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Incase You Missed It - John was on Wired2Hunt
- Thread starter jlh42581
- Start date
I listened to this one last night. Thought it was quite interesting and definitely gave me some things to think about. I'm intrigued by some of these guys who can kill big bucks consistently on pressured ground and how different their tactics are sometimes. I've studied some of Dan Infalt's stuff and his tactics are quite different, yet both theses guys have records you can't argue with. I guess the common ground I see is that both are a student of deer and their habitat and understand better than most what deer are doing and when. That makes almost any tactic work better!
I'm the same. I've read a lot of big buck material. Those two are drastically different. Polar opposite if you will.
My take away is that you gotta find what works for you. I use a combo approach. I hunt beds a lot and have ruined a lot of chances. I abandoned hunting rub lines at one point and they've always been my top location for daytime bucks.
Every day I find myself wanting more and more adventure. Backpack style hunting is burning in me. So much so the weekend of the fifteenth I'm doing a solo overnight scouting trip. I can hardly stand the wait.
Never stop learning seems to be what drives me. Sure I wanna kill big bucks like everyone else but the way and my style don't seem to be clicking at the moment.
I've shot enough deer I have nothing to prove to anyone but in the whitetail world my knowledge often is met with disregard. I'm ok with that, I'm in this for me. If that means I slept in the wrong location and burned a great spot so what.
We all need to define ourselves individually, that's my main take away here.
My take away is that you gotta find what works for you. I use a combo approach. I hunt beds a lot and have ruined a lot of chances. I abandoned hunting rub lines at one point and they've always been my top location for daytime bucks.
Every day I find myself wanting more and more adventure. Backpack style hunting is burning in me. So much so the weekend of the fifteenth I'm doing a solo overnight scouting trip. I can hardly stand the wait.
Never stop learning seems to be what drives me. Sure I wanna kill big bucks like everyone else but the way and my style don't seem to be clicking at the moment.
I've shot enough deer I have nothing to prove to anyone but in the whitetail world my knowledge often is met with disregard. I'm ok with that, I'm in this for me. If that means I slept in the wrong location and burned a great spot so what.
We all need to define ourselves individually, that's my main take away here.
I'll start out by saying that I haven't had a chance to listen to the podcast yet, but you guys brought up a lot of good points that I wanted to address.
On the surface John and Dan appear to have 2 completely different styles. IMO there biggest differences are their beliefs in scent control. I'm a believer in scent lok when used properly, but you can never argue with playing the wind. After you get away from that, you will find that their methods are not so different. They both stress heavy post season scouting, the importance of first time sits and not overhunting a spot, getting to your spots undetected, and hunting close to bedding areas (John would call it the bedding area, Dan would call it the specific bed). John puts more emphasis on these tactics during the rut phases, and because of that and scent control you can get away with hunting a hot spot more than once when it is hot. Dan puts more emphasis on the periods outside of the rut when the patterns are more predictable.
I think that where you hunt factors in to how different methods should be utilized, but I think those 4 things they have in common are the most important things to taking bucks.
jlh42581- You talked about how you want to get out there for the adventure and how your style is disregarded. I think the hunting culture is going down a very rocky road right now. Many people are forgetting the number one reason we are out there: to have fun. The entire industry has become so big buck oriented, whether is is the tv shows or all of the advertisements. I've gone on this rant before but it is setting unrealistic expecations for hunters coming into the sport. They think they should all be killing 12 point bucks their first season. Do I want to kill big bucks? Absolutely and I put in a lot of time and effort in order to do that. But I still make sure the entire process is fun. I enjoy scouting as much as I do hunting. I love finding the pieces to the puzzle and trying to put them together. Growing up I would see a rub or scrape and think, great spot to hunt! Now I see that stuff and my favorite questions has become, why? Why is that there and how can I use that knowledge to my advantage. As far as your knowledge being disregarded, well who cares? Most people are to closed minded to listen to new ideas anyways. That is why they don't hunt out of saddles and we do :lol:
I think I hit all of my points there. Finally to sum all of that up I agree that we all have to define ourselves individually, find what works for us and what we are looking for out of the experience.
On the surface John and Dan appear to have 2 completely different styles. IMO there biggest differences are their beliefs in scent control. I'm a believer in scent lok when used properly, but you can never argue with playing the wind. After you get away from that, you will find that their methods are not so different. They both stress heavy post season scouting, the importance of first time sits and not overhunting a spot, getting to your spots undetected, and hunting close to bedding areas (John would call it the bedding area, Dan would call it the specific bed). John puts more emphasis on these tactics during the rut phases, and because of that and scent control you can get away with hunting a hot spot more than once when it is hot. Dan puts more emphasis on the periods outside of the rut when the patterns are more predictable.
I think that where you hunt factors in to how different methods should be utilized, but I think those 4 things they have in common are the most important things to taking bucks.
jlh42581- You talked about how you want to get out there for the adventure and how your style is disregarded. I think the hunting culture is going down a very rocky road right now. Many people are forgetting the number one reason we are out there: to have fun. The entire industry has become so big buck oriented, whether is is the tv shows or all of the advertisements. I've gone on this rant before but it is setting unrealistic expecations for hunters coming into the sport. They think they should all be killing 12 point bucks their first season. Do I want to kill big bucks? Absolutely and I put in a lot of time and effort in order to do that. But I still make sure the entire process is fun. I enjoy scouting as much as I do hunting. I love finding the pieces to the puzzle and trying to put them together. Growing up I would see a rub or scrape and think, great spot to hunt! Now I see that stuff and my favorite questions has become, why? Why is that there and how can I use that knowledge to my advantage. As far as your knowledge being disregarded, well who cares? Most people are to closed minded to listen to new ideas anyways. That is why they don't hunt out of saddles and we do :lol:
I think I hit all of my points there. Finally to sum all of that up I agree that we all have to define ourselves individually, find what works for us and what we are looking for out of the experience.
I certainly agree with you guys on the path the whitetail hunting community is taking right now. I so hate to see people quantifying their outdoor experience by inches of antler. But that's whats splashed on every magazine cover and tv show right now and a lot of hunters drink it up. I love big bucks too but the adventure of being in remote places and figuring out just what deer are doing based on what the woods are telling you is what draws me. I also really enjoy the meat aspect. It feels good to be involved in each step from living animal to dinner on your plate.
That's why the backpack hunting thing draws me so much. Spending the night in the woods just seems to make a person a little more woods aware when you walk away from camp in the morning. I've grown to cherish that connection to a system that most people simply don't connect with.
I ,like you guys, think you have to simply take works for you as far as tactics. All these guys got to where they are by experience and to a point that's what we have to do too. I don't think copying anyone tactic for tactic is in our best interests. What I see both these guys and quite a few others doing very well is reading subtle sign, understanding why it's there, and reacting to it in a way that's defined by their own experience and not by what the greater hunting community would do. In my mind that is the definition of a woodsman, and that's a goal I strive for.
Real woodsmen are getting fewer and fewer!
That's why the backpack hunting thing draws me so much. Spending the night in the woods just seems to make a person a little more woods aware when you walk away from camp in the morning. I've grown to cherish that connection to a system that most people simply don't connect with.
I ,like you guys, think you have to simply take works for you as far as tactics. All these guys got to where they are by experience and to a point that's what we have to do too. I don't think copying anyone tactic for tactic is in our best interests. What I see both these guys and quite a few others doing very well is reading subtle sign, understanding why it's there, and reacting to it in a way that's defined by their own experience and not by what the greater hunting community would do. In my mind that is the definition of a woodsman, and that's a goal I strive for.
Real woodsmen are getting fewer and fewer!
Guys this is a great thread and proves that the people drawn to this site are here because they are willing and want to learn and not willing to fall into that whole current culture that if your not killing big bucks you aren't a good hunter. I have more respect for the guy who kills a doe but puts the time and sweat equity into making it happen on public land than the guy who shoots a Boone and Crocket on a managed ranch somewhere. Hunting should be more about challenging yourself and enjoying the time afield not just about the size of the rack on the animal you kill. Woodscraft is quickly taking a backseat to shortcuts and technology and while there is nothing wrong with technology in most cases it's being used to circumvent the sweat equity to achieve quick results. I'm not against technology and in many cases I use and embrace it myself but we should never lose sight of the fact that hunting should be an immersive experience and not just focus on the end result as what is the most important part of hunting.
We are very lucky to have people like John and Dan who are willing to share their hard earned hunting knowledge and insights with us freely and willingly. I agree the more knowledge you have the better equipped you will be to adapt in the field and tweak these techniques to your own unique hunting situation and location. Sometimes a combination of the techniques will work better for you than just following one or the others regiment but regardless of whose tecnique you use or try the best the most important asset we have is the one that sits on our shoulders, the more we use that the more successful we'll be.
Roger
We are very lucky to have people like John and Dan who are willing to share their hard earned hunting knowledge and insights with us freely and willingly. I agree the more knowledge you have the better equipped you will be to adapt in the field and tweak these techniques to your own unique hunting situation and location. Sometimes a combination of the techniques will work better for you than just following one or the others regiment but regardless of whose tecnique you use or try the best the most important asset we have is the one that sits on our shoulders, the more we use that the more successful we'll be.
Roger
One thing I was surprised about in the interview that John didn't get into much detail about using the saddle. The conversations I've had with him he gives a lot of credit to his success to being able to hunt where he needs to because of the saddle.
The other thing I've always respected about John is the fact that he doesn't relie on gimmicks just hard work and using your head when scouting and getting it done early and then leaving it alone till your ready to strike.
Also I can relate to him much easier than the guys emblazoned with patches from sponsors and their vehicle covered with stickers of sponsors and his TV show. He uses what works and for him that is a mini van loaded and ready to go at a moments notice. It's kind of refreshing a regular guy hunting hard on public land who I can relate to that is something I could get used to. Thanks John for keeping things real and down to earth, it's a rare thing in this world of instant celebrities!
Roger
The other thing I've always respected about John is the fact that he doesn't relie on gimmicks just hard work and using your head when scouting and getting it done early and then leaving it alone till your ready to strike.
Also I can relate to him much easier than the guys emblazoned with patches from sponsors and their vehicle covered with stickers of sponsors and his TV show. He uses what works and for him that is a mini van loaded and ready to go at a moments notice. It's kind of refreshing a regular guy hunting hard on public land who I can relate to that is something I could get used to. Thanks John for keeping things real and down to earth, it's a rare thing in this world of instant celebrities!
Roger