00:00:02 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt podcast, your home for deer hunting news, stories and strategies, and now your host, Mark Kenyon. Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Podcast. I'm your host, Mark Kenyon. In this is episode number fifty seven, say in the show. It's our two thousand fifteen challenge episode. Stick around and we'll explain. All right, Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Podcast, brought to you by Sick of Gear. Now, today's episode is going to be a little different than usual, as we've got kind of a unique topic and a shorter episode because in all honestly, I've kind of got some casks going on here at the moment at home, so we're going to keep things brief. But it's gonna be a good one, nonetheless. And with that said, rather than beating around the bush stand today, we're going to be challenging each other, both you and me and our listeners. We're all going to get challenged. So what exactly does that mean? Are you asking? Me? Yeah? Okay, okay, I thought that was one of those and what is the meaning of the life type of questions. I know that was just for you, okay, okay, Well, I you know, I was I do a lot of brainstorming, as you know, by the random texts that you get from me, or or like the Sound Effect brainstorm last week sound and you know, we did a little test with our audience and they didn't like that. They thought I was dumb. You know, I didn't get any real feedback on it yet, so we might maybe we should call out and see what they want. You know. Yep, you're right, you're right. Maybe you're right. We probably shouldn't give up on it too too quickly, right, I think you I think we should keep on testing that out and tweet tweet at us UM and give us your feedback on that this week, because I think maybe I think there's a future for you with the Sound Effect game. Damn okay, alright, you like the guy off the movie Police Academy movies. I haven't seen them. Oh my god, that really shows your age or like what fifteen years ago? Yeah, two thousand, so I'm just approaching sixty years old. Hey, you're doing pretty good, you know for a sixteen year old doing the best. So already, Yeah, that's how we roll UM so challenges your brainstorming. You brought this idea to me, go alright, So I think as hunters, we kind of get into a rut or a routine where we do the same thing over and over and we don't we don't feel comfortable getting outside of that, come of that comfort zone. We we kind of um lose ourselves in routine. And although dear are an animal of routine, I feel that the best way to learn an animal of routine is to kind of get outside your routine as a hunter and and maybe, um try something different. So I talked to I talked to you, and I was like, hey, man, how about you challenge me a couple of things, and I'll challenge you a couple of things and uh um and maybe we'll we'll see if that and we will promise that we will do that, you know, whatever we whatever challenges, we will promise that we'll do it a couple of times throughout the season and uh and we'll see if it works and see if we like it, see if we don't like it, and then you know, we'll we'll we'll save this episode and then we'll touch back on it, you know, maybe a halfway through the season or if the seasons when the season is over, and see, uh, see if it worked. Or not. Yeah, And I like the idea, and I was, you know, as you know, I was thinking about it too, and I got to thinking, you know, it's a great idea for you and me to challenging each other and for us to come back and talk about it. But I also thought, why don't we also think of a challenge for the listeners, you know, based on some of the things we've talked about maybe the past, or some things that you and may have been thinking about, Let's give a challenge or two to the listeners. And I haven't told you this yet, but I was thinking, you know, let's let's put the challenge out there. And then what I want to do is is I wanna reward those people that want to participate in the challenge in some way. So this is kind of a spitballing here, but what do you think Dan about? You know, we'll get to that challenge. Everyone gets to hear what that challenges and what we're gonna ask people to do is this season, this hunting season, if someone listening today actually fulfills that challenge, goes out there and does that experiences that tries that if you remember this and if you come back to this episode, this actual blog post for this episode Wired to Hunt dot Com slash episode fifty seven. Go to that and leave a comment explaining who you are and how you completed that task. We're gonna pick one winner, and i'd say December. I'll pick one person that's left a comment here at the very beginning December one. I guess unless our challenges, you know, our later season. But at the end of this episode, I guess I'll figure out date, and I am going to buy one person that completes this challenge a sick of Fanatic hoodie out of my own pocket. I'll buy a sick of Fanatic hoodie for one of the people, will randomly pick one person that writes an explanation of how they completed that challenge. So that's a good deal, that's my thought. I thought that'd be kind of cool, and I want, you know, people to really think about this and try some of these things. So I think that's a good idea. Uh yeah, considering uh that sick jackets pretty badass, Yeah, pretty legit. So so that's I'm up in the any here, Dan up in the any all right, So hopefully our hopefully our listeners have what it takes. What do you think they have it? I hope so. I think they've got They've got a better chance of pulling it off than you or may probably do. So, yeah, that's a fact because we most likely don't have what it takes. Based on how you sounded when you got on the call about ten minutes ago, you definitely don't have what it takes. Right now, my friend, you sound rough, You sound hagged, You sound haggard. Haggard. Yeah, that's kind of cool, like myrtle haggard, or like like living in a ditch haggard. No, like you live underneath the bridge on a steady diet of government cheese, that kind of haggard. Oh, perfect, perfect, that's that's not what I was going for. I didn't think that's what happens when you have, um a kid that cries all the time, and if you listen carefully, you might be able to hear him in the background. Right now, Yeah, they'll Mack will cover our sound effects today, right, yep, that's right, that's right. So it's been a little roughly. Huh. Well, he doesn't sleep, and when he doesn't sleep, that means the rest of the family doesn't sleep, and then that just adds to the snowball of stress that is my life. How much are you looking forward to that weeklong vacation outnightaho? Help me? Help me? Yeah, I hear you. No, it's all good though, It's part of it. Yeah, parenting right, guaranting yea, yeah, I love it. We uh. I'll get back to him maybe three or four years and give you my opinion on it. My my red beard is slowly turning gray. My wife actually found a couple of white hairs in my my faux beard, my attempting beard. Yeah. So I'll be catching up you, but we'll should we get the party started? Yeah? Yeah we should. Challenges challenges Yeah, and I don't know this is your idea. So do you want to talk to me about the first challenge I've got for the two thousand fifteen season. Yeah, I'll kick it off. Um, And my my challenge to you is kind of it's kind of a two parter, so it's one challenge kind of two parts. But all right, so I've talked to you in expressed that I am a big fan of hunting mornings in the early season, right, So that is my challenge to you is to try to find a stand location that might be beneficial hunting the early season, but you know, the between the food plots or your food source, your food plots or whatever, and the betting areas. So my challenge to you is too, you know, when you're going to your Ohio lease in September when you get back or August when you get back, um to maybe set up some stands or even on your Michigan property or wherever you're hunting this year. Is to keep that in mind, um that I feel that there are several benefit fits and if you do it right, you can be successful hunting early season in October. So you're gonna make me go against my my, my gut instincts on this one. Huh yep? All right, Well, for those people listening, do you want to give your take on why. I know we've talked about this before, but from maybe some people hadn't heard this. Do you want to give your take on why. I think that's a good idea, And maybe I can give my two cents on why I've hesitated from doing that too much recently for sure, for sure. So in the past I have found some stand locations um where I have and this is this is kind of part of the question is being able to find an access route in there without spooking a deer. So if you're if you let's say the if you look at a compass, all right, the west is a betting area, the east is a food plot, all right. So if you can find an access route in between those two lines, preferably closer to the betting area from the north or from the south direction, you know, um, so it would be so you're not going through the betting area or going through uh the food plot or you know, food source to get to this stand location. I feel that if you get into your stand early enough, while early season, while these deer are kind of still on a on a pattern, and if you can match that kind of with a cold front or some cooler mornings, I have seen just as good as success running into a mature deer coming back from a food source to their bed uh in this early you know, this early to mid October range. Okay, all right, you make a you make a strong case, and I will I'll take you up on it. I will do at least one October earlier October morning hunt, and I'll try to find a place that's conducive to that where I'll have a minimal risk of bumping deer and still be in a position where I might be intercepted buck um. And here's my two cents on and and you you know what I'm gonna step. But so the reason why you know I I used to hunt mornings in not early October all the time until like three years ago when I finally started paying more attention to um to like your odds for every sit, I'm I'm looking at the odds of success for every sit. And on one side, like my left hand, I'm gonna look at my odds for success, and on my right side, my right hand, I'm going to look at the risk of educating deer. And so the way I started approaching my hunting season is every time I'm thinking about going out to hunt, I'm gonna look at those odds I don't look at Okay, how likely is it that I could have success in this location and on this date and with these conditions, versus how likely is it that I might spook something? And so when I'm looking at those early October mornings, in most cases that I've seen and from a lot of the people that are smarter than me, who who have shared me their experiences. In most cases, not all, but in the majority, mature bucks are usually returning to bed very early at that time of year, so they're either back into their beds before daylight or very close to their beds before daylight. And so the risk is then if I'm trying to get into a tree stand, and if I want to be in a stand where I have a chance at those bucks during daylight, I've got to be, you know, relatively close to their beds. Either They're already gonna be there, so I'm gonna walk in there and spook them, or I'll spook them on my way there as they're you know, moving through that timber at the same time i am. And if all those things don't happen, even if I get in there without spooking them, and before they get there, most often mature bucks will circle down wind of their bedding locations before actually going into bed in the morning, based on you know, things like what Dan and Falls told us and a number of other smart guys um and then I'll get winded in those cases. So what I've decided is that I think that the odds of success are higher in evenings in early October, especially if I don't screw it up in the mornings. So so that said that that there's no rule, and I totally understand that. You know, there have been tons and tons of examples. I'm sure where you or other people listening have seen mature bucks in the morning, have gotten shots in early October. I even, you know, October second or third, like three or four years ago, I was hunting and I almost got a shot at the buck um that I killed two years ago. Three years after that point um six shooter, I had an encounter with him coming back to bed and I almost got a shot him. So I know, I know it's possible. Um, I've just decided to hold off on those morning hunts because I think the odds for success are low, pretty low. They're not impossible with they're pretty low, but the risks are pretty high. So that's my you know, that's my take on it, you know, and I and I know you're you're take on it too. So I'll give a shot. I'm gonna try to think hard about it and try to figure out the place where I could pull it off. Maybe I want to get view a couple of quick tips right now, we're not talking about going in and if this is like a morning and running gun set. All right, what what why I have decided to hunt some mornings is because I have evidence through trail cameras or previous scouting that a buck is using this particular area. All right. So you said you mentioned odds of having success, and I am a percent that person. I like to put all the um odds in my favors, you know, stack everything where I'm going to be successful. And you're not going to do that by just going in and hunting close to a betting area in a morning, hoping a target buck comes in. I want you to pay attention to your trail cameras and make sure the wind is right so that you avoid those uh put your stand in the right location so you avoid when those bucks come potentially to down wind into their bed area. You have that advantage, and you know that through trail camera history, you have the advantage where I shouldn't say the advantage, but the statistics of this buck using this betting area, coming in and out of a particular food source is at its highest. So I'm not talking about Hey, let's just go hunt mornings I'm talking about put the you know, do your do your scouting, run your trail cameras, find a best case scenario, then go hunt. That sounds fair that because I don't, you know, just like me and you man, you know, just like me, just like you, I'm not gonna do anything stupid. I'm not gonna go run in there and say hey, let's go on a morning just because Yeah. No, I think you gotta be smart butt it. And I think you know, when I do this, I'll be looking at a couple of things, you know, just spitball on here what I'm thinking. I think, you know, like you mentioned, um, you know, I'll probably looking for a weather front. You know, I'm gonna look for something that might give me just a little more of an edge and keep the daring their feet just a little bit longer. Because what I want to avoid is I want to avoid, you know, going into an area where a buck has already moved into bed, so on a day where a big coal front's hit, he might be a little more likely to stay out feeding a little bit later. And so then like you said too, I'll need to have an access throughoute where I can avoid that food source where he's at or where he's close to, and I need to come into the back door and get closer to that bedding area and uh and find that that right spot on the right time. Another thing I'll do, which is something I do, um, you know for all my morning hunts, but especially if I were to be hunting in the early season, is I like to get in there really early. Um. Some of my friends think I'm crazy, but I like to be in there. Ideally, I like to be in there an hour and hour and a half before daylight, especially when you have camera gear. I figure if I get in there an hour and a half before daylight, by the time I get up in my tree and finangle with all that junk up in there, by about an hour before daylight, I can then sit completely quietly and I've got a good sixty minutes to just let everything quiet down. And you know, and you know this because you've heard me talk about this for so many times, but I'm just O c D about all the details. I want to do every single possible little thing I can do to make sure that's just a high likely or make sure it's as good a hunt as possible. And I would rather sacrifice sleep to build to feel a little more comfortable about the you know, my my odds of getting in there without spooking something. So so that's what I'll do. And that's um. I know some people, you know, don't like the idea of getting up even earlier than they have to and sitting in a tree for that long. But I like to get in there an hour and a half beforehand, and I'll strap myself in tight to the tree so i'll have my safety highers on. And then I've got alignment's rope that I'll sometimes take and strap it tight around my chest and I'll just I'll sleep for that hour. Um, i can just pass out and I'm tight to the tree so I'm not gonna fallow it at all. And my body kind of naturally has gotten like a natural alarm clock, so as soon as it seems to be starting at daylight, I usually pop my eyes open. I'm I've gotten a pretty good system for that. So that'll be what I'll do. Nice, well, good luck Mark, Thank you Dan. We'll have to check back in in October once I do this and see how that goes. So now I've got a challenge for you, Okay, here we go, and this one's going to be equally painful. Boy. Yeah. So one thing I really like to do, and this is related to hunting mornings as well, is in November. I am a big fan of utilizing every minute of daylight during the rut to capitalize on the potential odds for success. So, so, Dan, you don't want to miss out on that late morning or the midday cruising. It happens. You know last year. Last year, I was hunting with my buddy Josh and around one o'clock a giant eight pointer. He was at least five and a half in well over one, just a askeid framed eight poinner. Right at one o'clock, I was actually standing up in the tree stand taking a leak, and this buck came cruising in and if we've been out having lunch, would have never seen him. Let's take a step back two years ago to the Ohio property. I was hunting all day and around excuse me, around eleven o'clock, the buck that we call Glenn cruised by, and then an hour and a half later, at about I guess it's closer to one thirty or somewhere, I'm there, Um, Jawbreaker. You know, the infamous Jowbreaker. We all know he came cruising by and I railed him in around one thirty of that afternoon. So one day in the middle of the day, both target Box Glenn and jaw Breaker cruise through in the middle of day. So I'm a big believer during the heat of the rut sticking it out all day, as painful as that can be sometimes. So my channels for you, Mr Dan Johnson, and I'm gonna I'm gonna make this tougher than tougher than maybe what are you're even thinking. I want you to hunt from daylight to dark a minimum of twice during the two thousand fifteen season. I'd like to see you do it three or four times, but I'm gonna say two days. I want two full days from daylight to dark. During the rut. You can't leave the tree. Find a place that's good for all day movement and stick it out. I'll do it. You Son him a gun, I'll do it. I want you to, you know, stretch your knees out that morning, get hot pads or something to keep your keep your legs good and brave the elements. So we're talking the same tree stand, right, Yeah, you gotta find you gotta find a stand that's going to be a good all day stand. So like find a rut stand, you know, back in the timber a little bit, that's a funnel that you know they can move through at any point and and stick it out there, because there's definitely times when they make sense to move in the morning and move again in the afternoon. There's plenty of times, but there are also lots of spots where you can stick it out all day and see that see that movement, and by staying there, you know, you minimize the chances of bumping something, you know, as you make that shift. So two days all day one it can be you know, both days don't need the same stand, but for each day the full the full fourteen hours daylight. Okay, So, and I knew this was coming. I did not mentally prepare for it, but it is very hard for me to do that. And I completely agree from a number standpoint, more time in the stand the better. But you're asking me to do something that I don't do hardly ever, I know, and um, I'm gonna do it just because you've asked me politely, you know, my My parents always told me that manners, manners matter, so in this case it worked. Um. So here's a couple of tips for you for for handling the all day. Said, all right. Number one, pick one of your more for bull tree stands. You know, if you if you're using one of your running guns setups with the lone wolf, you know they've got a decent seat. But you might even want to bring an extra cushion if you're gonna be sitting for that long. I sometimes do that. I've got a cushion for a muddy tree stand that's extra thick that I like a lot, and every once in a while bring that along and put that on top of a tree stand if it's got a lousy seat. So your cushion is important. You gotta have snacks. I don't know about you, but for me during the rout, if I'm doing it all day like the only especially if it's a slow day, and you know, lots of times that's how it go, like it's the hunt sucks. You're not seeing anything and if you leave what you want to, then you don't end up seeing the deer that comes through at noon when you never would have thought deer came through, So I bring snacks, and I like plan, like that's the thing I have to look forward to all day. So I'm like, Okay, ten o'clock I get a bag of skittles, and now I look forward to that for four hours, and then noon I'll get to eat the sandwich. And then I'm really pumped between eleven thirty and noon because I know a sandwich is coming. And then at like two o'clock I'm allowed to have my Snickers bar or whatever it might be, and I bring enough to span you know, every couple hours, I've got some little snack to look forward to. I bring snacks when I check my trail came. It gets you through that ten minute walk. Yeah, or order the the five yard walk between the truck and the trail camera right, get back in the truck. Oh gosh, give him a protein bar. I need to. I need a carbload. Well, you might need to bring a second backpack for all the food you don't need for this then, and bring water. Bring lots of water. And I usually bring like a one caffeinated drink to like a mountain dew or something. I did bring coffee last year because it was so cold. Yeah, there were some cold days during the end of the rut, weren't there, ye as brutal. So I think you can do it. And I think if you're in the right spot at the right time, you know you don't need to do it. You know, wait for when that when it's like the rut is popping, those best days if you've got if you've got the right spot and the ruts popping, it's worth sitting out there. So, um, I know that I'm gonna talk to you like six months from now, on November six, and we're gonna be calling in like nine o'clock at night, since we couldn't call it the usual time because we're out hunting, and you're gonna be tired as hell, whooped and angry at me but because I didn't see. But then the next day you're gonna do it again, and then you're gonna texting me and tell me, dude, I just saw one sixty six year old cruise through at And I'll be your best friend, I hope. So that is my first challenge for you. Do you have Do you have another challenge you want to throw my way? Or is that all I gotta work for before we get to that, we need to pause for a quick message from our partners at Sick of Gear. Now, as I mentioned last week, moving forward, we're going to be hearing a little bit in each episode from a Sick of Gear employee, Dennis Suck about a number of things related to white tail clothing and Sick of Gear. So to kick that off this week, I just wanted for us to get to know who Dennis is. So here's Dennis explaining exactly what he does sick as a product category leader Mark. Essentially, you know, it's my job to look at the white tail space and think about, you know, what is it that people don't have today or what would make a better hunt for them? Um, And and look at the technologies and the things that the world has within it and think about how to configure those things together to make a better product, a different product, something that's unique and interesting. Um. Predominantly that's it. But then also think about, you know, where does it go and where are people buying? And you know where where do they make those decisions? Is it? Is it? Cabella's is it? Where is it? So there's a lot of that and thinking about how to position it, make sure people understand where we're going with that, that concept of that idea, then I might I might or others or our ambassadors athletes might come up with and being a big time white tail hunter yourself. Does this even feel like work or is it just like play? And it feels like both? You know, you know, I'm absolutely I grew up as a young kid, you know, white til hunt with my father and really always been on arch free guy, you know, coming to these things and you're like, well, that's gonna be a lot of fun, and it never quit being fun. But there's absolutely a business here and there's absolutely a lot of work that goes into making these kinds of products. So you know, it feels like both. But it's something that I wake up every day happy to do and excited to do, and you know, I really feel like doing this. You get to make a difference to the people who you care about, and if you grow up in that space and it's something that means something to you, and you know, when your kids are doing and other people are doing it, you know, there's a lot of joy that comes from that. Not a bad gig at all. That's say so to all of you listening. Tune in next week for more from Dennis, product category leader at Sick of Gear, where they turn work into play and clothing into gear. Now back to the episode, and I know you do it a little bit already, but I'm a firm believer. If an area is hot, an area is hot, all right, And this is kind of like a running gun type thing to which you already do. But if an area it is hot, if the wind is wrong, I don't want you to I don't want you to not hunt it. I want you to find alternate access routes to your tree stands for all wind directions. So if you have to do a running gun some evening because coming into a bedding area clear from the opposite side, look at your maps. Find alternate access routes to your stand locations. So if you do have a buck coming to a trail camera, you are able to go hunt that area regardless of the wind direction. And then does that apply to you know, my tree standing locations too, So I might need to find alternative access route, but also I might need to pop in an alternate tree standing be able to hunt that area because my current stand is not quite right. That's correct, that's correct. So you know this kind of rolls into the more time in the tree, the better, and if you are because you know, as we know, in the rut, we could get a very small window to a too to move in on a deer, and if we're moving out of the area because the wind is bad, then we're giving up on that deer. Basically, that makes sense. Yeah, yeah, it does. And I think you know, what you're saying is what I know I should do in a lot of cases, and you and you know you should do right when when you got the right spot. But gosh, sometimes it can be really more so for me because I'm not running gunning quite as much as you are, so it still does feel kind of inconvenient when I have to go in there with all my crap on my back and set up a tree stand. I sometimes avoid that just because I'm you occasionally get lazy, so this will be pushing me to, you know, not give into that laziness and just find a way to make it work and hang the stand when you have to, because that's the spot to be. Yeah, I think that's I think that's a fair challenge. It's what you know, that's what I'm gonna do. And there's really no tips and tricks to it. I mean, it's look at the weather map to find where the wind direction is, study your your maps to find the best access route, and um, you know where the betting areas or food source or or pinch point or whatever you're actually hunting that particular day, and you just gotta do it. And even if it means cutting out one or two extra tree stands in August, you gotta do it. Yeah, I think you know now that I'm thinking about this. It's it's funny too. A small move, like even like a forty yard move. You might have a current stand in an area and the wind's wrong for it right there. But even if you move, you know, thirty forty yards over and then all of a sudden you might have to hunt just fine. So it's just a matter of you know, dealing with that inconvenience of pulling down a set and hanging one up, or you know, bringing a new set to hang up. Um. And this exact thing actually happened to me last year with the deer I killed in Ohio in November. Um, I had a tree stand thirty five or forty yards away from where I eventually hung a stand that morning, but I knew that that was going to be in the wrong spot for the wind, and if if I was hunting that original tree stand, it would blow my wind right through where I thought these deer would walk through. And so you know, I had to come in at three thirty in the morning and hang a new set, and it was paying the butt, but I'm glad it did, because that buck came right in and you know, I had the wind blowing away from him instead of right to him. So right, and that I've actually been um. I've wrote a couple of articles on the nine Finger Chronicles site called micromanaging tree stands or tree stand micro management, and the whole point of that is exactly what you just said, being able to move in an area where the deer are and not having to lay off without you know, lay off that area and let the deer then you know, find another dough that's in the heat, and then they're gone again and you have to find them all over again. Yeah. Yeah, I definitely think there's been a few examples, you know, just as I think through the past few years where I was too quick to abandon an area where there was you know, there was some action going on. There was a hot do in the area, and I probably could have pushed the push the envelope a little bit more if I would have been willing to do it, and in looking back, I should have, But instead I moved on to somewhere else because of the wind or because of whatever. And uh, I think I missed out an opportunities probably so, So I will Challenge number two accepted. Challenge number two accepted. So I got a final challenge for you then too. All right, sounds good, And this one I'm not going to force you to do this year, but I'm gonna ask that you do it either this year or next year. Okay, I want you, Dan Johnson, to hunt white tails outside of Iowa. I want you to try hunting white tails outside of Iowa, and even I'm gonna push you outside of like that core hot spot like northern Missouri, western Illinois in Iowa, like right that that spot right next to where you're at, that the heart of the land of giants. I want you to try hunting white tails somewhere else, even it's for just for a weekend. I want to experience what guys in Pennsylvania or Michigan or New York or Georgia or Tennessee or wherever I want to experience a little bit of the different side of white tailling him. Okay, so you have an open invite to come to Michigan if you want to come hunting here for a weekend to give a try, um or you know, will you can venture off anywhere you want or you and maybe we'll figure out a trip next year something to go somewhere for a long weekend public land and some other state and test the waters there too. So that's that's my challenge is to is to test the waters in a different state. Okay, it's gonna have to be next year, but challenge scepted um. And the only reason that I might not And I don't want to sound like I'm giving an excuse right away, but if my wife kills me because I decide to go out of state for another hunt, then we might have a problem understood. And I you know, I can't if if you're dead, you can't draw back a boat, you know, YadA YadA YadA, Yeah I will. Well, I'll have to find some way to to get someone to fulfill your obligations, or maybe there can be some money that's set in your will. So if you can't fulfill us, well I'll get like a chunk of Chaine or something. But and that's why it can be a very short amount time. It can be a weekend trip and you know, find a place with a cheap out of state license and somewhere you can scoot to for a quick weekend in the middle of October and just just see and uh, if we can get the wife right to sign off on it, I think it'd be a good idea. All right, So that's a doozy And if that's uh, that that one takes some planning in preparation. It's not just simple go out into your timber and and give her a try. But um, I know a guy who has a lease in Ohio that I think I might try to hunt that One's that's a pretty good property too. That that guy in Ohio is trying to find more properties in Ohio too, So hopefully I have a bigger piece at that point. So we'll we'll have to check back in on that in a year. But keep in mind, do someth thinking about it, and um, I think it'll be good good fodder for us to talk about some different places too, yea, So those are those are the challenges. I have got to test some morning hunts in the early season, and I've got to stay committed to hotspots and find alternate stand locations or access routes if they are present. So that's what I gotta do. And I am sitting all day long? What is mine? Mine just seems like the hardest one. Well, hey, congratulations, you get a sit to two days in a row or two days next. No, remember all day long? What are you gonna do with your time? I'm gonna have to like find download some movies or something, or I don't want to hear a dude, I'm fourteen days straight. I'll be in there all day probably, So I'll text you after your second day and see how your knees are treating you, if you need me to send you a comfort pack or anything. So it's like a sympathy card exactly. We'll check download some e books. I guess some e books on my phone so you can read a little bit, you know, read a couple of words, look up, read a couple of words. Some people I could just visit wired to hunt dot com for all my Yeah, why wasn't that the original tip. Just go to Wired dot dot com for deer hunting news stories and strategies that'll cover you, smart man. My last one is to start planning for another out of state whitetail hunt. Yeah, I'm really pushing your limits here. It Hey, sometimes the limits need to be pushed. True story. So that said, then challenge. We've got a listener challenge. So I've got one for listeners. And did you come up with a challenge for listeners? I did? Unless yours is the same as mine, well, I guess I don't know what yours is, but I don't know what yours is. Well you want to, well you should go first. You sure, Yeah you're the host, Well you're the co host. But okay, that means nothing. I'm glad to glad to come to terms the situation. Damn. Alright. So my challenge for everyone listening is I want everyone listening to go out and ask for permission on at least one new spot this summer. So even if you current, even if you own ground, or you already have several places that are great, you can never have too many options. It's you know, properties disappear if you have permission on three spots. It seems like every other year you're gonna lose one, another one comes in, you lose one. Um, you can never have too many options these days, especially if you're trying to hunt as many days as you can. Maybe you have a weak vacation and the winds wrong for your property this day and that day. If you had another spot, You've got options. So I want to challenge everyone to at least ask once. I know some people just don't like asking for permission. Some people do it all the time and it's not a big deal. So for those guys and girls out there, you're in the clear. This will be an easy one for But I know there's some of you listening who hate the idea of walking up to a random door, knocking on it and asking that guy or girl or whoever if you can hunt on their back forty That's not easy for everyone. I don't even like doing it very much. I UM, I end up avoiding it more times than not. But I'm trying every year to get better at it, and UM, I want to challenge everyone to do that. So what I'm gonna do, you know, like I mentioned earlier, is if you decide to accept that challenge, come back to the blog post for this one and leave us a comment talking about how that went. So that's my challenge. What do you think about that? Dan? I think that's a very good challenge, um. And it really is the starting point for any hunt is obtaining ground. Yeah. And it's also even though you know, for those who are a little shy or don't like doing that stuff, it can be painful in the moment, but like as soon as you ask, it's like this weight is off your shoulders and if you've got permission, it's a whole new world of opportunities. Who knows what could be on that new property. You know, it could be a totally different type of hunting situation than what you're used to. It could be the promised land. You never know until you ask. So I always say, well, I'm not always a friend of mine always said, and it's rubbed off on me that you know right now before you ask, the answers already know. So it can't get any worse. You might as well ask and maybe get it. Yes. So, so that's what I want everyone to try. What about you? What about you? Dan? Mine is something that we've been preaching on this show for since the very beginning basically, and that is to be more mobile. And you're tired and you don't want to move that tree stand, have a little conversation with your inside self and move your tree stand if you if you're seeing a deer movement, you know, closer to a fence line or in a different draw or in a different part of the area that you're in, I want you to tear your tree stand down and move it. Period. And it sucks. Sometimes it sucks. Asked, Well, there you go. I suppose it does. Yeah, I mean I'm talking it really does. It sucks. I mean there's nothing more than you know, having all your tree stands up. You're you're ready to go for the season, and you've been hunting five or six days in a row. You're exhausted, and you're watching the a big buck come out of a different point or a different draw into a into uh, you know, a cornfield, and you know you have to go there, but you're talking yourself in too. Maybe he'll come by this way, maybe he'll come here, Maybe he'll come here, Maybe he'll come here. There's a good chance that you got out of that tree stand. He already did come through after dark he busted, or he he doesn't feel comfortable coming that direction anymore and that's why he's going over there now. Or I mean, you can think of a thousand different scenarios that the end result is move your tree stand. So I want to challenge our listeners to if the you know, scenario calls for it, do the hard work, tear down and move. I like it. It's a good it's a good reminder for all of us. Free for me to you know, kind of related to one of my challenges you gave me, but just in general life, you know, like you said, when you when you see a reason to move, you need to suck it up, deal with the inconvenience of it, and just get there. Because bow hunting, especially for mature bucks, it's a game of inches. It's all the little details. And if you're you know, fifty yards away from a buck, that doesn't do you look of good if you can only shoot to thirty five or whatever it might be. So it got to be in the exact right spot. So that's an awesome challenge. Yeah, hopefully hopefully all these challenges pay off, you know. And let's say I sit all day and I don't see anything. I can say that I sat all day and I didn't see anything, So it just it actually helps me. No that, Hey, if I'm in this area, should I sit all day? Maybe not? Maybe I should? You know, in the same with your challenges, should I try to find you know, should I use this access route for this wind direction? Or um? Should I maybe try to hunt this morning? You know, a couple of years from now after you see the results of the of the challenge this year. I mean, it's all about breaking the rut, getting outside of your comfort zone, and that can lead to more information and as we all know, more information helps kill dere Yeah, and and even if you try these new things and you fail, you can you still learn something from that. So you're trying something new, you'll either you know, your your eyes will be open to a new thing and a new tactic or a new idea and you take that away, or you do it and you find out, hey, this doesn't work because of X, or this didn't work because of why. And if you you know, like you and we always say, if we if we go into a hunting season and we look at each hunt with like your analysis hat on, so you always look at it, and you always ask why never just go hunting and then something happens and then just move on to the next day. I always like try to sit back and and look at that day, like that night when you get back or in the next morning, you think about the day's hunt and why does certain things happen? Why didn't certain things happen? And try to learn something from every single encounter, every single hunt. And if you do that enough, it really adds up and it can completely change how you hunt. So right, and I tell you one last thing, and maybe you know this can help get us a little bit of interactive um if you want to do this or not, Mark is, let's start. Let's start a hashtag for our social media friends, whether it's Instagram or it's Facebook or Twitter. Let's put together a hashtag and hashtag like W t H challenge alright, the wire to Hunt challenge, and you guys can maybe throw some challenges our way as well, or we can throw some challenges your way and you know, and maybe help refine the way we hunt. I like it. It's a good idea. That's uh w hashtag W two HS challenge. If you've got any comments, about what we're talking about here, or if you want to add to any of the things that me and Dan have said when it comes to our challenges, or if you already have some thoughts on the challenges we sent out to you guys, let us know on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram with hashtag W two h challenge and to enter the challenge to get a to potentially win a fanatic Coodie, go to wire to Hunt dot com slash episode fifty seven. Once you complete one of our challenges and write up a response explaining you know what happened, what were the results, what you thought about it, and you know, we'll look at those assuming you know they're they're well, you know, if you actually took the time to give a good response, you'll be entered and we'll pick one of those people randomly and you'll win a an awesome fanatic Coody. So I get a little scratch my throat here, but I think Dan, that that's gonna wrap it up for us. Shortened to the point today, shortened to the point. But I think we've got some good stuff, some good challenges, some good things for us to try out this year. And like you said, you have to get out of the run. You don't want to get stuck doing the same things year after year. So that's our challenge to you guys, that's our challenge to ourselves, and I think we all if we do these things, if we try new things and learn from them, we might just have the best season of our lives. So that is going to be it for us today. And again, Starry, this is a short episode, um, but I'm packing to head out for a huge road trip so I'm kind of chaotic and Dan's got you know, the whole new baby things, So keeping it short and sweet. But before we let you go, as always, we do want to thank our partners who helped make this podcast possible, so big thank you too, Sick of Gear, Trophy, Ridge, Bear Archery, Red Nick Blinds, Hunt, Terror Maps, Osonics, Carbon Express, Lacrosse Boots, and the White Tailed Institute of North America. And thank you all for joining us today. We appreciate your time and you know we're all excited. Me and Dan are definitely excited to hear back from you about the challenges, what you think about them, and how you're going to participate. So thanks for that, have an awesome week and stay wired to hunt,