The MeatEater

It took me fourteen years to finally hunt out of state, but when I finally took the plunge, I went hard. I chased whitetails on public land in the big woods of Wisconsin and the badlands of North Dakota, and it was painfully obvious that I wasn’t in Kansas anymore.

What I thought would be a fun and challenging adventure quickly turned into a therapy session I didn’t sign up for. Hunting out of state pushed me out of my comfort zone, highlighted my weaknesses, and forced me to adapt as a hunter.

Ok, maybe I don’t know a lot about therapy. But I do know I returned to my little house on the prairie a better deer hunter than when I left. I learned a lot of tough lessons once I cut my own deer hunting umbilical cord. Here are a few of those lessons.

Whitetails have the same life requirements no matter where they live, but the availability of each resource varies across their range. Between agriculture and oak trees, my hometown Kansas whitetails are pretty well-fed—even on public land. Destination food sources are ubiquitous on the landscape, so I tend to focus on more limited deer necessities, such as water and cover.

The big woods were a shock to my system. It was the opposite of what I normally hunted. There was nothing but water and cover, while food was limited. By sheer luck, I stumbled onto a small cluster of red oaks and laced a small buck that came to snack on them the following morning. I had a similar experience in the badlands, when the spot I e-scouted happened to have a fresh burn full of bright green shoots in the middle of it, and every deer in the valley knew that too.

In Kansas, neither food source would’ve generated that much deer activity. I had to recognize that while I was hunting the same species, their needs were different in this situation. This is a critical aspect of the game that a lot of hunters don’t understand the first time they shell out hundreds for a nonresident tag. Your home-state playbook might not travel well. You might have to make changes on the fly.

Forgetting a crucial piece of gear behind is always a pain, but it’s not the end of the world when you’re hunting your own backyard. Leave your bow release on the kitchen counter, and you can probably run home to get it and still make it to your stand in time for a worthwhile hunt. If not, there’s always next weekend.

Make that same mistake on the road, and you have a real problem. Especially if you’re hunting in a remote area where you can’t find a quick replacement. You might only have a few sits to work with on an out-of-state hunt, so the implications are a lot worse if you tank one by forgetting, misplacing, or breaking something important.

No one wants to admit that they’re unorganized, but as I sat two miles in on a North Dakota riverbank and tore apart my backpack in search of my haul line, there was no more denying the truth. Organization was a huge hole in my game that I needed to address. If I wanted to find success, I’d have to organize my gear.

It’s easy to lose yourself in the pursuit of America’s favorite big game animal, especially on an out-of-state hunt with limited time. Maybe you finally drew a coveted Iowa archery tag, and the pressure to fill it with a giant is almost unbearable. But travelling to hunt has so much more value than just another mount on the wall.

I was stressed to the max as I crossed the halfway point of my North Dakota hunting trip. I had yet to let an arrow fly, and it wasn’t until I took the best nap of my life on a rocky riverbank with an unbelievable backdrop that I considered myself lucky. I left the next day without a deer, but I didn’t leave empty-handed. I had some incredible encounters with public land deer, honed my skills as a mobile hunter, and knew, without a doubt, that I would return next year.

Nonresident opportunities are getting more limited each season. That’s all the more reason to take a step back and appreciate every chance you get to hunt whitetails, no matter where they roam.

On this week's episode, Brent's sharing a fishing story from a listener where no records were broken, nothing amazing happened, and no one got hurt or even came close. A simple story that brought joy to the ones fishing and the ones who hear it. Then, he's giving us the details on the things that make him happy. It's a short list that represents a lot of the people and pleasures of his life. It just might make you happy as well.

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Hosts Brody Henderson, Janis Putelis, and Randall Williams catch up with Jim Heffelfinger about all things elk subspecies, put on their chaps for a news roundup, chat with butcher Anna Borgman about the meat processing she does at Chaos Farms, and pit two listeners head-to-head in a Hot Tip Off.

Watch the live stream on the MeatEater Podcast Network YouTube channel.

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Beef bourguignon, also known as beef burgundy, is a classic dish that hails from the Burgundy region of France. The stew, consisting of meat slowly braised in red wine, served alongside pearl onions and mushrooms, was popularized in American kitchens by Julia Child. It also happens to be a great way to turn tough cuts of game meat into a succulent, satisfying meal during colder months.

This rendition swaps bourbon for wine, venison for beef, with a few other small tweaks here and there for optimal flavor cohesion. Just like you’d choose a wine that you’d gladly drink in classic bourguignon, make sure you pick a good bourbon here. I used Fox & Oden Bourbon Whiskey, it added memorable spicy notes to the sauce that really made this a stand-out dish.

I recommend serving this over creamy mashed potatoes, but you could also use roasted potatoes, polenta, buttery egg noodles, rice, or a couple pieces of good, crusty bread to sop up the sauce.

The Traditional first week of November rut was foreign to me until I actually hunted the Midwest. As a resident Mississippian, that hallowed week looks a lot like the month of October. Unless we get a cold front, temps might even reach the mid-80s. For me and my southern counterparts, New Year’s Day typically aligns with peak rut activity. Of course, the South is a weird place, and that includes deer hunting.

Depending on where you’re at, you might see peak rut activity in Mississippi or Alabama anywhere from Thanksgiving Day to early February. While most folks in deer country have put a bow on their season by then, things are just heating up down South. Whether you’re looking to escape cabin fever or prolong your deer season, here’s a few things to consider about chasing the rut down South.

Depending on when and where you travel will determine which part of the rut you hit. Some states put out maps with approximate regional rut dates. You can also call the lead biologists for specific public lands to figure out the breeding dates.

This is important because peak rut times can vary as much as a few weeks in places that lie just thirty minutes apart. This means that resident hunters can find rutting activity within driving distance from the end of November to the beginning of February. But that’s good news for all you snowbirds, too. You’ll have plenty of flexible dates if you decide to head south for some extended rut hunting this winter.

Because the rut runs so late in southern states, it usually coincides with most gun seasons. This might come as a shocker to die-hard bow hunters. Gun hunting culture in the South differs in this way. Other than a few “primitive weapon” seasons here and there, gun season largely dominates late November through the end of the season, almost two months.

Of course, you can target archery-only areas, but most places are open for gun season during peak rut activity. Some public grounds even allow deer hunting with dogs. This doesn’t mean you can’t find bowhunting success in the midst of the orange sea, just make sure you check the local regulations before planning your trip.

Other than the time of year, the rut down South follows (mostly) the same rules. You’ll want to apply similar tactics to kill a cruising buck as you would anywhere else in the country. When you start e-scouting, look for funnels, potential bedding areas, and places where you can get away from the crowds, or that might be grossly overlooked.

In flat, monotonous regions, you’ll want to focus on edges. These can be tricky to find on maps, so get ready to burn some boot leather or try still-hunting your way through a large piece of public.

Unlike most of the country, the South’s rut heats up in winter, not early fall. While the temps might resemble the fall days of the Midwest, you’ll still deal with leaf-off conditions and late-season food sources.

In a bumper crop year, you might be able to target red oak and any remaining water oak acorns during the month of December. During scarce years or January hunts, most deer resort to natural browse or, yes, even food plots. So while this won’t drastically alter how you approach buck hunting, it can alter how you target doe groups. If you locate fresh feeding sign this time of year, it’s worth noting. If not, you should focus on bedding, which can be a failsafe tactic during the rut.

If you’ve never hunted below the Mason-Dixon, just know there’s no shortage of cover. This double-edged sword means that deer have ample bedding and browse, which also makes it hard to locate specific bucks, if you’re into that kind of thing. This also makes it challenging to see deer, even though a lot of southern states have high deer densities.

For instance, Mississippi boasts the largest deer density in the country, with somewhere between 36 to 38 deer per square mile. But, if you’ve ever driven through the state, you know you’re lucky if you can see more than thirty yards off the road unless you’re in the famed delta region.

A lot of the Gulf Coast states have similar issues thanks to the thick vegetation and understory in much of the pine country. In that regard, the South serves as the antithesis of typical Midwestern ag country.

Think of it this way, in ag country, cover is the limiting factor, while the majority of the landscape consists of large, open crop fields. In the South, it’s just the opposite. There is no glassing from the roads. Sure, you might watch a buck cross a pasture, but good luck trying to pin down which bedding area he’s heading to. Still, the state boasts one of the nation’s largest deer populations, and those deer have to bed somewhere.

Yes, you can take the downwind-of-bedding approach and set up on the outskirts of a young (two to four year-old) pine stand. Most does hunker down in these clear cuts during this time of year. Bucks will cruise downwind of these stands or use an SMZ to travel through them. You can read more about an SMZ here, but they’re dynamite rut spots down South. They’re essentially pinch points that offer food in the middle of prime bedding areas.

Either way, locate the thickest cover with the freshest sign, and you’ll put yourself in a good position. And that tactic applies no matter where you hunt.

This week on the show I’m joined by Eric Clark and Derek Malcore of the Okayest Hunter podcast to discuss 10 simple steps to help make you a happier and more satisfied deer hunter over the remainder of this season.

Check out the new Wired to Hunt vintage hat!

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Join Rich Froning for a lively episode with Dale Brisby, the cowboy comedian and rodeo hand known for turning ranch life into pure entertainment. Dale shares everything from announcing wild Can-Am races to fixing ranch problems, chasing mules, dealing with skunks, and surviving the daily chaos that comes with horses and small-town living.

Rich and Dale get into how fitness fits into ranch work, why elk hunting has become a yearly reset, and what really happens on guided hunts and private land. Dale talks about running with Cam Haines, learning jiu-jitsu, and heading into Arizona to help the Navajo Nation rope wild maverick cattle — one of the craziest experiences he’s ever had.

It’s an episode full of humor, honesty, and stories only someone like Dale can tell.

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This story begins in the wild, unforgiving mountains of Montana. In September of 2014, 38-year-old Aaron Hedges set out with friends for a weeklong elk hunt in the Crazy Mountains. But when he left camp to retrieve supplies from a nearby cache, those friends never saw him again. But instead of searching for him, they went home--right as a snowstorm hit. Search and rescue teams were unable to locate the missing hunter. All they found were a few pieces of gear, including his boots, but no trace of Aaron Hedges. His remains were eventually found miles from where he was supposed to be, but the mystery only deepened. Did Aaron lose his way in the vast, punishing wilderness, or was something far more sinister waiting in the shadows? In this episode of Blood Trails, host Jordan Sillars explores how the line between accident and foul play is thinner than you think.

Want more Blood Trails? Check out the Case File.

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Gun seasons have opened throughout most of the country, and down South, that means deer hunting with dogs, too. Roads around hunting camps, public lands, and private leases are patrolled by orange vests and pickups with arched antennas.

While it can be deflating to see deer-dog hunters parked near your choice hunting spots, it’s hardly the time to throw in the towel. Instead of sulking back home, you can use a little creativity to hunt around the pressure and maybe even notch your tag. Of course, you should exercise the utmost caution and safety during gun season, whether you’re hunting near deer-dog runs or not.

The first few weeks of gun season can fill up the best trailheads and WMAs like a Walmart parking lot. Rather than knocking elbows with the competition or having someone walk past your setup at first light, it can pay to hit snooze. Instead of waking up in the middle of the night, sleep in and drive around your public land to scout other hunters. Note where everyone parks and what areas are overlooked. With everyone hitting the woods or turning the dogs loose, deer are likely to hunker down or head for unpressured cover. With this intel, you’ll at least have an idea of spots that haven’t been hammered for an evening sit or midday scouting session.

I did this very thing on the opening weekend of gun season last year, and while I didn’t fill a tag, it led to some invaluable intel. After seeing where everyone parked, I decided to scout an overlooked area. About thirty minutes into this scouting session, I bumped a good buck from his bed, found his rubs and potential staging area, and picked a spot to hang during ideal conditions. I slept in, had pancakes with the family, and got a great lead on a solid buck. Aside from punching your tag, that’s about as productive as it gets in the whitetail woods.

An upside to hunting during deer-dog season is the possibility of dogs running a deer through your setup. If you see deer-dog hunters on a neighboring property or open public ground and have the slightest idea of where they’ll turn the dogs out, you can take advantage of this by covering a potential escape route. Just make sure you’re not setting up near other hunters. Pull out onX or whatever mapping system you use and look for potential bedding and terrain features. If you have a good idea of where the dogs will jump deer, you can look for nearby terrain features that will naturally funnel deer movement in your direction. Again, you’ll need to know where other hunters set up; otherwise, you should probably move to another area.

With deer-dog hunting, the “back door” refers to the unlikely escape route that mature bucks often take. Instead of running the anticipated direction of travel, sometimes bucks will hunker down, wait for the commotion to pass, and exit the opposite direction to avoid detection (a.k.a. the back door).

Seasoned deer dog hunters typically cover this route, but sometimes it isn’t as clear. Instead of getting ahead of the dogs and hunters, set up behind the turning point of the dogs. If you see a truck filled with a pack of hounds, it’s time to back track. Once the dogs jump a deer, that buck will head toward the next patch of cover. Look for the nearest cover from where you anticipate handlers to turn the dogs. This should be the opposite direction of where you expect them to run. If you anticipate the dogs to run North, look for the nearest patch of cover South of this. Just make sure it’s away from other hunters.

If you’re worried about upsetting deer-dog hunters by shooting a buck in front of their dogs, most of them are happy for you to do so. This means easy roundups for their dogs, and it gives them and their pups a vote of confidence. While they might not help you drag your deer out, they’ll probably be indifferent at worst. If you do happen to shoot a buck behind someone else’s dog, offer them a backstrap as a sign of appreciation. After all, they’re the reason you punched your tag in the first place.

Perhaps you’d rather steer clear of deer-dog hunters altogether. If so, you should check spots B, C, or D on your list. Being forced into certain hunting spots can take off the pressure and be surprisingly productive. I can’t tell you how many times pivoting from my original hunting plans has led to a puched tag. At the least, you can learn more about those spots you’ve been wanting to check out anyway.

Aside from those magical days during the rut, deer hunting tends to get tougher as the season progresses. And you’re not helping your odds by staying at home just because a band of pickups and beagles picked the “best” spots first. By this point in the season, you should expect plenty of hunting pressure. To find success, you’ll need to get creative and adapt to that hunting pressure. You can bet the deer will.