As a high school kid, I spent most of my Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays at my grandparents. I had almost zero responsibilities and ample hunting time. When I wasn’t in the woods, I would thumb through stacks of Outdoor Life or Field & Stream that my grandfather hoarded over the years and kept in a wicker basket beside his recliner.
In the evenings, he would formulate the next day’s hunting plans for me and my cousins as we watched hunting shows. Most of these shows featured sprawling midwestern ag fields, big bucks, even bigger tower blinds, and, of course, the whispered interview and shout-out to the outfitter providing the hunt. It was completely foreign to the southern piney woods me and my family hunted, but we didn’t care. It fired us up, and those shows gave us the illusion that we were one food plot or carefully hung stand away from killing a wall-hanger.
Of course, our hunts never ended like those shows. It wasn’t until I hunted for several years that I finally realized that the hunting industry (specifically deer) is just that—an industry. Once you pull back the green curtain, you can’t ignore the man on the control board. While I recognize the irony of this article that comes from an outlet and brand that is part of the broader hunting industry, I also try my best to remain transparent and honest when it comes to writing about hunting, and that includes debunking some of the myths that a lot of hunting media wants (and needs) you to believe.
To highlight some of these industry “secrets,” I spoke with MeatEater’s Tony Peterson. Tony’s been in the business for several decades as a writer, editor, podcast host, and one heck of a deer hunter. He’s written hundreds of hunting articles over the years, many of which provide practical hunting advice that actually applies to the average hunter. Here are a few secrets he highlighted that the hunting industry won’t tell you.
Woodsmanship Kills Deer, Not Products
Tony quickly made it clear that nothing replaces time in the woods. It was his first, emphatic point and one that overlaps all the others in this article.
“The Hunting industry doesn’t sell woodsmanship,” he said. “They want to sell quick-fix products. But the truth is, discipline and hard work kill deer. You have to spend a lot of time in the woods to find success.”
A nauseating amount of promising products line the shelves at sporting goods stores. While some of them can be helpful, most resemble late-night infomercial products. Manufacturers, show hosts, and even hunt influencers want you to believe that the products they tout directly lead to success. This just isn’t the case. If you can’t read and interpret basic deer sign, no amount of scents, food plot seed, camo patterns, or hunting tech will help you kill a deer, let alone a big buck.
Not All Hunting Advice Is Equal
Even the best-intended hunting advice can come across as tone deaf. As a young hunter, I took the tips and tactics from hunting shows and magazines to heart. While some of it was useful, a lot of it just didn’t apply to my situation, or it was downright bad advice.
I didn’t realize that a lot of this advice came from hunters who spent their time at ranches, with outfitters, or on media hunts. I’m not saying there’s no place for these types of settings. However, the popular advice that comes from hunters in these positions just doesn’t apply to most hunters.
“A lot of the hunting advice originates from hunters in privileged positions,” Tony said. “Most hunters should steer away from popular hunting advice, especially generalized statements. Those types of blanket whitetail strategies just don’t work.”
Tony noted that these blanket statements can prove more harmful than helpful. For instance, some of these statements include: not hunting early season mornings, saving your best spots for the right conditions, planting x number of food plots, and bucks are brainless during the rut, to name a few. He pointed out that tactics like waiting for the right conditions just don’t work for hunters on limited time or pressured ground, and that most hunters are better off taking a trial and error approach.
You Have to Find What Works for You
Along the lines of blanket statements and tactics, Tony also warned that hunters should be cautious of jumping on popular strategies, even if they’re coming from proven DIY hunters. He made a great point: A lot of people, with good intentions, are selling a style or strategy. Whether it’s the current mobile hunting trend, hunting from the ground, or targeting specific buck beds, these strategies only work within certain contexts.
For instance, Tony used targeting specific buck beds as an example. He pointed out that while this tactic can be super effective, it won’t help hunters who spend their time in the big woods. It’s not that hunters shouldn’t consider these tactics, but they should consider their hunting situation before adopting a certain style. While there are plenty of well-meaning hunt-fluencers showcasing their successful tactics, “You have to find a lane that works for you,” Tony said.
Natural Deer Movement Is Your Best Friend
A lot of deer hunting media continues to pedal this “If you build it, they will come” idea, regarding food plots and big bucks. While food plots can provide a nutritional boost to a property, it’s hardly a guarantee that mature bucks will flock to them.
In fact, research shows that mature bucks don’t frequent food plots during shooting hours for most of the year anyway. Depending on your situation, you should probably consider whether food plots give you the best advantage anyway, especially if you want to shoot a mature buck.
Rather than building a grocery store for your local deer population, Tony insisted that observing and learning natural deer movement on the landscape will serve you better in the long run.
“Watching deer on the landscape, as long as you don’t mess it up, can help you level up,” he said. “I’ve killed a lot of deer by leaving things as natural as possible and then moving in for a setup.”
Essentially, Tony suggests finding the deer and hunting them where they’re at—not where you think they should be (i.e., in a brassica field). Of course, hunting deer in their natural patterns requires woodsmanship, and no amount of money can buy that.
Successful Hunting Requires Hard Work
Despite what you read or hear, successful hunting requires hard work. If I had to sum up Tony’s argument, it comes down to time in the woods.
“You have to put in work all season long,” he said. “From September to December, just get out as much as you can. Get to the woods earlier and sit later than you planned. I see a lot of deer activity outside the typical hunting hours. Trust me, they’re moving a lot more than we think.”
Read the full article here