Show Notes
Josh's turkey hunting road trip (dare we call it a Turkey Tour!?) begins in less than two weeks! Having added an Iowa tag to the list, Josh reached out to the host of the Nine Finger Chronicles Podcast Dan Johnson to talk about planning for out of state hunting trips and what to expect for Iowa.
Dan is no stranger to out of state trips. Each year, Dan hunts a handful of states, including some longer trips out west. With his experience, Dan has a pretty dialed in approach to planning and prepping for hunting trips. So Josh picks Dan's brain about making preparations. The guys also discuss what Josh can expect for an Iowa turkey hunt as far as getting on birds and encountering hunting pressure goes. Josh and Dan also get into scouting for deer on Iowa public land. The sheer amount of sign found in Iowa can be tough for a nonresident to decipher when scouting for whitetails. So Dan shares some advice for helping Josh get started planning his potential 2024 or 2025 Iowa deer hunt.
And since both guys are dads, the conversation eventually devolves into ranting about kids, the woes of working from home during spring break, and Dan's new children's book, "The Volcano Dad." Enjoy!
Show Transcript
Josh Raley: What is going on everyone? Welcome back to another episode of the Wisconsin Sportsman Podcast, which is brought to you by TACTACAM. This is your home for all things outdoors in the Badger State, and I'm your host, Josh Raley. Thank you so much for tuning in again [00:01:00] with us this week. It is officially April and man, for me, for some reason, it's like when, when the calendar flips over to April, I am full bore Turkey and fishing mode.
I love Whitetails. I really, really do. I've got a whole podcast devoted to just white tales, the How to Hunt Deer podcast, but I have such a hard time in this window of like April and May, and even a little bit of June. To be honest with you, I have such a hard time getting myself to think about and focus on.
Whitetails. I'm so focused on fishing and Turkey hunting this time of year, and that's gonna last a little while. Now, as soon as July rolls around, I'm back in deer mode and I am in deer mode on through the winter. But man, something about the month of April, I guess I've just equated with too much good stuff.
Too much good fishing, too much good Turkey hunting. But, uh, yeah, we got a good episode for you today. I got a chance to talk with Mr. Dan Johnson from the nine Finger Chronicles podcast, the Emperor of the Sportsman's Empire Podcast Network. And we get into all kinds of good stuff. We're in that time [00:02:00] of year right now where I'm actually beginning to plan for not only my, uh, Turkey hunts that I have coming up, but also my, um, my archery hunts this fall.
And while I am, uh, living in the state of Georgia, I've actually not hunted for turkeys here on my own for myself yet. I've taken my kids out, tried to get them on a bird. I probably won't get out for the next couple of weeks until I make it to Iowa. Now, Iowa's gonna be my first stop. On, my gosh, I don't wanna call it a Turkey tour cause that's so overplayed at this point.
But on my trip for hunting turkeys, right, I'm gonna make my first stop in Iowa. I've got a second season tag there, and I have never been to Iowa, so I have a couple of goals. Number one, obviously kill a Turkey in Iowa. Number two, get a little bit of scouting done because I've got, as you'll hear in this episode, I'm gonna have as of May 1st, I'll have four points for deer hunting in Iowa.
So I want to do some deer scouting while I'm there. So I wanted to [00:03:00] talk to Dan about a couple of things. Number one, he does a lot of travel trips and just to say, Hey, all right, Dan, what do I, what am I gonna forget? Like, what do I need to be prepped for? What would you prepare a guy to, uh, make sure he has figured out before he goes?
Uh, also to kind of get a lay of the land. All right, Dan, what can I expect when it comes to Turkey hunting in the particular part of Iowa where I'm going to be? And then also, finally, how do I as a non-resident, step into Iowa? And do some meaningful deer scouting without just being absolutely overwhelmed.
I've talked to a lot of other guys before who've just said, man, when you get there, the sign is unreal. It's unlike anything else that you're gonna see anywhere else. And I feel like that could potentially stop me from making good choices when it comes to scouting and deer hunting. So I talked to Dan about all that good stuff.
We also talk about parenting. We talk about Dan's ideas for a new children's book called The Volcano Dad. We definitely need to come out with that thing. And yeah, just a great conversation with Dan Gladi could come on, uh, a little bit of an update from me. Like I said, uh, man's Turkey season. I am full blown [00:04:00] in Turkey mode right now thinking about turkeys.
Uh, little bit of fishing. Got some of that coming up as well. But, uh, mostly turkeys. And as I'm planning my trip right now, uh, one of the really, really helpful tools that is, that is getting me where I feel like I need to be as far as being prepped is the OnX Hunt app. Um, I've mentioned before, they're one of the partners of the show.
I went in. I found the zone where I was going to be. I found a, a town where I felt like I could have kind of all the things I need, right? Like I've got a place to stay. I know some people right around in there, and there are a lot of public land options right around that I can hop from one property to the next if I can't find what I'm looking for.
So basically what I did was go on OnX and use the, uh, range feature. And so I started with the campsite and I made a 10 mile range around that. And I went in and I marked every single public hunting spot and the parking lots to map out the access for this. And what this allows me to do [00:05:00] is now I'm gonna go back in and start picking out some high points, picking out the ag fields, picking out the areas where I think the turkeys are gonna be hanging out.
But it gave me a good starting point to know, all right, here are the properties you can go to and. Here are the places you park for them so that when I show up, even if I don't do anything else, I know I've got some places to go, park my vehicle, get out of the car and listen for turkey's. Goblin, this trip was kind of a last minute thing.
I bought a tag just on a whim. Wasn't planning to go to Iowa this year, but the Onyx Hunt app has gotten me very, very quickly ready to go with this. So if you haven't checked out OnX already, do go to their website onxmaps.com or go to the app store of your choice and simply look up the OnX Hunt app will not be disappointed.
And speaking of Turkey season right now, our friends over ATT cam have got a couple of good packages going on right now. Number one, they've got their Ultimate Turkey package. You get a 6.0 camera, a barrel mount, and an extra battery for just $299 and you get free shipping With that, you're gonna [00:06:00] save 50 bucks if you go with that package.
One thing I'm trying out new this year is uh, hunting with a red dot. So I have not done that in years prior. My kids have a, well, I bought a four 10 a couple years ago. Put a red dot scope on it for my kids this year. I think that gun is gonna get carried around by me. My kids love it, but I just realized, man, that thing's a lot lighter than my 12 gauge, and I just really, really enjoy shooting it.
So I'm gonna take that bad boy out. And Tcam has right now for those of you who use a red dot, their Turkey FTS package. Now what this comes with is a solo extreme camera, the FTS system, which is a film through the scope, which attaches right there to your red dot scope as well as an extra battery. And you're gonna get all of that for just 2 50, 1 98.
Now what that is, is a 30% savings. You also get free shipping with that. So head over tot cam.com. Get all geared up for Turkey season if you're looking to start filming your hunts. There's no better time than Turkey season because turkeys just come in, they act foolish around the de. Uh, it is just fantastic.
So, so yeah, [00:07:00] go check 'em out T to cam.com. Also, if you were looking to add some new camo to your arsenal, go check out hunt worth gear.com. Hunt Worth makes great camo with great patterns at a fraction of the cost of some of the other high-end camo out there. I personally, huge fan of the Tarn pattern and for a lot of these early season Turkey hunts, I'm probably gonna be wearing some of the Elkins line when I'm hunting up north.
Hopefully if the days warm up just a little bit, I'll be in my Durham lightweight pants, which are awesome. They got a little bit of stretch to 'em. They've got a reinforce seat, reinforced knees, so, uh, yeah, they're gonna keep you comfortable. They're gonna keep you cool, so go check 'em out. Hunt worth gear.com.
With all that stuff outta the way, let's jump right into the episode now, talking about all things Turkey yaning and deer scouting with Dan. Join me for this week's episode of the Wisconsin Sportsman Podcast. Is the Emperor from the Sportsman's Empire. Mr. Dan Johnson. Dan, what's going on buddy? Not
Dan Johnson: much, man.
Wisconsin. I thought we were gonna be doing the, uh, the How to Hunt Gear podcast, [00:08:00] but Wisconsin, yeah, there uh, I got a lot of, I know a lot of guys in Wisconsin. Well,
Josh Raley: you know what? It's funny, we started, when we first started talking, um, you know, about possibly bringing on a show for, specifically for Wisconsin.
Mm-hmm. Uh, we were talking back and forth a little bit, and then I heard you on another episode. You were talking about Wisconsin and you mentioned you knew a guy that lived in the town where I lived, and I was like, what in the world are you, you had at one time? And I was like, what a small, yeah, what a small world.
You know, that, that he knows somebody that lives here. So, Anyway, but yeah, ma'am, we, uh, I'm a few weeks ahead on the How to Hunt Deer Show this Wisconsin one, though I'm kind of, you know, trying to, trying to catch up on yet. I got like three weeks ahead on the How to Hunt Deer podcast. But, and I wanted to talk to you on this one because, um, I bought a, an Iowa Turkey tag, sir, as a non-resident, sir.
Mm-hmm. Now, if you've never bought an Iowa Turkey tag as a non-resident, [00:09:00] um, the sticker shock is real. Like, they're not cheap. How much was it? It was $276. I think.
Dan Johnson: Now we, I guess we love our
Josh Raley: turkeys. Dude, you, you guys really value your turkeys. They're like real important to you. Um, so the, the tag itself was one 20, the license was one 20 and then there was a.
I guess stamp or something that I had to get on top of that. So, yep. Uh, yeah, ended up being pretty expensive, but was great because number one, I've always wanted to hunt Iowa. Number two. Yep. Uh, I wanted to extend my season, uh, cause I'm going up for a week in Wisconsin. I'm gonna have a one week Turkey season.
I thought, man, that's a long way to go for just a week of Turkey hunting. I'd love to extend it. So I was able to extend it over there in, in, into Iowa, in zone six. And I also am about to buy on May 1st when they're, when they're available as a non-resident. My fourth point for Iowa. So I'm getting [00:10:00] up there to where I can really realistically start like planning my Iowa trip for deer.
Heck yeah. Heck yeah. Uh, yeah. So it's super exciting. But I was like, I, I want to talk about turkeys because I'm gonna be Turkey hunting and, and just like planning an out-of-state trip in general. I know you do a fair bit of that and you go to places that are like, You know, I'm so far from home. I'm not just gonna turn around tonight if I forget something.
Right. Like, you're right, you're heading west, you're kind of out in the middle of nowhere. You're not exactly staying like in towns and stuff. Uh, right. So I thought that'd be valuable. But then number two, I'm gonna be doing some deer scouting while I'm in Iowa as well. And man, as a non-resident, as a guy that's coming from, you know, right now scouting around in the hills of North Georgia, uh, or even, you know, some of the places where I hunt in, in southern Wisconsin that are really good, the sign I feel like is gonna be a lot different.
Like, it's just gonna be a whole new world to try to interpret, uh, you know, what it is that I'm looking at. So I thought I need to get Dan on and figure out what I can [00:11:00] expect.
Dan Johnson: Yeah. Yeah. Well, what dates are you coming for
Josh Raley: Turkey? So, my tag is good for the 14th through the eight. 14th
Dan Johnson: through the 18th. Yeah.
So that would be, and that's with a firearm, right? Yes. It's a gun. Yep. Yeah. Yep. So that's the second, second
Josh Raley: season. Yep. Second season. The second it is, there were, there were 22 of those tags left over. Uh, okay. And so I had a buddy call me, he was like, Hey, we got 22 tags left over for this zone. You better buy one.
So that's not, and what, what, what zone? That's zone six. Now, do, do the zones work different for non-residents when it comes to Turkey? Uh, or are there no zones when it comes to
Dan Johnson: residents? I don't think so. I think the zones are the same for deer and Turkey. I'm almost positive. Well, so
Josh Raley: zone six for Turkey is in like, no.
And if I'm correct, zone six for deers like southeast Iowa. Is that right? No. Isn't it further
Dan Johnson: south [00:12:00] maybe. Okay. I, I think so. Okay. Well, and you know, as a nonresident or as a resident, I really don't look at all those things too terribly much. Sure. I just thought this, the, the zones were the same across the, you know, across the state for both species, but obviously
Josh Raley: not.
Yeah. I think they're different for, for deer and for Turkey. So what I'm gonna be in for Turkey would be like zones eight and nine for deer. Mm-hmm. I think something like that, so. Okay. And those are obviously, so you're
Dan Johnson: gonna be, you're gonna be in northeast Iowa? Yeah.
Josh Raley: Yeah. Okay. Yep, yep, yep. And so like the, the, I've got four, I'll have four points in.
I'm not gonna blow those four points on zones eight and nine for Deere, because I can get those zones with a lot fewer points. So I'm gonna keep saving for Southern Iowa and just do it right, like get the five or six points or whatever it takes me, or, you know, I think most guys can probably get it with five points and an application or whatever.[00:13:00]
Yeah. And so I'm gonna keep holding on and, and, and try to hunt the southern Iowa, get the southern Iowa experience. But I am gonna hunt kind of while I'm up there. Maybe. Hopefully. I, I'm thinking I'll kill a Turkey pretty quick. I, I don't know. We'll see. I may not get one at all, but, um, yeah. So then maybe head south and do a little bit of scouting, but, uh, man, let's, let's hone in on, uh, first of all, what the heck's going on with you?
I've got kids running around upstairs right now, like I can hear pitter patter. Uh, kids are on spring break. So in the world of Dan Johnson, where are we at right now?
Dan Johnson: Last week was a breeze man. There was nothing going on this week. We have baseball, we have wrestling, we have football, we have dance. And so we are getting into just overload right now.
I mean, just straight up overload. Uh, we, I made the mistake assigning my son up for spring football, uh, not necessarily [00:14:00] knowing that it was gonna be, and they didn't have a coach. Uh, and so guess who volunteered to coach
Josh Raley: You got
Dan Johnson: sucked in. Yep. Yeah. Got sucked in. And so I'm, I'm assistant coach on baseball.
I'm head coach for football and, uh, Yep. And so then I'll take my, you know, on Tuesdays, so I'm, I'm busy, so my wife's gonna have to take my daughter to dance on some nights. My son to soccer practice, my other son to soccer practice, uh, my daughter to, uh, wrestling practice on Tuesdays, and she wants to play, uh, softball as well.
So, wow. Who knows, man, I just, like, I, I, I wake up, like there's, sometimes I wake up, I'm like, it's Monday again. Like, it is just, it's just crazy how fast times is going by,
Josh Raley: dude. Yeah. So this isn't like, this isn't like just sports that are like overlapping, like one season's ending and a new one's beginning.
This is like, All of these are all three kids. [00:15:00] Oh,
Dan Johnson: yeah. Oh man. Okay. Yeah. All three kids are on top of each other, so, all right. I don't know, man. Is, is what it is. I can sit here and bitch about it, but, uh, truthfully, it's fun. You know, I, I really enjoy watching my kids do their activities and, um, I'm, you know, I'm really looking forward to my daughter's dance recital and, uh, and, uh, my son, you know, being able to coach my son is something that, uh, you know, I think here pretty soon, like I can only do it so much longer with my oldest son until he starts getting into, uh, a, a category of sports where he's gonna need a coach that they actually know what they're doing.
Right. It's not just like, okay, fast kid, you run this way. Yeah. Or fast kid, you run that way, right? Yeah. And so they're, you know, So they, and at that, at some point, my, my expertise will, will not do them justice anymore. And so they're gonna need real coaches. And, uh, so I'm just gonna take advantage [00:16:00] of being able to coach these activities while I can and, and, uh, enjoy
Josh Raley: every minute of it.
Yeah. That's awesome, man. Well, hey, maybe you can grow with them, right? Like maybe mm-hmm. Maybe as you go, like you start to kinda learn what you're doing as a coach a little bit, man, may, maybe we see Dan Johnson, the local high school head football coach. What do you think? Yeah,
Dan Johnson: no, no. I, I'll tell you this right now, I do not have patience when it comes to these new age kids that are out there.
Here I am, I, I'm, I sound old now, like I have, I'm a four, I'm 42 years old. I see how kids behave in athletics, uh, or just in school in general. And I look back and I go, Man, there was no way I would've been able to get away with stuff like that when I was a kid. And so I look at just how kids behave these days, and it's just as much the parent's fault as anybody, and they get away with it.
Yeah. And, and I'm just like, [00:17:00] not with my kids man. They're, you know, discipline is, Kind of, uh, important in our household and we make it a priority if you act like a goof and, uh, you know, there's consequences for actions and things like that. And so, um, I don't think I could, I would just be like out of control, angry all the time with the way some of these kids are acting and I don't have the patience for that stuff.
And so I feel like when the expectation is a five year old, I can handle that, go out, have fun, be a little silly, but, you know, 18 year old, you know, 16, 17, 18 year olds act doing that same shit. I don't think I can
Josh Raley: handle it. Yeah, for sure. Especially when there, there's this element where you expect a five-year-old to act like a child, but when you're dealing with a 17 year old that like yeah, can look you straight in the eyes or maybe they're even a little taller than you, it's like you, you shouldn't be acting like a child at this point.
Like there should be a difference in the way you carry yourself. Um, absolutely. From a five year old. Absolutely. Yeah. I think we see too mu too much these days of, of kids not. [00:18:00] Um, yeah, not developing that, uh, actually entering into manhood when it would be Right. Physiologically appropriate. Right. They're waiting.
Right. Absolutely. They're waiting until they're much older, but, well man, that's cool. I'm, I'm glad you get that opportunity to do that. So, uh, let's chat a little bit now about Turkey season. Uh, do you, you have Turkey plans for the year or are you kind of sitting back? So I've gotta lead with a, with a pretty hilarious story.
You know, I moved down to Georgia, right? Yes, sir. Uh, the other day on my hunting lease, I did not get to go. I was out consulting on a property on the opening day of Turkey season. I probably shouldn't have been doing that. I probably should have been in the Turkey woods. But, um, you know, you make hay while the sun shines right on the lease that I'm on.
I was not aware. A YouTuber who is famous for killing a lot of turkeys was on said lease too. I knew there were a lot of guys. Mm-hmm. We've got like 2000 acres. Mm-hmm. Uh, I hunted a [00:19:00] bird with my kids during the youth season and we got on 'em on this hillside both mornings. Bird did the same exact thing, couldn't get 'em killed.
Whatever. A famous YouTuber who kills lots of turkeys went in and according to my buddy, killed that bird on that hillside Saturday morning. Mm-hmm. And I had no idea he's even in the lease. They just shows up. Yeah. And goes in and kills my bird. Man. I don't know how I feel about that. I don't know what to do with it.
Dan Johnson: Tough shit. Yeah. You know, like, what are you gonna do? I don't, I don't know. Uh, is it the fact that he's a famous YouTuber? Or is it the fact that some dude just got underneath you and and
Josh Raley: shot a bird? No, it's the fact that I don't stand a chance, man. I'm not a good Turkey caller. And he is okay. He's all right.
There you go. You know it's
Dan Johnson: suck. That's the real issue. Yeah. That's the real, that's the real issue. That's the real issue. If you suck
Josh Raley: and he's better than you, that's exactly right. Like, I'm gonna watch this video in a couple weeks when it comes out, and he's probably gonna make a comment like, man, that [00:20:00] was the easiest bird I've ever killed in my life.
Meanwhile, I've worked him two mornings in a row and can't get 'em killed. Uh, right.
Dan Johnson: Well, the, it's gonna be, it's not gonna be that, it's gonna be, the title of the video is like, I got this, I, I shot this Turkey while another hunter was trying to call him in. Yeah. Like this, or, or bad hunter pushes, uh, pushes Turkey right towards me.
Josh Raley: Dumbest bird in Georgia shot,
Dan Johnson: you know. And your kid was with you, right?
Josh Raley: Well, no, so this was, so I hunted at the previous weekend. He came in the following Saturday on when, when regular season opened. I wasn't out there. Um, I was on a property doing, doing some consulting work. I should have been out Turkey.
Gotcha. But, gotcha. Because I've got Iowa and Wisconsin coming up for Turkey season. I've kind of put George on the back burner here, um, and trying to get some work done beforehand. But what are your plans for Turkey season? Like, do you have a tag?
Dan Johnson: So I was [00:21:00] all, I was all like, Not gonna do Turkey season this year.
Uh, be just because of what I just said in the schedule. Sure. You know, I'm, I'm, I'm busy five days a week, and so I might be able to get out in the mornings here, um, next week at some point. But here's what I'm gonna say. My daughter asked me, Hey, uh, dad, can I go, can I go hunting with you this spring? And I'm like, yeah, let's do it.
And so I'm pulling my daughter outta school this Friday and I'm taking her, I'm not a hundred percent sure where, where I'm going quite yet, but, uh, I'm gonna take her Turkey hunting Friday morning and Saturday morning. And then we have Easter on Sunday. And so I'll, I have to come help prepare for that.
Cause I think I'm gonna smoke something on the smoker. Uh, smoke some meat. But, um, she expressed interest in going and I'm just like, Hey, if I'm gonna pull my kid outta school for anything, it might as well be to go hunting. Yeah. And, uh, yeah. And [00:22:00] so we're gonna go, we're going hunting. Uh, the youth season here in Iowa is Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Sunday being Easter. And so I'm gonna go out and I'm gonna, uh, go do that. And hopefully, hopefully, uh, we get something. So at least something cool happens. I, you know, I can't pull the trigger. I can do pretty much everything else. She's gonna have to pull the trigger. So this, this week sometime we're gonna have to, uh, go out to the shooting range or out in the country somewhere and, uh, go shoot, you know, shoot a, a couple guns, uh, to get her comfortable.
Uh, she's done it before, but, uh, but it was when she was much smaller, so I'm, I'm looking forward to taking her out, trying to get some turkeys to respond. Hopefully there's been a little increase in the population, uh, than previous years. The last couple years have just been dead. Man, uh, as far as Tom's are concerned, and, uh, I, I hope that, uh, by me [00:23:00] getting out there early with her, uh, like one whole, basically three days before anybody else is gonna be out there Turkey hunting.
Yeah. I hope that I can, I can hope that I can get her out there and, and do some damage to 'em. Yeah.
Josh Raley: And your, your season was rough last year, didn't you? Turkey hunt for like three and a half hours or something ridiculous. Like you did not get much Turkey hunting in last spring.
Dan Johnson: Oh, no, man, I, I think I went, I went two mornings and I had the opportunity at one Tom, uh, but he was behind a, uh, a tree and so, uh, I went out, I took my do, well, what did I do last year?
I think I took my daughter out for a little bit and then she got cold. I took her back in and then I went back out and I called the Tom in, and then that was it. And I didn't get a, I didn't get a shot opportunity. He was surrounded by hens and if I would've made a move, he would've busted. So, uh, they, they worked their way away and then it was over.
So it was like a total of maybe a [00:24:00] total of like five or six hours of actual Turkey hunting. Yeah. So,
Josh Raley: yeah, man. Bummer. Bummer. Well, look man, this is what it is. I'm gonna be up in your neck of the woods and, uh, I need, I need some help. Like, what, what can I expect, man? What are you, uh, what do you think? From the turkeys?
Yeah, what do you think? From a Turkey hunting per, like I told you exactly the town where I'm going. You remember the town? No town. Okay. I'll,
Dan Johnson: I'll s Nor, but if it's Northeast, right? Yeah, it's northeast, right? Is in the furthest northeast county,
Josh Raley: not the furthest Northeast County. So it will be in, is it along the Mississippi?
It's like not. So it's Jackson, I think, and Yep. Okay. Jackson and Clinton Counties where I'll be Okay. Kind of honing in.
Dan Johnson: Gotcha. Um, so. I mean, you're right along the, the Mississippi River corridor there. Yeah. And so, yeah, not far it, yeah, it's gonna be, you're gonna, you're gonna run into some turkeys up there.
I don't think, I think the turkeys are, are [00:25:00] good. Down south is where I think we've really had like a, a decline. Okay. And so, uh, basically it's, it's, it's gonna be fun, man. It's gonna be big terrain, uh, in the Mississippi River Valley. I think depending on where you hunt, you know, there's gonna be a lot of that, that farm ground, finger timber, but it could be a little bit more elevated, dropping down into the river valleys that are up there.
Uh, should be fun. You should be able to get to a high point on a field edge and, and just listen and then go make a move. Are, are you a blind guy or are you a running gun guy? So, a
Josh Raley: little bit of, a little bit of everything. So when I'm, when I'm hunting in Wisconsin Farm, Um, mm-hmm. I am a little bit of a blind guy because a lot of the places where I have permission are just ag.
So like if I get into the, yeah. If I get into the timber, I'm on someone else's property. Um, right. But if I'm on public, then I'm a running gun kind of guy. Maybe not true running gun. I'm a little more patient than that, but, um, [00:26:00] but yeah, if I'm, if I'm in Wisconsin, I'll run a blind, but I don't plan on taking a blind with me.
Dan Johnson: Yeah. Okay. So you're gonna be, you're gonna be running a gun. Should be fun, man. Yeah. Uh, you know, time of year, uh, man, they, they, I, several years ago, they pushed the Turkey season back, uh, one week I believe it was. And so the. I feel like when you are gonna be going, and this is just my experience over the last, you know, 15 years, that the first week is phenomenal.
Uh, if you can get these crisp, bright mornings, you know, and they'll go bananas in the tree. Uh, the second week, I feel like the turkeys are more hand up. Now you're talking to a guy who, man, I'm not a, like, I'm a, I'm a deer guy first. A Turkey guy after that. And I might be even, I might be a deer guy than a fisher or a fisherman.
Than a [00:27:00] mushroom hunter. Than a
Josh Raley: Turkey. No, you can't put turkeys lower than mushrooms. Come on, man. Dude, dude. I, well, mushrooms don't.
Dan Johnson: Mushrooms don't. Yeah. But mushrooms don't run away either. That's true. You can just, you can go look for 'em. Yeah. And so, And so the Turkey, the Turkey situation. I think if you, if you f if you get put yourself in the right position, man, you're gonna, I, I, I have a strong feeling you'll be able to hear 'em in the morning, locate 'em, make a move on 'em, and it's just de depending on if they're hand up or not.
Josh Raley: Yeah. Okay. Well, we'll see. Man, I, I don't know. I, I, I grabbed what tags were left and the one that, um, what would kind of butt up towards my Wisconsin season, but, um, yeah, look man, so while I'm up there, I, there are two things that are crossing my mind. One, this is like a true out-of-state trip, right? Like, I've never been to this area before.
Um, so I'm trying to do a lot of planning to make sure that I have everything that I need. Um, right. You know, [00:28:00] when I travel to Wisconsin that I've got a lot of fallbacks, right? Like, I've lived in that town. I've got a lot of friends in that town, um, familiar with places to stay. I can head over to somebody's house to get something and eat dinner if I need to.
Like, not a big deal. Right. When I'm there in Iowa, I'm on my own. Mm-hmm. So as I think through like a true out-of-state trip and like planning, making sure I, I don't get up there and make myself miserable, what are some of the things that I need to be thinking through? Because I know you do a lot of this out west, where if you don't have what you need, like you're kind of outta luck.
Dan Johnson: Yeah. Well that and the fact that, uh, I'm, uh, in some, some instances out west, I'm 45 miles away from the closest town or the closest gas station. Wow. So I Where you're gonna be at, that's not gonna be an issue. Sure. Right. I mean, there's gonna be towns five, 10 miles away from where you're gonna be at. And so, uh, that's not an issue.
There's gonna be state parks up there for you to hop in and, [00:29:00] uh, You know, take a shower if you want to. Right. Or if you want to camp at a campground. I don't think, is this gonna be a piece of public, public or private? You're gonna be Turkey
Josh Raley: hunting. So I'm, I'm probably doing a mix of both. I am, I've gone in and like marked all the pri all the public within like a, I don't know, 15 or so mile radius of where I'm gonna stay.
And then I'm working on some permission on some private right now. Right,
Dan Johnson: right. Okay. So, you know, if, if you get the opportunity to hunt private, I would just be like, Hey, listen, I'm a, I'm a non-resident. I'm a, I'm an out-of-state. Or is it cool if I just park my truck at your gate opening and spend the night in the back of my truck?
Yeah. If, if you can do that, if you have a topper or, or you wanna pitch a tent, that might be an option. Uh, There's dirt cheap hotels all over the place. You just have to find them. Uh, and then campgrounds, right? Yeah. There's gonna be plenty of campgrounds in the area, uh, up there, [00:30:00] uh, in northeast Iowa for you to fall back on, because the public land in Iowa, you can't sleep in, in the parking lots.
Okay. I don't think, and I'm pretty sure you can't now, you can't sleep in the, in the parking lots. You have to leave every night. And so, um, another thing that people don't know is, is that, um, for limited time, I think you can sleep in a Walmart parking lot. And so Interesting. That's, that's free. So I think for like one day or two days, you can park your truck and go there and sleep in, in a Walmart parking lot, uh, on something like that.
But I th I don't think you're gonna have any issues finding places to sleep. Yeah. Uh, I mean, pack a cooler. I don't like, I personally don't like having to leave to go into town for food. Uh, so I always pack a cooler, uh, of food, uh, have everything that I need right in my truck, and especially [00:31:00] sleeping. I don't like, I'm kind of frugal, so I don't necessarily like to pl spend money on hotel rooms unless the weather is just ridiculously wet or extremely cold.
Uh, then I might go and, and, and spend for a hotel room, but outside of that man, I got a good sleeping bag. Uh, I got all the gear that I need. I got the, my food and my water with me as well. And it's just find a good, good, uh, spot to set up. And I have a topper on my truck. So really, I'm, I'm a hundred percent mobile, right?
I can drive 10 miles, go park in a piece of public, you know, out west. I can not here in Iowa or I can go find a campground or I can. You know, I'm, I'm real close. I'm real close, and I think a campground is like 20 bucks a night or, and, uh, some of them have showers available. Uh, so everything you need is, is real close.
Yeah.
Josh Raley: Yeah. So when it, when it comes to, you know, pressure, so one of the things that I've heard [00:32:00] you say a lot is that Iowa does not have a lot of public ground. And, and that's true. The, the particular area where I'm going, um, has a lot of parcels of public ground, but they're all really small. Um, and you know, when I say small, they're all under a thousand acres.
Uh, like several of them are like 40 acres. I'm shocked they even let you hunt on it, to be honest with you. Mm-hmm. What, what can I expect as far as pressure goes? I mean, I know this isn't the, the, the terrain or the area where you normally hunt in Iowa, but like, what can I expect as far as, as pressure, because I'm picking out a lot of these places.
It's gonna be a real bummer if there are 15 other Turkey hunters in these towns because they can take up all of these small, you know, a hundred acre parcels in a morning really, really quickly. Right. Because there's only about 15 of 'em. Right.
Dan Johnson: And you're hunting a weekend. Yeah. Right? Yep, yep. You're hunt, you're hunting the, the, the, the weekend and second season.
So you're gonna ex just [00:33:00] expect more people to be out woods then. But man, I've hunted almost every Turkey that I've killed. Not all of them, but my first, my first handful of years, uh, I was on public and we, we hunted the second season as well and I very rarely ran into anybody. Okay. Now deer hunting's a a completely different story.
Sure. Right. Archery seasons is a different story, but I don't think, I don't think you're gonna have a big issue. You might pull up to a parking lot and you might see another vehicle there, but you'll be able to go a completely different direction. Uh, maybe communicate with the people that you do see, Hey, where are you going?
Okay, cool. I'm gonna go this way. And, uh, I, I don't think it's gonna be such a huge issue if you get there early, get into the woods, do your scouting, your eess scouting, look for, uh, you know, that Long Ridge or that high point, and then kind of, or, or a field edge somewhere. [00:34:00] And then just. Creep start creeping in real slow as the sun comes up.
Now, I, I don't think you're gonna have an issue getting away from people.
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Think it, I'm gonna be outta state. I, I'm trying to maximize my hunting time. Right. Like, I don't want, I don't want to just not drive to town. I don't wanna leave the woods if I don't have to because I've got, uh, four days and then my tag in Wisconsin is good starting the 19th. Mm-hmm. So I don't have very long, uh, at all to really hunt.
And so I've gotta get there to a place I've never been. Figure out where the places are. Figure out where the pressure is. Figure out where I can hunt, find birds, kill a bird in, in four days, so I don't wanna leave the woods. Are there things that like. On these out-of-state hunts you have found where you just really are kicking yourself because of something you forgot, because that, that's kind of like my fear is like, I'm gonna forget this one thing.
So is there, like, is there, Dan [00:36:00] Johnson's one thing that he didn't bring out West that he just, that like haunts you to this day, that you swear to, to yourself, you'll never leave again?
Dan Johnson: Uh, man, I'm pretty thorough. Like, I, I usually don't pack until a day or two before I actually leave. And everything is, is just like, I, I've, I take it slow.
I'm just sitting there. I go, okay, what does my day look like? I wake up, I grab this, all right, got it. Uh, I or I grab some food. All right, I wake up, I grab some food. Then what do I do? Okay, I, or I get dressed and I grab some food and then I grab some water. All my stuff is already packed for that day. So only thing I really have to do is throw my back.
Pack on, and then I, I go out and so I am, I'm, I'm pretty methodical on my approach to, you know, I, I need this, I need this, I need this all the way down to like my bow, my [00:37:00] release. And so I, I, I really haven't, other than a pair of gloves that I had to, that I had to buy at a sporting good store, I haven't forgot anything.
Okay. You know, I, I've, I, I knock on wood, if I, if I do this year, I'm blaming you for it. Yeah,
Josh Raley: well, if I forget something, I'm showing up at your house. So there you go. Pull in and be like, Hey Dan, I, I need this. Uh, sorry bud. I, I really need your help. So, um, man, the other part of the mission there in Iowa, right, like part of the draw is yes, to kill a Turkey, one hunt in Iowa.
I've been looking forward to hunting in Iowa for a long time. Uh, Turkey hunting in Iowa is, is great, just like deer hunting is. Part of what I want to accomplish while I'm there is to get some deer scouting in. But I know, like when I first went from the south to hunting in Wisconsin and saw the difference in Deer Sign [00:38:00] from Alabama, Louisiana, to southern Wisconsin, I was super overwhelmed.
Cause it was like, there's literally there. I I, any of the spots that I would scout in Wisconsin had the amount of deer sign that would make me immediately stop and hunt it in Alabama. Right, right, right. I imagine the shift could be similar, go into Wisconsin. So any tips for like a non-resident who has never been to Iowa doesn't know what he's doing and like I need to filter through some of what I'm gonna find and, and hopefully.
You know, have a good starting point when I do return for deer.
Dan Johnson: Yeah. Uh, well first off, while you're out hunting, you need to be observant because you're not hunting turkeys the entire, every moment of every day. Sure. Right. Uh, and so once that, once that timeframe comes to where, you know, the birds have stopped gobbling, and, uh, then you can definitely start scouting for sign, right?
Yep. Now [00:39:00] it's gonna start being green up by that point. So you're gonna, you're gonna lose a lot of visualization on the terrain and what that looks like in there. So I, this is what I always say, like, especially if, if you're gonna come hunt a once in five year state like Iowa, right? Yeah. You're, you have you, you mentioned before we started recording, I believe that, um, where your Turkey hunting isn't gonna be where you're deer hunting, and so I always recommend people take a, take the opportunity and Iowa.
You know, we don't, despite what people see, despite what people hear, you're not going to probably shoot a one 60 class deer. Sure. Uh, one or maybe even a one 50. But if you, if you put in your time, you will definitely run into a one 40. Okay. Okay. And for some guys, that's the biggest deer they'll ever see in their entire life.
Yeah. Okay. Absolutely. And so I, uh, [00:40:00] and, but here's the kicker. We do have, like, if I'm, I'm sitting in Georgia or Alabama and I'm daydreaming about, you know, a giant deer walking by like a one 70, it's probably not gonna happen. But in Iowa, there is a reality that a one 70 could walk by at some point. Yeah.
And so, and so, what I mean by that is take the time and try to fit in the schedule, especially Iowa to get here in March. When there's no, the, the season is over, there's no leaves on the, on the trees or on the on the shrubbery. Get in here and do as much scouting as you can. I know the second place would be, you're gonna be Turkey hunting, right?
Yep. Uh, so get in there, do your Turkey hunting, do your scouting. Um, I know it's not the same, you're not gonna be hunting in the same unit, but, um, you can look for principles and I think the principles, uh, [00:41:00] whether it's in the northeast part of the state or in the southern part of the state are transferable to said property.
So, uh, look for those, look for those, you know, transitions, look for those staging areas, things like that. And, and you should be, uh, pretty good to go.
Josh Raley: Yeah, that's my plan. So, um, I can't remember if I mentioned this part on air or off air, but, um, when points are available for non-residents this year, I'm gonna buy my fourth point in Iowa.
So I'm like getting to that point where, I can very realistically expect to draw soon in zone five, zone six, kind of those coveted tags. Right, right. Um, so that's what I'm gonna spin these on because I have so many in the future. My plan would be to switch to a zone eight or a zone nine in Iowa. And we've talked about that a little bit before on the How to Hunt Deer podcast, where I can go a little bit more often, I won't see the numbers of deer.
Uh, there probably won't be the same amount, same number of one 30 and one 40 class deer running around. [00:42:00] Hey, there's a potential
Dan Johnson: for north, northeast Iowa. Northeast Iowa, especially the northeast county has the, the, the most boon and cop Crockett entries in the entire united in, in the entire state
Josh Raley: of Iowa.
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And so like there's a real potential to run into something really special. Right. And exactly. Not only that, but there's also, um, The terrain once you get in there is a little bit friendlier to hunt, in my opinion, to hunting the rut because you can really go in and dial in on some terrain features that are gonna be your all day sick kinda locations as opposed to southern Wisconsin that doesn't quite have some of that terrain that is gonna dictate deer movement as, as strongly, I guess you could say.
Do you, would you agree with that?
Dan Johnson: Well, I've never hunted Wisconsin, so I don't, I Okay. I can't, that's, I can't compare, but I, I have hunted the, the bluffs. Right. I've, I've been in [00:43:00] the, uh, the, the bigger terrain features that, that you're talking about in Northeast Iowa, and I've hunted south, you know, obviously South Southern Iowa.
Sure. So, um, you're just gonna get more terrain up, up there in the, in the Mississippi River Valley and all the tributaries that come off of that. And so, um, You know, if, if, if you play your cards right, you can find those benches or you can find those, um, those transition areas amongst ridges, uh, that is gonna put you in a, a, like a, maybe a spur ridge leading up to a field or something like that.
And definitely find yourself in, in some, in a, in a good
Josh Raley: position. Yeah. Gotcha, gotcha. Uh, man, when it comes to these, uh, like public land spots, right, like that I'm looking at in Iowa, and I'm shifting kind of from turkeys to deer here, when it comes to hunting these smaller parcels for deer season, are they worthwhile or do I need to [00:44:00] like, because I mean, there are a lot of, there's 150 here, there's a one 20 here, there's a 40 over here and a 20 over here.
Are those spots do, in your opinion, worth like me looking at and worth my time? Or should I shift my focus and attention? You know, especially because I've got limited time to scout. Should I shift my focus and attention to some of the bigger parcels that are maybe 800, 900 acres?
Dan Johnson: I mean, really what it, you know, obviously the, the bigger acreage, the more you can roam.
But what I would do is, if you're thinking about hunting a piece of, a small piece of property that's 40 acres, I would not only look at that, right? You're limited to, to that 40 acres. But I would look at the neighborhood, yeah, I would look at all the properties surrounding it, see what terrain features are coming in and out of it.
If it's just a flat field with no terrain, it may not be the best, you know, it may not be the best, but at the same time, you know, there's deer [00:45:00] all over the place. And so yeah, I am, I am guessing that smaller parcels get overlooked. Uh, the bigger parcels get the attention. And, uh, it may be worth your while to find, you know, you hear stories every year about guys, you know, saying, Hey, uh, I, I popped into this.
You know, 30 acre wood, lot of public ground and running into something special in there. Yeah,
Josh Raley: that's a good point. That's a good point. All right, well man, that that's enough of the deer and Turkey talk. I, I've got another question for you. Um, are you feeling a little left out this morning? Because as I look at Instagram and I see some other folks from the Sportsman's Empire who went to Oklahoma Yeah.
And it appears it was an absolute blood bath. I know. When it comes to hunting wild hogs.
Dan Johnson: I know, I know. Um, I regret it. I have fear of missing out syndrome. Yeah. Uh, so when, whenever, like, uh, Nick sent [00:46:00] Nick and Andrew, they sent me some pictures. Nick from the Hunt four podcast to Andrew from the Ohio Outdoors Podcast sent me some pictures.
Um, I definitely got jealous, and then I regret making the decision to not go down there. Yeah. And so, uh, God, that would've been fun, but it's my own fault.
Josh Raley: Yeah. Yeah. I'm, I'm in the same boat. I, I had to sit back and say, okay, I'm making a, a long Turkey trip. I'm gonna hit Iowa, I'm gonna hit Wisconsin.
There's a chance I'm gonna hit Ohio on the way back through. Mm-hmm. There's a chance I stop in Tennessee if I've got enough time. So, like, I've got a long, God, I don't wanna call it a Turkey tour, but I got a lot of Turkey hunting to do. Right. Like in a, in a couple week span. And so I just had to prioritize.
And that was one that fell to the back burner. But dude, you look at what they did in just a couple of days, like they just smashed them. They crushed. Yeah. They crushed, they filled four coolers and then proceeded to drive to Walmart to buy more coolers because they [00:47:00] wanted, because they wanted to kill more animals.
Right. It's just insane. Just absolutely insane. And then to top it off, Andrew from the oh two podcast went down to Missouri a couple weeks before that, and apparently they had just an absolute field plan. Coyotes laying, yeah. Yeah. With the coyotes. And he got to do the whole thermal hunting at night thing and all that.
And I'm like, dude, my obsession with turkeys is making me miss out on all of these other opportunities. And, and I think I'm okay with that for this year. But like this morning, man, I'm, I'm really sitting back like, gosh, I, I really feel like I missed something.
Dan Johnson: Yeah. I don't know, man. I, I, I used to get real, I, I used to be able to put more on my schedule, but now just I, I've learned that I can't do everything all the time.
Do I want to? Wouldn't, wouldn't it be nice to just like, go away and hunt and do whatever you wanted all the time, but then, you [00:48:00] know, you got your kids at home. And do I, I'll tell you this, I have friends who are in their forties. Never been married, don't have kids, and they just, from outside looking in, it looks like they have this spectacular life of freedom.
And the guy was like, yeah, man, I'm gonna go to Canada on a, this fishing trip and I'm gonna go there for three weeks and I'm gonna, I'm gonna sleep on the side of a lake that, uh, the airplane drops 'em down into wow. And then, you know, three weeks later, they're gonna come pick me up or something like that.
Uh, or I go out west to for elk, and then I go to, after elk, I do a mule deer. And then after mule deer, I, I hunt three whitetail states. And they're like, that, that sounds amazing. But you know, once you get married, One leg comes off and then once you have kids, the other leg comes off. Uh, and I don't mean to like, that sounds bad, but it's the truth, right?
Yeah. You're not as mobile. You can't be as mobile. So that's where the [00:49:00] planning and preparation really comes into play. Yeah,
Josh Raley: for sure. And and I think we would both say we wouldn't trade it for that, right? Like we wouldn't Exactly. We wouldn't trade the life of wife and kids for that life of, of absolute freedom where they go out and and kill.
Dan says, but what? But would
Dan Johnson: ya? No. What? But would we, but you know, there's days where you're just like, holy cow. Yeah. Like the other, the other day I think it was a over, I wanna say it was over a deflated. This is not even a, a fully inflated toy basketball. I mean, it's the size of a softball. It was a basketball.
All three of my kids were fighting over it, and I wanted to leave my family at that point, they were fighting over it. Oh. I didn't wanna be a part of it anymore. And I was just like, Hey, you know, I, my, my parenting only goes so far. Uh, you guys are on your own. And then I just kind of went outside for a little breath of fresh air.
Yeah,
Josh Raley: yeah, [00:50:00] yeah, man. There, there are definitely those, those stressful days. Like, uh, yesterday with my crew, we, uh, it was really warm. It was like, you know, 70 something degrees here in Georgia. Right. We filled up a bunch of water balloons. It's water play time, right? Like you, and, and as an adult, as a parent, you put so much work into water balloons, right?
Like it takes some time to get 'em all filled up. Tied up, ready to go. So we did over a hundred water balloons, Y. My kids. Did you use the ones that
Dan Johnson: you, you screw onto the hose and it blows up like 10 of them at like 20
Josh Raley: of 'em at one time? So we did, we did try that. We did, we did. Okay. Yeah. So we did some of that, which was great cuz that that adds to it.
Yeah. But dude, even after you go through that, the kids went through every single water balloon in a total of about three and a half minutes. Yep. I mean, they were, they were gone in mm-hmm in no time. And it's like, oh, there, there went my day, like that was my day right there. That was a symbol of my day that piled water balloons.
And now,
Dan Johnson: [00:51:00] Now they're nothing. It takes longer to set up the kid activity than it does for the kid acti, or to the kids to lose interest in the activity. Yep. So it's like, okay, I'm gonna get out all these coloring books, blah, blah, blah. They color like half a page, and they're like, ah, now what? Now what?
Because your goal is to keep 'em off of YouTube or keep 'em off. Yeah. Uh, the video games, right? Yeah. You gotta try to find, okay, let's go outside. It's finally nice, let's go outside. They play, I'm bored. Go ride your bike. Okay, go ride your bike up and down. I'm bored. And then finally, a, at some point you gotta get stuff done and you're just like, YouTube, right?
Yeah. And then they zone out into zombies and, uh, uh, then you can finally get some peace. But then that's when I feel guilty about it. Oh, yeah. You know?
Josh Raley: Yeah. Well, and dude, you, I feel like you pay for it too. So like, you know, you, you pop on a movie or something for the kids so that you can get, you know, an hour and a half, like a full work concentration time.
Once that movie is over, my kids are younger, they're eight, six, [00:52:00] and four, right? Mm-hmm. So, you know, on the young end of things, when they're done with a movie, their moods just go to crap. Like they're, they can be wonderful, peaceful, having a great day so far. We did crafts in the morning, all right, let's watch a movie.
Now it's time for dad to get some stuff done. They watch a movie and then from that point on, it's like the rest of the day they just fight and scream. Yeah. And, yep. It's like it melts their brain and, and short circuits 'em for
Dan Johnson: the rest of the day. Yeah. I can't wait till summer vacation. Uh, when, I don't know.
Have you ever seen, have you ever seen the movie Indiana Jones in the search for the Holy Grail?
Josh Raley: I have, but it's been a long
Dan Johnson: time. Yeah. So Indiana Jones and this other guy, you know, there's other people and there's all these cups sitting along the wall and you know, you gotta pick the right cup to drink out of.
That gives you eternal life or it heals your, you know, it will heal your body. [00:53:00] And so the first guy comes up and he, he's. Goble, right? Gold and crusted things, and, and you're supposed to pick the, the cup that represents Jesus. Well, he dips it into the holy water, he drinks it, and he slowly decays it from a, a, a person into a skeleton and then turns to dust and blows away.
That is the best representation of parenting that I have ever seen in my life. Oh my gosh. Like, just like you start off the day like, okay, I'm the greatest dad in the world. Yeah. And then by the end of the day, you're just this hideous monster that eventually gives up and fades away, dude. That,
Josh Raley: that's actually really a Yeah.
Cause you, you can start the day with like, the best intentions and like, you know, just kind and patient and like ready to get some act. Hey guys, I got all this. We're gonna do all this stuff today. It's gonna be great. And [00:54:00] then Yeah. By the end of the night it's, it's screaming. Go
Dan Johnson: brush your, you're
Josh Raley: a psychopath too.
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. And and they won. And they won. Yep. Just like that. They won.
Dan Johnson: They won. And then they get to, they get to see us at our worst, uh, uh, I mean, I have, you know, and this is slowly turned from a hunting podcast into a, uh, I don't, I don't wanna call it a parenting podcast, but like a, it was bound to have a venting Yeah.
A venting session where I call it volcano dad. Yeah. Like, like, I even now warn my kids like, Hey, listen, uh, I'm, I'm doing the best I can here. The next step is volcano dad. And you do not want Volcano dad. Volcano dad. For those who don't know what Volcano dad is, a volcano is basically just a mountain most of the time.
Right. It's just a mountain. It's pretty to look at. You can climb on it. You can have fun with it. But then when you're naughty, [00:55:00] that mountain starts to steam a little bit, right? And, and the mountain starts to give you signs. Like, uh, if I say, Hey, go brush your teeth and you don't brush your teeth, or, Hey, go pick up the basement because you got all the toys out, but you didn't put 'em away.
You know, I've told the six times. Now I'm starting to get a little angry. The steam comes. The mountain, and now the mountain's starting to look a little bit more like a volcano, right? So there's signs, but the people, they never pay attention to the signs. They're like, oh, the steam's gonna go away. And then finally there's a breaking point where the mountain explodes, it lays waste to communities, and there's lava and there's poison.
And thousands and thousands of people die. These people, they knew the volcano was coming, but they did nothing to prepare for it. And so now they're in shock. They've seen me at my worst. I have completely blown up. I, I, I ruin my day, I ruin my kids' [00:56:00] day. And, but here's the thing. They learn, then after, after the volcano explodes, there is, there's a, there's a period of peace where there's no fighting, there's no, there's no arguing.
You know, nobody's taken advantage of the, the volcano or the mountain anymore because they, you know, everything is peace because they know that the volcano can destroy their lives. And, and then, and then time slips away and they, they, you know, generations pass. Nobody respects the volcano anymore. And then way here comes the volcano again.
Right? And so I do my best to not turn into volcano, dad, but I will say that, um, it happens. And then after that, my kids respect me, dude, by force, by force,
Josh Raley: we, we have got to write. A children's book called Volcano
Dan Johnson: Dad. [00:57:00] Called
Josh Raley: Volcano Dad. Yeah. We're, dude, it, it begins with it. It's gotta begin with like, this animated Dan Johnson telling his kids to brush their teeth and then they don't do it.
Right. And then you go into the parable, like Right. Telling the story of the volcano. Yeah. And then it just goes over to like, so at the very end you've just got a couple of confused kids looking at you. Yeah. And you tell 'em to go brush their teeth and they totally ignore you again. And it closes with you just looking into the, looking at the reader with steam coming off your head like you're about to blow.
Like everybody knows what's about to happen. And
Dan Johnson: that's the end. Oh man. That's a good, that's a good one. That's a good, or, or da or dad, like dad standing on this, this landscape. And in the background, is this lava just destroyed his entire city? That love? That could be, yeah. Or the other, the other one would be a, an an a book called just like Don't Beep with Dad.
Oh, I like that. Don't blank. Yep. Don't beep with dad. Yep. [00:58:00] And then it's the story. It's just like, Hey, dad tried to warn you. Dad's been real cool about this whole thing. Dad's got a really long fuse, but that really long fuse leads to a thousand pounds of dynamite. And so, yeah. Uh, he's cool man. But don't bleep with dad.
Yeah.
Josh Raley: Yeah. That's good. That's good. Well, man, this is, uh, this has gone from Turkey talk. It's been
Dan Johnson: educational to deer talk
Josh Raley: to, just talking about what our buddies are up to now to parenting and this has been really good. So, uh, I want to close with this man. There's some exciting stuff that's been going on with, uh, Sportsman's Empire.
You know, we've been working together for a little over a year now as far as podcasting and, uh, man, it's just a good time right? To be part of the network. It's a good time to be doing what we're doing. Why don't you let the folks know what we've got rocking at the, uh, at the network and what they can expect maybe in the next couple of months?
Dan Johnson: Yeah, dude, man. Okay, so here's [00:59:00] this. Um, I haven't even made any announcements on this yet, but, uh, vapor Trail, the company, vapor Trail, yeah. They're gonna be putting a podcast out on the network. Um, I, I'm, I'm closing a deal with, uh, uh, a company called Hunt Science. And so it's all about the science behind, like all the animals that we hunt, and so that thing's coming to life.
Um, we're, we're in the process now of looking for a new host for the Michigan podcast. Yep. And so I've been talking to people like that. So we have three, we have three podcasts, um, that are, go, like two are gonna be brand new, and then, uh, the other one's gonna kind of have a little bit of a reboot. Uh, And so, I mean, outside of that, I, I, you know, it's just business as usual.
Yeah. Putting out some just amazing content, man, I can't, uh, I can't believe the quality of content that we're putting out. And I, you know, maybe I'm [01:00:00] biased, but I, I'm gonna put our, our content up against any other, uh, podcaster. Al hear you. I don't care who they are, I don't care how big they are. The quality of content coming outta the Sportsman's empire is
Josh Raley: at the top.
Yep. I agree, man. It's, it's just gotten better and better. And I look at a lot of guys, um, you know, none of the shows on the network have ever been bad. Let's, you know, they're all, oh no, we're all vetted pretty thoroughly. But yeah, the, like, I've gotten to watch the growth in some guys over the last year and a half or so and yeah.
Yeah. Just topnotch quality coming out. It's not your typical. Uh, bunch of podcasts where, you know, you listen to and it's just two guys goofing off. Although sometimes it is that. Yeah. But you always walk away with something, you know, there's entertainment, there's a little bit of education. Um, absolutely everything you want out of a podcast.
So good stuff, guys. Go check 'em out. Uh, sportsman's empire.com. Keep up with everything that we're doing. Instagram at Sportsman's Empire, is that right? Is there, is there an underscore in
Dan Johnson: there? [01:01:00] Yeah, some, yeah, I had to redo my, uh, my uh, Instagram feed because someone thought I was ripping 'em off or something.
I don't know. But, uh, Sportsman's, I think it's Sportsman's Underscore Empire. Okay.
Josh Raley: All right. And they can find you where. Nine Finger Chronicles all things Nine Finger Chronicles, all Things
Dan Johnson: Nine Finger Chronicles. Oh, and by the way, uh, if you're listening to this, the Sportsman's Empire has now started putting a lot of of video content on the Sportsman's Empire, uh, YouTube channel.
I'm not sure if this
Josh Raley: is this one going on there. I don't know. I we're toying around with some things, so you might be a Guinea pig. Yeah, this might go up. This might be one of those that I'm like, eh, I'm not ready yet. So we'll see. Yeah,
Dan Johnson: yeah. All right. So I know that all the, all the Nine Finger Chronicles uh, podcast, I'm recording video too.
And so if you wanna just look at people, interview each other, then you can, you can go [01:02:00] there as well. So I'm just really looking forward to the next, uh, couple months, get some growth. Uh, cuz it's growing season here for the, the network where we expand, where we put out a ton of content and then, oh, it's basically preparing us for, uh, for the hunting season.
Josh Raley: Yeah, man. So how many. So after we, we launch these next couple or bring on the next few, how many podcasts are we gonna be at?
Dan Johnson: I think I'm looking at the schedule here, man. I think we're launching, it's not 25, it's gonna be close to 25 episodes a week. Different episodes. Geez. A week. Okay. And, and on top of that, it's like, I want to say that 25 is I put out two.
The Hounds Man XP podcast puts out two a week. They're three,
Josh Raley: I think that's Homans at three. They're three. Yeah,
Dan Johnson: they're three. How? Yeah. Homan. Yep. Homan XP is at three. And so of those [01:03:00] 25, uh, podcasts, uh, uh, a week. Episodes a week. I think we have 20 or 21, maybe even tw Yeah. 21 content providers. Yeah. Uh, and so towards the end, you know, once we get everything El uh, else launched and, and, uh, ready to go, then we're gonna almost be at max capacity.
Josh Raley: Dude, that's awesome. Well, good stuff man. Thanks for coming on the show today. And, uh, yeah, everybody go check 'em out. And Nine Finger Chronicles, if you're listening to this, you probably already listened to Dan, so, uh, just
Dan Johnson: is what it's, Hey, good luck to everybody, uh, out in
Josh Raley: the Turkey Woods, man. Yeah. Good luck to you.
That's all for this week's episode. As always, thank you so much for tuning in. If you dig this show, be sure to subscribe to this podcast wherever it is that you get your podcast. While you're at it, if you could lead me a five star review, I would very much appreciate that. You can also follow along with my outdoor adventures on Instagram at the Wisconsin Sportsman, or at how to hunt deer.
That's also the best way to get ahold of me. Suggest topics, guests, or questions that you'd like me to explore on the show. Big [01:04:00] thanks to our partners, TCAM Hunt Worth and OnX. Please go support the brands that support this show. And if you're looking for more great outdoor content, check out the sportsmans empire.com where you'll find my other podcast, the How to Hunt Dear Podcast, as well as a ton of other awesome outdoor podcasts.
And until next time, make sure you make the time to get outside and enjoy the incredible natural resources that are ours as Wisconsin Sportsman.
