How To Hunt Deer

When you think of food plots, what comes to mind? For many, food plot seed blends get all the attention! Though only a piece of the equation (food plot placement, planting methods, and soil tests are all crucial!), choosing the right seed for your specific setting can make or break your food plot. Do you know how to make sure your using the best seed for your situation? In this episode of the How...

In this episode of the How to Hunt Deer Podcast, Josh talks with Mitchell Shirk about how soil testing can lead you to better food plots.  Mitch is the host of the Pennsylvania Woodsman Podcast and a row crop agronomist. He makes a living helping farmers increase their yields by promoting healthier soils. The carryover to food plots is obvious! In this episode, the guys discuss why soil tests are...

If you're a deer hunter with some level of control over the land you hunt, chances are you have dabbled with food plots. Food plots can be great, leading to tons of fun hunts and great memories in the field. OR, they can be a major headache, and actually HURT the deer hunting on your property. What factors make the difference? In this episode, Josh talks with Jake Hendrickson about two very import...

Food plots... all the rage just a few years ago, there is perhaps no other deer hunting tool that promises as much for the hunter as a food plot. But there is probably no other deer hunting tool that leaves more hunters frustrated, shaking their fists at the sky, and disappointed with the results. What if I told you there's a better way of planting food plots? One that is cheaper, easier, better f...

Deer hunting or turkey hunting, what's your favorite? For many of us, deer hunting is our first love. There's nothing like a crisp November morning in the stand, blind, or saddle to get the blood flowing. But for the hunter looking to broaden his horizons, there are tons of opportunities out there. While there are a wide variety of species to chase come fall and winter, there aren't very many seas...

In this episode of the How to Hunt Deer Podcast, Josh tlaks with Idaho big buck killer Troy Pottenger about how Troy uses mock scrapes to make bucks hunt him! Troy Pottenger hunts some of the most unforgiving whitetail terrain in the country. Tough weather conditions, large expanses of timber, apex predators, and low deer densities make finding any deer a challenge in Troy's neck of the woods. But...

In this episode of the How to Hunt Deer Podcast, Josh talks with Levi Dixon of Whitetail Partners about the land and hunting strategy for a giant Tennessee buck called Lefty.  Lee is a whitetail habitat consultant with Whitetail Partners. Over the years, he's learned a thing or two about growing, holding, and harvesting mature bucks. Just last fall, Lee was able to harvest the buck of a lifetime h...

Back by popular demand, Josh and Pierce chat for part 2 of the Hot Topics series. This week, they discuss the recent ban of trail cameras on public land in Kansas and the hunting fitness movement.  The Kansas trail camera movement my be the beginning of a slippery slope for midwestern deer hunters. What's most interesting about this decision might be less about WHAT was done in Kansas and more abo...

In this episode of the How to Hunt Deer Podcast, Ryan Glitsky shares how his bigwoods post-season scouting leads to rut hunting success.  Ryan Glitsky is know for being a public land killer. He consistently harvests mature bucks on highly pressured public land. What are the keys to his success? Without a doubt, one is his post season scouting. In this episode of the How to Hunt Deer Podcast, Ryan...

This week on the How to Hunt Deer Podcast, Josh talks with Greg Rosa about his journey from growing up in Brazil to bowhunting whitetails in Tennessee.  Greg grew up in Brazil where hunting isn't allowed. After moving to the US with his wife, Greg met some guys who took them under their wing and introduced him to deer hunting. Since then, his passion for hunting has grown all the more, and Greg no...

In this episode of the How to Hunt Deer Podcast, Josh talks with Pierce Nelles about a few Hot Button Topics in the hunting world, live-stream cell cams and scent control.  Live-stream cell cams have caused quite a stir in the deer hunting world over the last couple of months. Are they ethical? Are they fair chase? Do they set a dangerous precedent? Are they going to RUIN DEER HUNTING?!  What abou...

The bucks are finally starting to drop those antlers and that means one thing: IT'S SHED SEASON!!! Whether you are one of those chomping at the bit to get out to find the first bone to hit the ground or you count sheds as a happy accident while post-season scouting, there're no doubt everyone loves to find shed antlers! But what can we REALLY learn from them? Are sheds good for more than just man...

Listen to any deer hunting podcast this time of year, including this one, and you're sure to hear lots of advice on post season scouting, covering a lot of ground, and continuing the grind you only thought ended the with the close of deer season. But for many of us, time is limited. Sure, we KNOW we should get out, but after a season of hunting hard, it's time to get back to work, back to being a...

Deer hunting success in the fall of 2023 starts NOW! Many of the best hunters out there have one thing in common: they scout more than they hunt. Now is the perfect time to get a jump start on your scouting for the year. The woods are as open as they will be, much of the sign from this past fall is still visible, and if you're fortunate enough to have snow, deer trails and beds will stick out like...

Who doesn’t love a good hunting story? This week, the How to Hunt Deer Podcast takes a break from the normal whitetail strategy talk to focus on some awesome stories of success from the field with a few hiccups along the way. In this episode of the How to Hunt Deer Podcast, Josh talks with Aaron Hepler about his stellar fall when he was able to tag his first elk and a great public land whitetail i...

With deer seasons wrapping up around the country, it's time to take a long, hard look at the gear we used this fall. What worked? What didn't? What gear did we love? What should we add to take our kit to take our hunting up another notch? Lucky for you gear junkies out there, ATA '23 featured TONS of new and innovative products for deer hunters.  In this episode of the How to Hunt Deer Podcast, Jo...

In this episode of the How to Hunt Deer Podcast, Josh talks with Pierce Nelles of Wisconsin about some dos and dont's for deer hunting in 2023. Josh and Pierce both hunted pretty hard this year. They both had some success, some massive failures, and a lot of opportunities to learn. A great season like their 2022 is awesome, but it's even better when we can look back, learn from our experiences, an...

It's a new year. It's cold outside. The rut is long over. The deer have been pressured hard all season. And you've still got a few tags left in your pocket. We all know that you need to find food and adequate cover to find late season deer. But most of the time, that's easier said than done. But there are a few folks out there that consistently take good bucks during the late season. What's their...

In this episode of the How to Hunt Deer Podcast, Josh talks with Sam Bilhorn of Whitetail Partners about habitat improvement and hunting strategy.  The guys begin by discussing Whitetail Partners origins, the services that they provide, and the recent addition of a network of local professionals to serve Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and Georgia. From there, the conversation covers a wide...

The holiday season means parties, get togethers, and lots of time with family, friends and good food. There’s no better time to share your bounty from this fall with those close to you. For many, wild game does not make up a normal part of their diet. So how can we prepare our game in such a way that we can confidently share it with those who don’t usually eat wild game? In this episode, Josh talk...

If you've ever made a bad shot on a deer, or worse, wounded and lost a deer completely, you know you'd likely give anything in that moment to know what happened to the deer. If this hasn't happened to you yet, keep hunting, it eventually will. Blood trails dry up. Weather conditions might make blood trailing impossible. In these moments, hunters have a few options. They can grid search the area, w...

Every now and then, there's a tool that changes the way you hunt. Cellular trail cameras, digital mapping apps, and tree saddles have radically changed the game in the just the last few years. What's the next tool that can give you the extra edge you need to hunt more efficiently? In this episode of the How to Hunt Deer Podcast, Josh talks with Hampton Honeycutt of Leise Motors about their eBikes...

The How to Hunt Deer Podcast Deer Camp is winding down! In this final episode, Josh talks with Andrew Muntz (O2 Podcast), Nick Otto (Huntavore Podcast), Mitchell Shirk (Pennsylvania Woodsman Podcast), Nate Thomas (Missouri Woods & Water Podcast), and John Hudspeth (Oklahoma Outdoors Podcast) about the last couple of weeks of hunting and plans for the rest of the season.  Several folks were able to...

The Orange Army has been in full force across the country! While the arrival of gun deer seasons is a welcomed event for deer hunters, the onset of gun hunting creates a major shift in the habits of local deer herds. The massive influx of hunters and the steady BOOM of firearms have deer more on edge than at any point of the hunting season so far. All this pressure has a significant impact on wher...

It's hard to believe there's only about a week left in November! Gun seasons are open pretty much everywhere, the rut is starting to wind down, and the reality of the late season grind is visible on the horizon. But there's still time to get it done! And there's still time to swap stories and enjoy Deer Camp! In this episode of the How to Hunt Deer Podcast Deer Camp Edition, Josh talks with Nate T...