plaid while I'm like I have all kinds of things but like my main go-to is is some sort of plaid and I was struggling to find something that was heavy enough for when you get later in the season here And I found that that hoodie. It's like a heavy wool heavyweight wool hoodie and I picked that color because it
I don't like real dark colors. just, I just don't. think it sticks out worse than wearing like a gray t-shirt against a tree. and that, that the one I'm wearing now is like a whitish gray black. and I just like, when I'm up in a tree, I feel invisible to the deer. Cause I just feel like I'm just blending into the skyline. And then if I'm down in the brush, it's you're just a gray black and white blob anyhow, you know, it's I've always just.
Mitchell Shirk (54:03.258)
Agreed.
Aaron (54:25.056)
Like it's about learning how to move, when to move, and where to, where to set yourself up at. And like, I'm not an expert at it, but I'm getting pretty good at it to be able to, you know, but sometimes in my videos, we'll get comments about like, why would you ever wear something like that? And it's like, I, cause I can. Yep. Like I've got plenty of pictures of me and deer wearing blue jeans and a plaid shirt. You know, like it's just, I don't know.
Mitchell Shirk (54:43.345)
because I can and I kill stuff.
Aaron (54:54.757)
One's confidence and two's learning how to move through the woods.
Mitchell Shirk (54:58.659)
I like that. like that. Well, hey, thanks for coming on the show. Good luck the rest of your season and we'll stay in touch, man. Thanks again.
Aaron (55:04.63)
Yep, appreciate you having me on buddy. See ya.
Mitchell Shirk (55:08.837)
Alrighty.
