Wired To Hunt Podcast

Derrick from Whitetail Research joins Jake Hofer to break down what thousands of thermal drone flights have revealed about mature buck behavior. Derrick shares some of his findngs from thousands of thermal drone flights. Why mature bucks aren't always bedding where hunters expect. The surprising differences between hill country and ag country. Summer bachelor groups and what actually happens befor...

We often underestimate how bucks eat to not only survive, but thrive. It pays to think of them as animal athletes, and to learn what food sources offer them the most protein, fat, carbs and general nutrition. Focusing on a buck's diet throughout the summer and the season is a strategy that will keep you in the game all season long. Connect with Tony Peterson and MeatEater Tony Peterson on Instagra...

This week on the show I’m joined by Dan Johnson to discuss how our trailcam strategies have evolved over the last 15 years and exactly where we’ve landed today - including thoughts on our summer camera strategies, our changing trailcam set-ups and settings, and new ways to use cellcams. Connect with  Mark Kenyon , Jake Hofer , and MeatEater Mark Kenyon on Instagram ,  Tw...

You have to start somewhere, and you have to start sometime. How to start building your fall whitetail plan right now, so that you have plenty of hotspots idenitfied and ready to go before the season opener. Connect with  Tony Peterson and MeatEater Tony Peterson on Instagram  and Facebook MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Youtube , and Youtube Clips MeatEater Podcast Network...

When it comes to improving a hunting property, it's easy to think you need a big budget to make a big impact. The reality? Some of the most effective habitat projects are also some of the most affordable. In this episode of Back 40, we asked a panel of experienced deer hunters and land managers to share the low-cost improvements that consistently deliver results. From creating bedding cover and im...

This week on the show I'm joined by Clay Newcomb to discuss failure in the whitetail woods, and beyond, and the lessons he's learned along the way. Connect with Mark Kenyon , Jake Hofer , and MeatEater Mark Kenyon on Instagram ,  Twitter , and Facebook MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Youtube , and Youtube Clips Subscribe to The MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube Shop Wire...

When we give whitetail bucks too much credit, we tend to shoot for perfection in our hunts. Not only is that unattainable, it's unnecessary. Learn to live with good enough in your setups, and you'll actually be better off in the deer woods. Connect with Tony Peterson and MeatEater Tony Peterson on Instagram  and Facebook MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Youtube , and Youtube Clip...

From high-profile poaching cases involving giant bucks, to our personal failures during encounters with good deer, the reality is that giant whitetails have the ability to melt our brains and make us all dumb in the moment. Connect with Tony Peterson and MeatEater Tony Peterson on Instagram  and Facebook MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Youtube , and Youtube Clips MeatEater Podca...

On this episode of Wired To Hunt, Jake visits with Heartland Bowhunter's Shawn Luchtel for a conversation centered around one of the most underrated teachers in deer hunting: failure. Instead of rehashing big buck stories, Shawn walks through the whitetail calendar month by month, sharing the mistakes, bad assumptions, and hard-earned lessons that have shaped the way he hunts today. Connect with&n...

Do you really know the story of how deer antlers came to be? Or how they form in such a quick amount of time? This week Tony explains both, and a heck of a lot more about big bucks and their headgear that we covet so much. Connect with  Tony Peterson and MeatEater Tony Peterson on Instagram  and Facebook MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Youtube , and Youtube Clips MeatEater...

This week on the show Tony Peterson and I break down our top six whitetail failures and the lessons that we and you can learn from them. Connect with  Mark Kenyon , Jake Hofer , and MeatEater Mark Kenyon on Instagram ,  Twitter , and Facebook MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Youtube , and Youtube Clips Subscribe to The MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube Shop Wired to...

How do fawns survive their first three weeks? It's not easy, but the deer have a strategy and it works out often enough to ensure another generation of whitetails will be on the landscape, waiting for us as fall kicks off. Connect with Tony Peterson and MeatEater Tony Peterson on Instagram  and Facebook MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Youtube , and Youtube Clips MeatEater Podcas...

When it comes to managing land for whitetails, there’s no shortage of advice on what you should be doing. But sometimes the fastest way to improve your property is knowing what mistakes to avoid in the first place. In this episode of Back 40, we asked a fresh panel of experienced deer hunters and land managers one simple question: What are the biggest whitetail land mistakes people make? The...

The goal of pretty much all whitetail hunters is to get close to big bucks, but they often don't - and for good reason. Proximity matters, but most hunters think about it wrong, which Tony explains in detail this week. Connect with Tony Peterson and MeatEater Tony Peterson on Instagram  and Facebook MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Youtube , and Youtube Clips MeatEater Podcast Ne...

Mark's chatting with Erika Howsare, author of The Age of Deer, to get a better understanding of what exactly she means with that book title and what her experience was like diving into the world of deer and deer hunting for the first time. Connect with Mark Kenyon , Jake Hofer , and MeatEater Mark Kenyon on Instagram ,  Twitter , and Facebook MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter ,...

What's right and what's wrong when it comes to deer hunting invovles more than just regulations and laws. Our personal choices matter, and hunters who explore their ethics and try to do right by the deer are far more likely to feel good about their hunting every season. Connect with  Tony Peterson and MeatEater Tony Peterson on Instagram  and Facebook MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook ,...

Jake Ehlinger has spent over 50 years hunting whitetails in Michigan and nearly 45 years managing the same farm. In this episode, he and Jake Hofer dive deep into the lessons he’s learned through decades of trial and error, habitat work, hunting pressure, food plot design, and deer behavior. Connect with Mark Kenyon , Jake Hofer , and MeatEater Mark Kenyon on Instagram ,  Twitter ,...

Deer hunting is often talked about as mostly a mystery-free endeavor, but that's just not true and the hunters who acknowledge the value of staying curious are the ones who end up tagging more mature bucks. Connect with Tony Peterson and MeatEater Tony Peterson on Instagram  and Facebook MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Youtube , and Youtube Clips MeatEater Podcast Network on You...

This week on the show Mark is discussing the case for a one buck limit (currently proposed in Michigan), and joining him is Brent Rudolph, the deer, elk, and moose specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Connect with  Mark Kenyon , Jake Hofer , and MeatEater Mark Kenyon on Instagram ,  Twitter , and Facebook MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Youtube...

Everyone loves the early season for turkeys, but the last couple of weeks can still provide plenty of gobbler action provided you know how to call, what decoys to use, and how to be patient enough to let a jaded bird get to your set up. Connect with  Tony Peterson and MeatEater Tony Peterson on Instagram  and Facebook MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Youtube , and Youtube Cl...

This week on Back 40, Jake Hofer dives into a frustrating reality a lot of serious hunters eventually run into: the harder you try, the worse your deer hunting seems to get. He brought in four guys who’ve lived it and worked through it—Thomas Mlsna, Jared Van Hees, Kyle Heuerman, and Terry Peer—to break down why more effort doesn’t always mean more success. From over-managi...

The daily lives of deer are mostly a mystery to hunters, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to learn as much as we can about them, especially if we're hunting pressured ground. Connect with  Tony Peterson and MeatEater Tony Peterson on Instagram  and Facebook MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Youtube , and Youtube Clips MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube Shop MeatEater...

This week on the show, we’re diving into an exciting project to save 4,000 acres of prime hunting ground in the Southeastern United States and help make it public land in perpetuity. Connect with Mark Kenyon , Jake Hofer , and MeatEater Mark Kenyon on Instagram ,  Twitter , and Facebook MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Youtube , and Youtube Clips Subscribe to The MeatE...

Tony explains how a recent turkey bow hunt in Nebraska reminded him of how we as hunters should always be thinking about scouting when we are in the woods, regardless of whether we have deer on our minds or not. Connect with  Tony Peterson and MeatEater Tony Peterson on Instagram  and Facebook MeatEater on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Youtube , and Youtube Clips MeatEater Podcast Net...

What can 100+ farms teach us about big bucks? To answer it, Jake is joined by Jack Huston with Midwest Deer Surveys, who has flown hundreds of properties with thermal drones and seen exactly where deer are - and more importantly, where they aren’t. From density rings and social stress to bedding, pressure, and why “thicker” farms consistently produce, this episode challenges a lo...