Show Notes
In this episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman, Mitch is joined by his buddy Cole Seitzinger, who talks about balancing family life with hunting and his transition to hunting with a saddle. The balancing act requires Cole to be specific with his time to allow success; the saddle helps with his time efficiency. The conversation begins with the pros and cons of saddle hunting and the impact of content creation on the hunting experience. From here, Cole breaks down the hunt for his 2023 PA buck.
Cole was able to harvest this buck on the first sit of the year at this property. He had not hunted it for 3 seasons, in fact the previous sit he also arrowed his largest PA buck to date. Cole shares the ins and outs of learning the timing of the properties he hunts, and how he had to make an adjustment after missing the best time at another property. This is part one of two, tune in next week when Cole breaks down his trip to Illinois where he arrowed a bruiser!
Show Transcript
Mitchell Shirk (00:00.888)
You're listening to the Pennsylvania Woodsman powered by Sportsman's Empire Podcast Network. This show is driven to provide relatable hunting and outdoor content in the Keystone State and surrounding Northeast. On this show, you'll hear an array of perspectives from biologists and industry professionals to average joes with a lifetime of knowledge. All centered around values aiming to be better outdoorsmen and women. Both in the field as well as home and daily life. No clicks, no self -interest, just the light in the pursuit of creation.
And now, your host, the man who's too good to stop for a roadkill deer, check it out, Mitchell Shirt.
Mitchell Shirk (00:44.11)
Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode, our first of September. I'm glad you are with us this week. I got a little bit of interesting things happening over this past Labor Day weekend. I was able to go out and do a little bit of hunting preparation. One of the properties that I'm hunting, it's a pretty good drive away, it's in Western Pennsylvania.
and I really wanted to, there's about a third of an acre that I had planned it for a food plot. I really neglected it. I just didn't take the time, find the time to maintain it this year the way I wanted it. Every time I wanted to try to plant nitro boost in the springtime, either my schedule didn't align or we didn't get the weather that cooperated.
and I just ended up getting left go and it was a weedy mess. Grasses, goldenrods, thistles, burdocks, know, just a mess of weeds. And you know, I've talked a lot about poor man no -till and broadcasting into standing vegetation and then terminating it with glyphosate and mowing and
even running a cul -de -pac or a drag of some sort. And I did that whole process, but it was a situation where it really should have been sprayed. It was too thick. The grasses and everything else were just too thick. When you stood in the field and you looked down at the vegetation, you could not see the soil. You really struggled to see the soil.
You know, I was a little frustrated because I looked at it and I worked my tail off because I didn't have a lot of equipment and I did a lot of it with hand tools and sweat equity. And when I was done, I thought, you know, I wonder what, how much of this was done in vain because I just don't see this getting a good successful food plot. And I decided I was going to do a double seeding rate just because I figured that was my best chance.
Mitchell Shirk (02:56.91)
of getting something established with this level of thatch. I ran the drag over it and decided to run with it. And I realized sometimes it's just not perfect. You know, the other thing that was kind of funny was, you know, we haven't had rain in the past probably 10 to 15 days. And of course the weekend that I go out there was when I wanted to, you know, cut shooting lanes, set trails,
get stands prepped, that sort of thing. So I was soaked to the bone, which is not the end of the world, but the whole weekend was just, sometimes things don't go your way. Now, one of the cool things that happened, I had set up a cell camera and I knew that there was a pretty nice buck seen by the landowner a couple times this summer. And in fact, they took a picture of it one day and sent it to me. And when I first got the picture of that deer, I thought,
That's probably going to be a target this year. He looks like a mature deer and I think I know which buck it is. And it turns out I do have pictures of the buck last year, but it is not the buck that I thought it was. In fact, it's a really, really impressive three -year -old. Believe it or not, I think he's probably going to be close to 130 -inch deer. And he's just a younger deer.
He does not have a filled out neck and his back end is not quite saying he's a four five year old deer. It's a beautiful deer. whether the landowner kills him or somebody else in the neighborhood kills him, I don't blame a single person for shooting that deer. But I just don't know that I'm going to try to target him. To me, it's a win -win either way. If I let him go and he doesn't get shot, I think he could be something special next year.
But if he does get shot, it's going to make somebody else very, very happy. And I'm okay with both of those. But hey, I've got that rockin' and rollin' ready to go. But I came home Sunday from that trip and came home to an absolute mess in my house. I had an air conditioning unit. It's an older unit, but in the attic, it just backfilled. There wasn't a sensor in my drip tray and it just flooded sections of my house.
Mitchell Shirk (05:22.006)
flooded the hallway, drywall, ceiling, it ran down into the basement behind a paneling wall. It just made an absolute mess and man sometimes when it rains it pours. You know I've tried to be really positive on this show because I know you know everybody's got stuff going on in their life. You've got things that might not go the way you want them to go. Life gets tough. This is a release. This is the thing we enjoy.
that keeps our mind occupied during tough times. And I've really tried to be positive, but I gotta be open with you here. I'm struggling right now. I don't know what it is, but I just feel like the weight of the world is against me right now. And I'm working through that. But I tell you what, if you got a little bit of extra room in your time for your prayers, man, I would appreciate it, because I'm really trying to...
trying to stay positive but it is being it is really really tough right now between everything going on and everything going wrong it's so it seems in life I'm just ready for a new season I'm ready for a change in scenery change in pace with stuff and just seems like we're gonna have a little bit of time until we're able to get there right now but hey we'll we'll make do we'll get rocking and rolling and let's talk about this week's episode this week
I have been trying to hound this individual and get them back on the show for months and we finally made it happen. And it's not that they didn't want to, it's that they've got a crazy family schedule, life schedule, just like the rest of us do. And this was the first opportunity we had to sit down and talk and I'm our host or yeah, our host. I'm your host. Your guest this week is Cole Sightseer.
I had Cole back on the show a few years ago and it's long overdue. Cole is a good friend of mine. He's a hardworking hunter, but you know, he's also a hardworking family man. And we talk about that balance a little bit in the beginning and then we kind of get into a breakdown of what he had going on last season. And he killed some dandy, dandy bucks. He killed a dandy in Pennsylvania and he killed a really good one in Illinois.
Mitchell Shirk (07:46.85)
And we talk a little bit about how his style of hunting has changed. Cole and I had some similarities in where we started hunting and hunting on certain properties and then branching out. Cole's now doing a little bit of hunting with a saddle. He talks about the positives, the negatives, the advantages, all that stuff with his experiences using it. He killed both of his bucks out of a saddle last year. So we talk about that transition.
Just break down these stories and learn from stories. think that's sometimes the best way to learn is how do people view a situation and then approach it given the circumstances. So we're going to talk about that. And I think we're going to break this episode into two parts because this is a longer episode and I don't want it to get run down in any way, shit, or I'd love you guys to be able to
to hear it all in its full glory and break it down into shorter blocks. So let's run with this episode. Before we do, shout out to our partners, Radix Hunting. Guys, check out the -Core Cell cameras and the Gen 700 regular SD cameras. I'm still floored at how well the image quality and the response time of the -Core Cell cameras are, and the image quality is there for both cameras.
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Mitchell Shirk (10:04.49)
But keep you warm. Use that system builder where you can go to their website at huntworthgear .com, click their system builder and you can choose what you need based on the conditions, the temperature, the time of year. And I think you're going to be really satisfied with your ability to keep yourself warm, keep yourself cool, keep yourself comfortable throughout the hunting season with this gear. Alright, let's get to this episode with Cole.
Mitchell Shirk (10:36.778)
and this and that she's like it's just more than I was anticipating she is so like a lot now what we're dealing with is she's just stressed all the time so it makes it tough it does make it tough it's extremely tough we're rolling with it yep and you're rocking the three kid vibes of three kids in school that's a fun that's a fun time honestly today they went back to school last week so today is my first day I couldn't tell you how long
that I don't have a single day off on my day off. So what do you typically do on your day off when the kids back school? This is the first time it's ever happened. First time it's ever happened. Yeah. Today is the first day. So here we are. I'm glad to be sitting here doing a podcast. Look how long we've been trying to podcast. It's the end. And now I finally get to a point where I don't have kids and I have a day off. So does that mean your day's off this time of year or this coming fall? Are you going to have a little bit more time, flexibility to hunt? My Thursday should be wide open.
The constant chaos of family and life. Family and life never ends, it's chaos. So yeah, my Thursdays off now are going to be way more open, which will help me get a lot more stuff done. Stand prep, food plots, my cameras, just like I have a hard time getting out once a week if I can for hunting anymore. And I love it. So I do it and I take the kids with me and you know, it usually goes good, but now
Now my Thursdays the kids go to school at eight o 'clock in the morning and I might have some free time. Yeah, first time in a long time. I was thinking about this the other day. I don't know how to articulate this question. I'm do my best here, but like, you know, here I am sitting in, you know, a couple hundred episodes and doing media and podcasts and stuff. you've been down the rabbit hole with relive the hunt and filming and content creation and stuff and like.
We're in the day and age where content creation and content consumption, it's at the highest level. was a time before kids where I just wanted to be part of that, lived it, this opportunity comes and now that I'm in it, there's a part of me that content, media, all this stuff, it's kind of ruined it for me. I don't know how to describe it.
Mitchell Shirk (13:00.11)
I can relate a hundred percent. I can cause I mean, yeah, I dabbled in it. Relive the hunt. did, I don't know, 30 or so podcasts. And if you want me to shut that off. you're good. I did, you know, 30 or so podcasts and that was well, I had one kid, you know, when we started all that and I didn't want it to become a job and a chore and I didn't want to be stressed about it. Didn't want to.
I just wanted to enjoy it and do it. And that's why I started it. And then my co -host, Tom, he's now married and has a kid. And we haven't done it for years. you know, it's, it's not a big deal. We don't owe it to anybody. We don't have any sponsors that are like, Hey, you need to get stuff done. We just did it for ourselves, but I get it. Like it's, it's a chore. It's a job. And you kind of got to balance that.
To keep it it yeah exactly and like the other thing I was thinking so like I'm like anybody else I love to watch videos and if you go on YouTube find stuff I love to try to find people that are doing stuff in our local area so you watch videos and stuff but the one thing I've noticed is and I'm not I'm not faulting anybody because I'm guilty of this I've done it myself is like You start putting content out there, then you bring in products into the world and you know I'm sponsored I bring that stuff in and it
In the moment, it might not seem like a big deal, but when you consume that content, I just sound, I listen to myself and think, wow, that took a little bit away from the hunt. Or like when you've got to capture it and explain it on a phone when it happens. And I just like, it took a little bit away from why I'm doing this. I guess I'm not really making any point or have any solution. I'm just caught in the middle of this because
You know, I want to produce this stuff. don't want it to be forced. I want it to be something I enjoy. I want it to be relatable. And it's freaking hard. It's hard. Yeah, it's a lot of work. And yeah, you don't want it to take away from you because that's the worst. Yeah. You you love this. and I love talking about it. Mm hmm. Like this part of it's not bad, but everything in between can become consuming and it could frustrate you. The camera for me this year, I want to start filming again.
Mitchell Shirk (15:26.316)
So my oldest son started hunting three years ago. He's been fortunate for three seasons and I wish I would have had the camera rolling, but at the same time it would have been tough. So I'm happy that I didn't because I have those memories forever. Now this year I'm like, you know what? I love sitting on my computer and pulling up old videos and I'm happy that I have that. So this year I want to get the camera rolling again and just film everything again because even if it doesn't
make a good story, at least I know it and I have it there. And when I'm watching it, I can show a friend or a family member and be like, you know, this buck is, you know, two years ago, I got videos of them out of that tree stand. And, know, and then I have it to go back on. And I enjoy that a lot. And the camera has always been second to me. Like, especially when it came down to the kill. Yeah. Like I would forget about the camera if it meant an ethical shot at the buck that I'm after. And I have done it many times.
I've been fortunate to capture it few times, but many times I was just like, camera or pick that lane, stop that deer and shoot it. Well that's another thing I've noticed too, like when people are making videos, and again I'm not trying to razz people, it's just the honest to goodness truth, like I've seen shots get forced that in my opinion are unethical, but it's to get a kill and get content. Yep, I've seen it too. just doesn't sit well with me, then it makes me do like a reevaluation, how am I
you know, tainting what, you know, we love and enjoy so much. It's, so it was nice for me to step away from the camera for a while. Actually, I did fill my Iowa hunt in 21 and it would have been awesome. Had he not busted me moving right before I was getting ready to draw and shoot. He busted me and he ran off camera and I actually pushed the camera out of my way so I could get the shot. Otherwise it would have been really cool footage.
and my cousin shot his buck and I had it on film that same year so that was the last time I filmed last year I should have filmed and I just didn't and that would have been chaotic because I drew back on that buck four times before I was able to shoot him the Pennsylvania deer yeah I drew back on him four times and it was it was tough to like make it happen so there's no way with a camera
Mitchell Shirk (17:47.968)
I been all over the place. I know. And before we started recording, you were talking a little bit about that. And I was curious, did you hunt out of a saddle, or do you have a fixed position stand for that spot? So the first two buck I shot in that area, I had a fixed stand in there. Actually, the first buck I shot in there, that seven point up there, I went in that morning with a stand and hung the stand and hunted it and shot him. And then the next buck I shot in there,
was the following year and I hung a stand that year. So last year, picked up a saddle for the first time. Okay. And I shot all four of my deer last year out of a saddle. So last year was probably the first year that I did it in any volume as well. I shot some game out of it. I hunted out of a saddle very, very little the previous years and I didn't have as good of a setup, I guess. So I was still on the side of forming an opinion.
Where you fall now after one year of using it compared to the way you've hunted for the last 20 plus years. Yeah, so my co -host Tom from the relive the hunt He saddle hunted Pretty much longer than anyone. I know in this area like when it started getting Popular he started. Okay, probably five six years ago now. I don't even know when he started but it was a long time ago and So I knew about him and he was always like man. These these are the best thing ever
Like I will not hunt out of it. And I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I have so many tree stands. I'm so used to pre -prepping my areas that I want to kill these deer in that like, I'll just hang a tree stand. I have tons of them. So then I started working for Lancaster, three and a half years ago, three years ago. And, a lot of the guys there saddle hunted and a lot of those guys were in and out, like their setups every time new trees, like.
Killing a lot of deer and I was like maybe there's something to this like it's a lot easier to move your setup if you want to move it or you want to hunt over here so Eventually, I bit the bullet and I was like, alright, I'm gonna get one see how this goes I got a good set of sticks and the system is the hardest part You probably know like once you have your system down for you. Yeah, once you have your system down is good I didn't practice out of it. Okay. I mean we we sell them at our shop. So
Mitchell Shirk (20:12.982)
I've used them. first hunt last year, opening day here in five C I went up on the mountain right here. I had some dough tags. I, I actually did prep that tree though. I put my sticks up the night before. Okay. cause it was just an easy in and out spot. So I was like, you know what? I'm going to go up, throw some sticks up. so all I had to do was climb in, hook in with the saddle and I was in, I did that. I shot two dough that morning out of it. And I was like,
Well, that one doe I wouldn't have been able to shoot from a regular tree stand. Really? Just the angle. Explain why. So the first doe came up perfect broadside on my strong side. And I shot her. She ran off. And I had some time, so I was just watching. And another bigger doe came up the same trail but stopped short behind me. And OK, I shouldn't say I couldn't have shot it out of a lock -on stand. But where I was in the tree, I couldn't.
So depending on where I had that lock on. she stopped behind me and she actually bedded down 30 yards away. And I was like, dang, like now this does here and I got to leave in like an hour. So what am I going to do? I tried getting her to stand up, stand up. So finally I was like, I can see her really well. I actually sent a picture to this group from work and I was like, well, I got one down. Here's another one. And they're like, perfect. Send one right through there. Like, and in the picture it looked perfect.
But for me to get there, I had to come up close to the tree and get higher with my bow. So all I did was just pull my line, tighten myself up to the tree, leaned into my rope on my saddle. I was like, I'm going to draw back and just see what it feels like. I drew back, and I was leaning way into my saddle against my chest, which you can't do in a regular harness. Exactly. And I'm just leaning way out, and I was like, man, I'm rock solid.
I put my 30 pin on her and she was quartering away laying down. Like, yeah, man, this feels pretty good. I was like, I'm not even going to let down them. Hold it on there and pull through my shot. And that was that. Shot her. think my biggest holdup with it is not anything to do with the system. It's just my experience with it. I'm, I've been, I'm like you, I'm so used to having stance prep hang ons. I love it that I love there's to me, there's absolutely nothing better than.
Mitchell Shirk (22:36.982)
Having a stand place that you know you can kill something, you have quiet access in, you can climb up, you clip in and you're done. Nothing beats that. To me nothing beats that. To me it's the most quiet. However, I know some people with saddle setups that are pretty freaking quick and pretty freaking quiet. I'm not there. I'm not there with I wouldn't say I am either. I like to have pre -prepped steps at least in some. So here's another thing I learned last year. I will saddle hunt.
out of every one of my lock -on sets. Okay, so you'll put your saddle on and stand in the lock -on. Yep, if I have a lock -on set up somewhere, I'll wear the saddle in as my harness. Sometimes I'll sit in the stand like normal, other times I'll sit in my saddle and just lean back. So my Illinois buck last year, that's an interesting story, we'll get to that. But that was a similar situation, now this, couldn't have done this with a regular tree stand, but could have done it with the saddle. So I love hunting with the saddle out of
my regular stands now. I don't think I'll ever not wear it. That's interesting because like I, one of the thoughts that was going through my head, so like I've been hunting in New Jersey a lot and the type of habitat that I'm in, there's no way you'd get in with a climber and probably the best way you get in is prepping a stand with a lock on and trimming some lanes and stuff like that and having it set that way.
Mobile hunting with a saddle is actually kind of tricky and when you just brought that up I've been thinking about this. Years ago I bought, do remember those old, I don't even know if they make them anymore, the X tree stands I think they were called? It's a lighter tree stand. Yeah, I think I know what you mean. I'd have to see it. Yeah, I bought one. It was one of those where you could attach a bracket to the tree and then take the stand with you and put multiple brackets up. So I bought one of those and then never used it the way
they had talked about with the mobile setup and stuff, but it's a very light tree stand and I was actually considering doing that hybrid system in a sense because you could sit and have that different aspect of comfortability. The saddle that I'm using, I'm using a tethered Phantom, my rear end's too fat for it. So I'm good for a few hours and then after a while it's like, gotta adjust, this isn't completely comfortable for me. I noticed you move a lot more in them to get that comfort, I think. You do.
Mitchell Shirk (25:02.828)
And I did use it all day twice last year. the one day was brutal because my setup was terrible. My tree was leaning back towards me. Yeah, that's rough. And I sat in it all day. And I moved a lot. But was it the worst thing? mean, my tree stands aren't the most comfortable things anyway. I sit on a wooden platform most of the time. I don't have a comfy pad. And I don't have those big mesh seats that, you know.
So one of the things I like the most about the saddle hunting, I don't know if you're using a regular platform or what I'm using the ring of steps. okay. And a lot of people say they can't get comfortable with that. And I understand that because it is a little bit of an adjustment, but I just love and you could do this with a platform too, but I love the ability to set it up in a manner that I can basically put the tree between myself and the animal at all times. That's a huge positive to saddle hunting.
And one thing I don't do is, like I've seen people talk about how you take a weak side shot where you can stand in your platform, put your tether over your shoulder and shoot it that way, or you can lean across your bridge and shoot that way. I don't do that. I just walk around the tree. Yeah, yeah. And that's just what's worked for me. like to me, that's an advantage that you don't get. There's definitely some shots behind the tree that are easier with a saddle than it is a hang on. I still think they're both.
Like to me, a saddle doesn't replace a hang on. It's just another tool in the system, depending on how you're hunting, where you're hunting. Like I used to hunt a property consistently where you'd stands were prepped and you just go. And here lately, I've been hunting a little bit more public. I've been hunting a bunch of places by permission and I went the rabbit hole of hanging some stands and stuff, but I've noticed like, I scout a property. think I know where I want to put a stance. You put all that investment.
get sitters and everything else and try to plan a day to hang stands and you do all this work. And then I found myself, I hunted it one time and realized I needed to move. then at the end of the season, I was rushing to take my tree stands down because they wanted to start logging that property. And I'm just like, this isn't my own personal property that I can come and go as I want. So it just makes it easier if I just use a saddle. Yep. There's
Mitchell Shirk (27:19.608)
Big benefits to it for sure. Exactly. haven't really, there's one thing that I don't like is going into a thick area. Most of the spots you can't get into a climber, you don't have lanes. Yeah. That I went into one spot and like, man, like this is where I want to be looking around in the dark. I'm trying to set up in the dark. I'm like picking a tree that I was never in there before. So.
Finally picked a tree, got up and I'm just like, sun came up and dude, I, I'm going to be lucky if I see a deer in a spot I could ever shoot. Cause it's just so thick. Like I needed lanes and you don't get that unless you have already been in there and you know where you need to be on the tree or what you need to do. So that's where I like to kind of pre -scout the areas at least and be like, yeah. You know, if I get into there, I'll be fine with a saddle. I don't need to stand in here. I can come in and do that.
It's just tough. is. And the spot I shot my PA buck last year. I already told you I shot the three buck out of that same tree. Well, I had prepped another tree in there and it was prepped and I still didn't like how thick it was. I didn't want to do a bunch of lane clearing. Yeah. So I just avoided hunting that stand. OK. And I didn't need to. I mean, I went in there one day and shot that buck, so it worked out. But I had another spot and I only had two shots.
And it was like, yeah, I mean it's the right spot, but I gotta get that deer to stop in two spots or it's everywhere else was just too thick for a shot. And I prepped that for a saddle and just, that's the one thing that is tough. If you go in blind in the dark, you can expect to struggle with shooting lanes.
That's one thing if you're doing it like big open hardwoods and mountains in Pennsylvania, you can do that. But like that's the same thing I'm running into in New Jersey. Like I'm scouting these new places I've never been on, but I'm there because of food sources and I think this is where I want to be for bear hunting. like I'm actually, my goal is that I have a couple of places marked for morning sits for that very reason, because like I know darn well if I go into those swamps, into those thickets where it's autumn olive and
Mitchell Shirk (29:41.514)
and honeysuckle and this and that and like I just yeah this is where I need to be go up a tree I'm probably not gonna be shooting unless I plant a head so that's the one downfall to it it's time for fall food plots and I encourage you to look no further this year than planting vitalized seeds carbon load guys this is a highly diverse plant mix of greens grasses brassicas and legumes that is extremely winter hardy it gives great tonnage and it's browse time
This thrives after the nitro boost and it acts as a weed barrier in the springtime and not to mention all the benefits it does for your native wildlife, giving ample tonnage and sequestering nutrients from deep within the soil. Check it out at vitalizeseed .com where you can get your order today and learn more about soil health and providing great tonnage to wildlife this fall. So walk me through your PA buck last year because you hunted out of this stand multiple times.
had a lot of success. So switch to a saddle. I mean, walk me through why change to the saddle if you were using a hang on. Yeah, it's not like I tore down my, I take my stands down every year. Okay. So I don't really leave a whole lot up there every now and then there's some spots, but this spot in particular, I would, I would tear down all the time. So I didn't have a stand in there and I started saddle hunting. I had it prepped, ran some cameras.
It's very easy to get up this tree. There's a lot of limbs that helped me. So I only need a few steps at the bottom of the tree. Gotcha. So I just figured I don't need to go in there. Like I know what I need to do when I go in there. I like that. Few steps. Boom. Get up there. I could have took a stand in again. It would have been just as easy. But at this point I was comfortable with the saddle. I use a regular EDP platform. I just waited. You know, that's this is the spot. There might not be a buck in there.
all of September, all of October. I shouldn't say all of October. Pre -rut and rut. That's when that spot becomes something I would want to go in and hunt. So I was fortunate last year in Pennsylvania, I had at least one shooter on almost every property I could hunt. Nice. That's a good problem. I was like, wow, what is happening? And even to the point, there's one property my dad hunts a lot that there was a big buck that showed up and he's like,
Mitchell Shirk (32:07.118)
get in there. He's like, I'm not going to hunt it until that buck's killed or, or you kill another buck. So like my dad's at that point where he, he just wants us to shoot them. know, the grandkids, me, my brother, he's like, I want you guys to shoot them. He's passed some really nice buck up on our mountain property. he's like, yeah, just saw a big nine point and I'll send like, we'll get a picture of it or something like that. was like 130 inch tier. What are you doing? He's like, I want you guys to shoot him. So anyway.
A lot of my properties had shooter deer. So I was focused on one property. It's a six acre property. there was two buck, a 10 point and a big eight point. And I really wanted to shoot this deer.
for personal reasons. My grandfather passed away last year and it was property that he owned and we got from him. And the way it just all would have worked out would have been awesome. So I was like, I had my heart set. Like this is where I want to shoot one of these bucks. Cause this is going to be awesome. And waited, waited, waited. I did a hundred a few times early. I saw that 10 point far at a distance, slipped in there two days. I think it would have been
November, Halloween, November 1st. Yeah, so Halloween and November 1st, I go in there and hunt. The morning driving in, I see the 10 point out in the soybean field. I'm like, crap. And he's like 50 yards from where I need to park. So I delay, I go get ready, come back, think he's gone, sneak in there, didn't see him. Next day, slip in there, didn't see him.
And I'm like, and the eight point was never there. So this is all leading up to this other spot. So that was Tuesday. I only had off Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. So that was Tuesday. I bailed Tuesday, midday. It was like, I'm going to go trick or treating with my kids. actually Tuesday was Halloween. I'm going to go trick or treating with my kids. come home, like forget the evening, you know, do the family thing, reset myself. Cause I was a little frustrated.
Mitchell Shirk (34:23.373)
Yeah, what's going on? Because the week before, it was 85 degrees, and that buck was running all over the place. Chase, there must have been a hot dough, and he was all over in daylight everywhere. It's funny, because I shot my buck that weekend. was hot. It was hot. I could have slipped in there. I actually had off Thursday, and I went to a preschool thing with my daughter. Probably I'm getting pictures of him. I'm like, OK, I get done at 12, 1. I could probably slip.
Like in between him running around I could probably have slipped in there and and he still wouldn't have known and I would have shot him Yeah, I'm like this is crazy So the next week I'm like everything was different. Mm -hmm, and it was colder I'm like this just doesn't make sense. Like the hot week was when it was 85 degrees out So anyway, I was frustrated went trick -or -treating with the kids. I'm like I'm getting pictures of this ten point and I knew him from the year before
And I was just dead set on shooting that deer at the, at the other property. And I was like, you know what? I'm going to go in there after that 10 point, I'm going to switch things up. need, I need a change. And so, yeah, so I went in there. I didn't have, I had the tree. I knew the tree. I didn't do anything lane wise this year, but I had it figured out from the years before. I get a picture of him at like four in the morning. I'm like, all right, I know he's in there and I'm.
pretty sure he's with the doe. You know, he's not, he's not running hard, but he's, I'm pretty sure he's just locked on with the doe in there. Picture perfect. Like that's what that place, like when they get in there, that's what I want it to be. So yeah. All right. Slip in there Wednesday morning, got up in the tree. Fine. I could hear deer walking around as I was setting my platform and getting my saddle figured out. So the tree was really set up for, for a tree stand.
Like all my lanes and the way it was set up. like, I didn't want to rotate to the opposite side of the tree for the saddle. So I kind of stayed where I should have been with my back facing where most of my shots have been where I shot the other two deer. I was like, you know, I'll be fine. I'll make this work. And I kind of hovered off to the side. So it was a relatively slow morning. did have one young buck chasing a doe all throughout there.
Mitchell Shirk (36:49.262)
No sign of anything else. was 12 o 'clock noon. And I, when I go in there, it's all day or nothing. Like I don't, I don't go in for just a morning or just an evening. It's I'm going in, I'm sitting all day. So it's 12 o 'clock noon and I catch the movement off to my strong side, which is perfect. And all I see was a rack. And I was like, binoculars. Yep. I was like, that's him. It's like 55 yards away.
But it's thick and there's no shots over there. just see rack and I'm like, what is he doing? So I grown it a few times at him.
almost a hundred percent sure he heard it. He would sort of react and just look my way, but he didn't care at all. And he walked way to the left. And I was like, what is that? Then I see it. Now is there dough coming back? I was like, okay, he's with that dough. Maybe I should stop groaning. So he's, he turns around, he follows that dough back and they go back into the thick bedding. And I'm like, texting my brother. like, I just saw him for sure.
Like he's in here and just like that, like 10 minutes later, I don't know if this fawn came up, but a fawn came crashing out of the bedding area and him and the doe came running out with it. And the fawn goes right underneath me. And I think maybe he, the doe chased the fawn out or something, but so they're working. Now the big doe is working right to left again on my strong side, which is great.
And I pick a shot at like 35 yards. want to say it was somewhere in the mid thirties. She walked through, ranged her. was like, I don't love that shot, but if they're going to go right to left out of my life, that might be my shot. So I ranged her boom. comes in. was like, drove back, tried to stop him in the lane and he kind of stopped a little bit past it. And, was like crap. turns. And she's coming right under me now.
Mitchell Shirk (38:57.922)
I'm at full draw watching him. I'm like, okay, watching the doe. I could shoot there if he follows her again. So I stay at full draw and he turns and he's following her. And when he turned, I let down to let him come closer. And the doe, kind of ignored the doe. She went like right under me and back behind me. And okay, he's coming. and then he turns like right at my tree. So I draw back again and he's at.
nine, 10 yards, it's like right there facing me and it's really thick. Like if he would have stayed out farther, I had shots, but he actually came in too tight on me. I was like, okay, so I'm at full draw and this one was, this one was painful. I was at full draw. I wish I had a camera running because I know it's, I know it's easy to say I was at full draw for almost two minutes, but like, I know it was over a minute and a
And that's hard. is a very long time to hold a full draw. Like you think, you were at full draw for probably 20 seconds and you thought it was two minutes. No, it was, I held it forever. And at the whole time he's like lifting his head up in the air and I'm like, I could shoot him right in the neck there if I wanted through those leaves. Like, but that, that'd be stupid. Like I'm not going to do that. So I'm like, my God, please just keep walking so I can shoot you broadside or turn and follow the dose so I can shoot you broadside. So finally I was like,
I had it. I was, I got to let down. I'm not going to do it. And as I'm like trying to let down really slow and quiet, I'm thinking, you're not going to be able to pull your bow back again. your arms are junk. You're like this. So I let down and it was quiet enough. was like looking up. was like, okay, he's not looking at me. He didn't hear it. Like we're good. Get yourself together. Of course, as soon as I let down.
He takes a step. Turns sideways and starts walking again. I'm like, rip the bow back again. So that's the third time I drew back. Super thick. And I'm like, again, if he was five yards out farther, open areas, open shots, he's through the thick stuff right below me. I'm like, nope, let down right. Like I drew back a couple of seconds, let down, no shot. like, I can't even see him. It's so thick. And just like that, I know.
Mitchell Shirk (41:18.51)
I had shot my other deer out farther and I know he's going that way but he closed the distance really fast this time. went from underneath me to 27 -28 yards and like was walking away from me and I'm like, crap. So I draw back again as he's walking away and I'm just watching him slowly walk away. I'm like, you're not going to get a shot. Like he's, and he's walking into.
Never never land. He may never come back after he gets goes that direction. He could have but anyway 28 yards 30 yards I'm thinking in my head. I'm like, I know where certain spots are Then I'm like he's still walking probably 33 34 yards and finally At 35 36 yards he turns to his right perfectly broadside and I have a huge vine hanging up in the middle of his vitals and I'm
So the whole time I'm working this saddle in between all this and when he got out there I couldn't be down in my saddle I had to get up high to get over like it was a honeysuckle I think was in there I had to get up high to get over it so I'm like grabbing my ropes and pulling myself up to the tree and Like leaning way into my saddle because they wanted to roll me backwards and I'm like shooting behind me now so I Don't know if that if it would have been better to have a lock on at that point or not
Right and I could have just stood there and maybe had the shot but being able to get myself higher in the saddle Allowed me to feel a little bit more solid up there up high Yeah, versus like trying to stand on your seat or get on your tippy toes or something if you had to So I'm doing all that in between my third draw and my fourth draw like my god He's gonna be back there like fighting it. Anyway, I drew back. I'm watching him walk away He turns broadside 35 36 yards. I was like
Yeah, that'll do. I have a three pin site. Okay. 2030, 40. I was just going to ask that if you were adjusting. So 2030, 40, I'm like 30 and 40 right in between. Felt good. Didn't think he was alert. I didn't have to stop him. He stopped on his own. I moved a little bit because of that vine to get it out of, I just didn't want to have my pins on that vine regardless. Yeah. And, pulled through the shot. was like, well, it went from eight yards to 35 yards and shot went off perfect.
Mitchell Shirk (43:41.752)
And actually, when the shot went off, because I was at full draw and I was locked into my saddle, the shot went off, I like rolled back in my saddle because I had so much pressure that was you see what happened at that point? Not totally. I knew it looked good and felt good. My shot execution felt good. I took my time. I didn't rush it. But I was like, when he took off, he took off hard. And this isn't a spot that you want to gut shot one and let him run far.
Or you're just going to be fighting with neighbors and knocking on doors and it could be a mess. And I never had an issue in there. And I have permission by a couple of the neighbors to retrieve deer. know I'm in there hunting. I can retrieve deer. So I was a little bit worried. was like, might be the one. This might be the one that I either hit just not quite right and I don't know where he's going to be. And I was like, but everything felt good.
Did that did I grab my rangefinder away? I was like, yeah 36 yards. Okay, it's pretty good sounds of the reaction like that's one thing like when your eyes are off of it like my ears tune you like what did I hear when I shot it sounded it sounded good. It sounded like that pop that you hear it took off. I could see him take off straight fast and then honestly, I didn't know where he went from there, but it's so thick even even the first week in November. It's super it stays thick in there forever.
so I felt pretty good. start sending out some messages, call them. I was called my brother. I'm like, yeah, man, 12 o 'clock noon. I was like, and it was the most intense 10 minutes of my life. Drew back four times. Felt like I drew back forever. The one time I still think I did, almost like telling myself he's walking out of there and I'm not getting a shot and him literally stopping at the last second. So.
fast forward just a little bit. gave him an hour. I have a trail camera right there, which is cool. Cell cam. He walked in front of it at 1212. So that's when I shot him was like right after he walked in front of that camera, because that was on his walkout. And I was like, all right, I'm going to get down. I'm going to go to where impact was and we're going to figure out what I'm doing from there. So I get down, I walked in front of that trail camera. was like, kind of pumping myself up. I get over there. I can see the.
Mitchell Shirk (46:09.25)
Dirt's all kicked up and there's a scrape. I was like, that's why he stopped. Like I didn't even know that scrape was there, but now it's good to know. And it was huge, huge scrape. And I'm like, man, where's my arrow? I'm pretty positive it blew right through him. Here it probably hung up on the backside. And when he took his first couple of steps, it was laying like five feet away. But I'm watching where the dirt's kicked up and then all of sudden where the arrow is and it's just like blood every.
Yeah. What you want to see. And I was like, I saw the arrow and not like instantly. was like, that's Yeah. That's a good feeling when you don't know that. Yeah. Cause I didn't go on into it, but soon as I saw that I was like, is it. Grabbed the arrow, walked back to my tree, climbed up and I just sat down. I was just like, thank you God. Like I, I can't believe that. far did he end up running then? Maybe 60 yards. Yeah. Yeah. And just.
wide open walk it right to him. You know, so I wasn't nervous about that at all. And yeah, I actually, I found him, you know, my brother -in was coming down to help, but I just walked up on him on my own. like doing that. Absolutely. Taking in the moments. So the one thing that you had said earlier, you were talking about, when I go in, I'm sitting all day. We were talking about dad life at the beginning of this and how chaos and time and everything else. Do you do that?
more now than before or is that, were you basically putting that time specific to the year or the property? Like very time specific to that property. So I know we'd talked a little bit before, but the buck I shot in there in 2020, was the first sit back in there in that tree since I shot that buck. Okay. So it back to back sits three years apart. Yeah. So I'm very like, yeah.
because of the kids and the family. Like I have to strategically plan my hunts to a T. And I can't just waste a bunch of hunts because of family. Like I can't go hunt 20 times a year, even though I'd love to. I can't slip out the last two hours every day because if it's my day with the kids, it's my day with the kids. I'm not going to go rush in there and do something. So those are very specific. Like when I take off work,
Mitchell Shirk (48:38.508)
And that's what I do. I take off work. The day should run as normal. And I'm going to be home after work. So I can sacrifice that, but I get my whole day. So whether I'm at work or I'm hunting, the day kind of still does its own thing. Yeah, exactly. So you might as well make the most So I make the most of it when I can. So those three days or like three days I picked to have off and then the next week I was going to be off again to go to Illinois. So, and I won't do like six, seven, eight days in a row.
I'll try to plan it like, okay, I can get a Friday and Saturday in and then I'm home. And then maybe I can get like a, if I don't do a Friday, Saturday, I'm going to do a Monday, Tuesday. So I just try to like plan them like that rather than the whole week. Right. Like I'm going to be gone the whole week. No. All right. I'm going to hunt. I'm going try to get two days in back to back, get myself a little bit better odds. So yeah, very strategic to plan to go in there. Well, and another thing too. like I know
before marriage, before kids, you and I both have talked about this, like, when there was, when you had a spare waking moment, you were in the woods. You were hunting. You hunted all the time. remember hunting evenings like the last hour. Yeah. spots that I can slip in just for an hour. was constant. And now the phase of life we're in, you're talking about being strategic, being methodical and stuff like that. Do you think you're actually more successful now doing that than you were when you were just doing volume sets? Yeah. Yeah, I do. You always think about it like,
the best hon is the one you don't go on. Did ever hear that? Yeah, absolutely. Because that equates to when I learned when I was a fairly young age that I'll never forget one year I came home from college and I climbed in and stand over a food plot and I was sitting with my uncle at the time. We're sitting there and the wind forecast was right. It was doing what it was supposed to and
That was before cell cameras, so we had a ton of pictures and we were able to pull the card right then and look at it while we were on stand. There were shooters coming in consistently and we're sitting there thinking like, this just feels too good. And it was within the last hour and a half, the wind changed and the forecast even changed within that two hour window. And we're sitting there and it's completely wrong and we just left.
Mitchell Shirk (51:03.01)
just had to is so hard to do. was probably the best thing. So on to your point about the best hunts, the one you don't go on, it's making the most of the best opportunity, guess, or playing the system. And just like I bailed the day before to spend some time trick or treating with the kids. I didn't have to do that. That was my day off to hunt. I could have hunted all day, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
Well that's another good point because you talk about you did that because you also needed a little bit of a reset. just needed it. Yeah, I just needed the reset. No matter how much you love it, sometimes it hurts you to be out there and you're sacrificing your time with your family. Right. Like I feel that when I'm out there. I absolutely do too. And the other thing too, I think people get so gung -ho like big macho man hunter, I got to spend volume, I got to get my rear end up at four and I'm back at...
home and bed at 11 and I'm just gonna keep this like, that's hard on your body. There is nothing wrong with doing that reset because it keeps you mentally fresh, keeps you physically fresh to go out and do what you love because at the end of the day, who cares if you're a big macho man? Do what you love and enjoy it. Yeah, I think the feeling I get is, so I try to be so strategic about it and with that other property, I was like, I felt like I missed it. Like it was the week before when it was on fire and it was hot and like that was my time.
to get in there and sacrifice that day. And like if I could have, if everything would have lined up and I would have been like, tab, Wednesday or Thursday, I need to get in there because that's my day to kill it. Like if I get in there Wednesday or Thursday, I can kill a deer and the rest of my season is kind of open. And so I feel, I put a lot of pressure on myself, like picking the right time to take that time off to be away from my family and Tuesday.
I was in there and I was just like, I'm wasting my time right now. Like, this isn't right. So that's why I got out of there. needed the reset. It felt like I was better off being home with the family. I knew I still had another good day. And like I said, it came back to having multiple shooters on multiple areas. I could bounce around. It wasn't going to be crap everywhere. I felt very confident going in after this 10 point.
Mitchell Shirk (53:23.926)
and it all worked out. Yeah. And it doesn't always happen like that. No, it doesn't. But when it does, it's like.
And that's where we're going to cut this episode off this week. Be sure to tune in next week, next Wednesday for part two of this conversation with Cole. I don't think you're going to want to miss it because this story gets even more exciting.
