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As a guide and hunter, I've spent thousands of days in the field. This show is about translating my hard-won experiences into tips and tactics that'll get you closer to your ultimate goal, success in the field. I'm Remy Warren. This is Cutting the Distance.
Welcome back to the podcast, everyone. It's November. It's prime ruts coming on for a lot of people. Deer hunting starting to kick off. Some of the best time of year to chase deer is now. And I get really excited about that. Last week on the podcast, we were talking about gear and going over a little bit of gear. So now we're going to switch gears and answer your questions on this week's mail sack.
So far, I've already had a great season, been guiding a lot of elk hunters. Last week, we had five hunters in camp, killed five bull elk, and one guy had a deer tag as well, and a deer. You can't ask for anything better.
I don't know if you heard that shot. I got some guys here sighting in their rifles. So if you hear some random shooting throughout this, it's I'm not a war correspondent. I'm just a lowly hunting guide here and trying to record a podcast in between taking people out. So we're going to jump into it right now. We've got questions that need answered. But first, let's go to some testimonials.
First message comes from Ryan. He says, "Hey man, wanted to say a quick thank you. My whole life I've had the itch to make the transition from whitetail hunting on my family's farm to Western big game hunting.
But with not knowing anyone who does the seemingly daunting task of taking the first steps, I always put it off. However, since listening to your podcast, it has given me a truly incredible amount of information and has finally pushed me over the edge to start the journey. So I wanted to pass along and encourage you because what you're doing is incredible. I appreciate that, Ryan. And thank you so much for all the other people that sent out messages for encouragement and just saying how much the podcast has helped you kind of get out there and
A lot of success testimonials this week as well. This one comes from Bridger Smith. He says... And it's a great bull. Good work, Bridger. This one's from Jeff Beller. He says...
Was chasing a larger buck in the area for a few weeks, but he did what big muleys do, disappear. After nearly walking the dog into the ground, I couldn't help myself on this buck. Kept checking the pockets and it paid off. Thanks for the advice for staying persistent in thick, hard to hunt areas. Jeff with a good, nice, typical four by four mule deer. Awesome work, Jeff. Is that four? Yeah. Yeah, that's a great buck. Last testimonial comes from Brian Sowell.
He says, ended up taking this bull using some of your tactics on your podcast. This is the first bull I've ever harvested. General tag in Montana.
It is a giant six by six. So Brian, congratulations. Listening to the podcast pays off. I can, the proof is in the pudding. I don't know if this is pudding, but I've been getting message after message of guys sending me something saying, this is the first elk I've taken. This is the first, the biggest bull I've taken using this tactic. So thank everyone out there. Thank you guys for sending in those testimonials.
testimonials the pictures I really enjoy I'm like to always read a few here and now we'll go into a few questions maybe some of their testimonials will pop up I got these questions just on my phone so we'll start running through some of your questions here and we'll get into it since last week was a gear episode I did get quite a few questions on gear let's start with this one's question comes from Dave he says hey Remy love the podcast please do a moose hunting episode I
I've got a lot of requests for that. So probably be in the, in the works here. It says, my question for this week's Q and a is how do you stay comfortable hiking in wet environments? If I'm marching uphill, I overheat and the rain gear makes it that much hotter. How do you keep cool and comfortable when it's too wet to take off outer layers? How do you layer to hunt in wet weather? Um, and he's saying PS, when I say wet, I think coastal blacktail moose swamps wet. Um,
So that's a great question. When I'm in like really wet country, I know it's going to be wet from sun up till dark. Or even if I know it's like, hey, it's probably not going to let up or I'm starting out. Maybe it just rained all night and I know it's going to start out wet.
And I know i'm going to be hiking. I actually Will just wear my rain gear and um I won't put it over like pants or something like that So i'll have my rain gear on and if it's cold i'll throw thermals and then rain gear So just be like a base layer shirt rain jacket and it'll be Um, maybe thermal pants and rain pants. I've even just gone rain pants. Nothing else. Um, well underwear keep from the chafing but um
I found like actually that's the best way because it kind of stays cool. Now what I will do too is like if it's not raining, but it's just like wet country, I can then often vent my pants. And a lot of times what I'll do is I'll wear like rain gear and then I'll put some gators over the top of that, give it a little bit more protection, keep it from dripping into my boots and other things. So I'll put my rain gear on and then my gators over the top of that.
And then I can use the zips to regulate my body temperature. So even when I've got just very light and I'm hiking, I'll start to unzip the jacket if it's not raining, if it's just like wet country where everything kind of seems wet. Now, when it's raining and everything else, the only way your rain gear is going to work is if it's tight. So I always... One thing to think about, just added info here, is when you've got your rain gear on, use your hood. If the hood's not up, the rain gear is not going to work. If your wrist straps aren't...
you know like i tighten it around my wrists as well so the water doesn't run down and then you know don't obviously keep your hands down or whatever in your pockets one thing i also don't like to do in wet weather one little secret i've got is i'll put hand warmers in my pocket
And then I won't wear gloves because when my hands get wet, then the gloves get wet. And I just would rather just in wet weather, put my hands in my pockets to warm them up with those hand warmers and then keep them from my gloves getting soaked. But the layering system that I do in really wet country is I just go straight up rain gear.
It's waterproof. It's breathable. And the breathing works a lot better when you don't have two layers on underneath it. So I just go base layer or light layer underneath or no layer underneath and then rain gear. And if I get cold, I just start moving. It feels pretty good. I've been in some, you know, even when it's a little bit warmer out, walking through that
cool wet water with just the rain gear on. It almost feels, it's just kind of like feels pretty cool, especially if you don't have base layer on underneath it. So it just goes straight rain gear, keeps your base dry. And then if I've got, if it dries out or whatever, I could have my other stuff in my pack
and then just swap it on later, change it out. So once it gets dry, say it's not raining or it dries out during the daytime, then I'll swap out if I need a jacket, then I'll swap out the rain jacket for say like a soft shell jacket. And that's the way that I like to layer in really wet places. But like I said, on the gear podcast, you know, start out cool.
This is a good one. This one comes from Ricardo. He says, Hello, Remy. I just listened to your latest podcast about rule number one. Don't leave anything on the ground. And I laughed hysterically. I'm currently driving to the bow shop because I left my bow on the ground and ran over my bow with my truck.
That tip hit my soul. Have a great day. Thanks. That's very unfortunate. I have once run over a spotting scope, and I feel the pain, man. And it was on a coos deer hunt a long way away from anywhere. And actually, the spotting scope still operated, but the tripod was destroyed. So...
And that still wouldn't hit as hard as a bow. Man, bummer, but also a testimonial of don't leave stuff on the ground. Rule number one.
Alright, this next question says, Hey Remy, love the content. When's that elk video coming out on the big end? Anyway, I was going to take my little brother-in-law on a mule deer hunt. I have a .223 he can use with 64 grain soft tips. Would that be reasonable to shoot one within 100 yards? If so, what shot would you take? High shoulder or just the sweet vital shot?
That's a great question. So the first part, the big elk video is actually good timing is actually out today. So you can go over to you can find it through go on my Instagram page. I've got a link to it there or the made with meat.
YouTube channel, it'll be there. And then I will also on my YouTube channel, put it on a playlist. So if you follow my YouTube channel, you can go there and it'll make it easy to find in a playlist there. That big, that my largest bull, um, got the video edit done. It's ready. And I think it turned out pretty dang sweet. So hopefully everyone goes over there and checks that out. Okay. So now on to hunting with the two, two, three 64 grain bullet soft tip. You know, I,
I'm a big proponent of not over gunning people that are especially smaller. So he says here, your little brother-in-law, the .223, yes, you can absolutely kill a mule deer with a .223. How do I know? Because in New Zealand, I have shot red deer, which are about the size of elk, with .223s.
We actually used to meet shoot with them as well, like shooting commercial meat shooting. But on that, we would do all headshots. However, I have seen like taking kids or whatever and taking a pretty large animals with triple twos, two to three. So, yeah, absolutely possible. I would I would definitely probably say stay away from the shoulder, right?
Because I've found animals that we've taken later on with small caliber bullets in the shoulder. So I would just go with the sweet vital shot. You know, a good bonded type bullet would be best. I would say there is a lot of like, you know, in D2-3 you can get some really like more frangible rounds. I would definitely get a more hunting built round for it.
And that just, you know, just kind of think about that when you're looking at it. There is a difference in the price of the box. But, yep, a good soft point would probably work fine. Just something that, it depends where you're at. But, you know, if you can use, you know, a bonded soft point or something like that, get one that's designed for hunting and it'll absolutely be plenty of gun and you won't overgun your brother-in-law. So I think that that's a great option and go for it.
This question says, Hey, Remy, in regards to late season spot and stock mule deer hunting, what do you do when the bucks spend very little time in one spot? Typically either chasing a doe that's hot or on a doe scent trail, particularly in those spots where the stock can be long and arduous. Tim from BC. That's a great question. So many of the places you're hunting, if you can hunt that late rut season, especially when it comes to pre-rut,
bucks are cruising and you might see a buck three four miles away and he's just moving he's on that trail or like you say he gets into a zone where he gets a hot dough and it's it's cruise city in those kind of scenarios it can be really hard to get on the deer that you're trying to watch so i do a couple different things i mean one thing is you can keep watching and see where he goes or you can say okay how can i cut this deer off and get into that particular zone
There is kind of this thought of you might not catch that buck that you see. And so what I would like to do is like if I'm seeing a lot of cruising bucks, I almost would put myself into a position where they tend to be cruising through more often than not. You'll notice like there might be a place in the mountain where you're looking and watching over and you can see all this country, which is really good for spotting, but.
It's not good for putting yourself into a position for that stock. Now, I tend to prefer to cover more country with my eyes. So I probably pick that spot where, hey, I'm watching cruising deer, but I'm going to pick that spot with the hopes that I'm catching that deer that can, that will stop. I had a similar experience with this just a couple of days ago, spotted a good buck. I was like, ah, he's cruising. But then I looked over and saw a
a pocket of does. So I just watched, I was like, all right, um, I'm just going to go, you know, if, if I was, I actually didn't have a tag, I was just scouting for clients, but it's like, all right, if I had a tag, I would just go to that pocket and see what happened. And sure enough, later on that buck hit that pocket and started doing his like hot laps around those does checking them all. So if I would have made that stock and move to that pocket, the
the wind was good. I, you know, I'd seen those does downwind of him and knew that he's cruising and he's going to stop when he sees those does. So understanding where those dough pockets are can help you pinpoint a deer that's going to slow down. That's one way to think about it. Another way is, you know, if you've got like a,
a buck that's chasing a hot doe kind of going back to that like if he runs that hot doe off sometimes they'll go for miles but many times that doe is going to try everything she can to kind of get back to that group and so kind of getting back once again kind of stalking the does and then using that as the magnet to attract the bucks might be your best bet another option is just watching that deer many times i'll see a cruising buck and he'll be cruising cruising cruising like seems like he doesn't stop and then he hits an area and he just stands there for
30 minutes or whatever. Once that deer hits that standing point, you might think, okay, now I can make my move. So it can be difficult, but there are things that kind of slow them down. And so I try to focus on those things and then make my move based on that. Otherwise I kind of set up and do my glassing in an area where it's like, okay, I've, this is a high concentration of where they might be moving. I'm looking over a lot of country, but when you see one here, you can make a quick move. And there's been many times during
during the rut that my stock is not a slow stock it is an absolute all-out run and uh and then just trying to get set up with rifle hunt you know get set up maybe where i still got a good view but i'm shooting across the canyon or something like that so that's kind of your options
Question comes from Kent. He says, sorry if you've stated this before in your podcast, but being from Texas, I've never had a chance to do a true backcountry hunt and want to next season for elk. I know that doing public land requires getting back further and farther than usual. What would you recommend to make it easier, especially with getting a bull out, taking two friends or trying to find a location that allows something like an e-bike?
That's a good question. I mean, here's the thing. I wouldn't even consider those things mutually exclusive. I do, when I hunt elk, I never, maybe this is the wrong way to think about it because I've done it a lot. Like, I don't even know. I've probably packed out, I couldn't even count the amount of elk that I've packed out or animals in the thousands. And I have this philosophy that it's like, I never think about how, I mean, not that you
You shouldn't be prepared for it. But I'm like, I never choose a place worried about the packout. I just hunt and then get the animal out afterwards. And it's just always a pain in the ass, but it's just part of it, you know? So one thing that I would say is like, it's, it's a good idea to be prepared to pack it out. And especially on your first one, having some people with you is never a bad thing. I would say if it's your first trip, either way, the having a couple extra people,
is going to make it a lot easier. Like you can, you can share in the toil, you can share in the experience. Absolutely take two people with you. Now I'm saying that to say that having an hunting, an area where it's like, Hey, I've, I've got the option to take an e-bike in or whatever can be part of your hunt plan. That doesn't necessarily have to involve like be saying, well, I'm either going to take the e-bike or I'm going to take two
two friends, you can do both. But if you have the two people, no matter where you get the elk, you've got help packing it out. So you can go back as far and then you can hunt with that mindset of not worrying about how I'm going to get it out, but hunt and then get it out. And you just got to know that that work's going to be involved.
Now, I know people are probably saying like, oh, well, you got to make you can't shoot something where you can't get it out. That's absolutely true. So you wouldn't want to go beyond your limits. But having those two people, you won't have to think about it is what I'm saying. Like, you can just go out and hunt and you know that you'll be able to get it back. And so I like that option.
I also like the idea of like, Hey, it's never a bad idea to, you know, find, find other ways to access areas. So if it's, you know, hiking in on a logging road where you can go like, okay, I can get in here and then access the area and, and bushwhack up here. Great. You know, if you can use an e-bike, great. Like that part doesn't matter. That's just more of like the hunt strategy and planning, like how you're going to get into the area areas you're going to look into access. Um,
But if it's your first trip, I would just say, take a couple guys with you, have a good time. It's a little bit safer that way. Like you can, you know, it might keep you more motivated to hunt harder if it's guys with kind of like a like mindset. And, you know, if everybody's got a tag too, it might give you more opportunity to experience like a successful harvest than a pack out. If everybody's got tags and maybe they split up and then you come back to camp and you're, however you're going to do it, it's never a bad thing to have.
I remember many years ago I was doing a solo hunt and then my buddy Mike helped me pack out. And I said, and I think one thing that I said, and it just rings true in pretty much every hunt is even a solo hunter makes a great team packer. Like no matter what, if you can get help packing out, take it. It's great.
Question comes from Tom says, Hey, Remy, big fan of your podcast, love your content and how you break everything down. What are your thoughts on bipods shooting sticks or tripods? Also doing my first late season black tail hunt in November in Washington, any tips or suggestions? So the first part, um,
I think all three have their place in some way or another. When it comes to shooting, I always like to be field ready. And I think field ready involves being able to get steady on whatever's around. The first thing that I always try to get steady on is my pack laying down using my pack.
If you have a bipod that works great, you just need to be, no matter which one you use, practice with them all. If you're, if it's going to be something that you're going to hunt with practice with it and not necessarily just saying like practice shooting with it at the range. That's kind of, I mean, that's just like part of it, but I would say that's the smallest part. I would, I would much rather prefer to see people like getting out, hiking around with whatever they're going to use and
And then you don't even have to shoot. Maybe it's dry fire practice where you just get set up and pick something like, okay, I need to get on that fast and see which one works for you. In a lot of situations, bipods are very difficult to get steady with unless it's the right situation. I would say out of all of them, I throw a bipod on many times. And when you use a bipod and have the right set up, it's probably the most steady thing you can get.
Now, if you have shooting sticks, it can get you a little bit higher up so you can get above some of the brush and grass. It's not going to be as steady as being proned out on your pack or on the bipod. But shooting sticks kind of give you that upper hand of still being steady while maybe being more advantageous to different, say, hunting scenarios. I like, as opposed to shooting sticks, I actually use my trekking poles. I talked about this in the last one, but use those trekking poles as a shooting sticks to
That works really well. Or just, I mean, I do have a pair of shooting sticks that I bring along as well. And then tripods. Yeah. It's like getting steady on anything you've got. So if you already got a tripod there, practice getting steady on it. The way that I use a tripod, I'll, I'll extend the legs, uh,
put the like spotting scope down and then set the gun in that kind of arm between the spotting scope and the tripod. The worst part about the tripod is it's not super adjustable. So I would say between all three of those, the one, if I was to carry one, I would say carry shooting sticks because I can find ways to get steady with the other, without the other two by using my pack or using the tripod that I have.
but shooting sticks kind of give you that kind of in-between that's a lot faster movement. So that's what I think on that. When it comes to late season blacktail tips,
you know i guess it depends if you're hunting more of that uh jungle type country temperate rainforest type stuff or if you're hunting you know more open stuff but uh late season is is kind of like it's very similar to mule deer and i will also say very similar to white tails black tails are kind of that perfect in between where they have those smaller home ranges so you can pattern them you can use trail like you can use
waiting tactics like tree stands and other things on trails in that thick country. But one thing you're going to want to focus on is definitely focus on those does. Bucks will be more apt to cruising later in the season, and that's going to be your best time to find deer moving around. So don't forget to glass those clear cuts, those openings where you can actually see, and then finding that good sign in those trails,
probably I'd focus on like places that deer will cruise, like actually like finger ridges and those ridges in the timber where it's a lot easier for them to walk around and move fast. Just like anything, you know, if you think of a bucks cruising, looking for does he's walking along trying to send a doe and he's going to take the easiest path.
You know, there's times where they might be in that thicker stuff, but if they're moving around, find those trails that are easy to move on where it's like, Hey, this is a natural way that I would move. Um, and then where it's like, they can cover a lot of country and be moving for does and then kind of hunt, still hunt, do however, whatever your tactic of hunting is, bush stocking, sitting, waiting, whatever, um, based on those areas where they're going to be moving more often.
This question comes from Ivan. He says, Hey there, I'm about to go on a mule deer trip up here in BC. What an awesome coincidence. You recently did some podcasts on the topic. I'm wondering if you have any recommendations on calls to use. Thanks. When it comes to deer calls lately, I've been using the Rocky mountain game calls grunt tube. It's got like this slider bar on it. And so I find it works better than the rest, everything else I've tried.
Because some of them, like the other ones I've used, they kind of stick when it's cold and freeze, especially if you're like up in BC or Northern Montana or whatever. It's like a lot of those calls kind of freeze up on you. And I like this slider bar because I can change the tone. So I can go like that more deep, like deep grunt. Or I can even just do like an estrous bleat, like a...
kind of sound with that same call. It's got like a great tone and I think it carries really well. I use that same call for whitetails, mule deer. I've actually even used it for bighorn sheep. So I really like that call in particular. I'm sure you can find it online. I can't, I wish I knew the name of it, but it's got like this little
On it, it's somehow got like some little slider thing that's kind of, I guess, like a trombone slider, you know, but it's built into it. So it changes, it puts different pressure on the reed inside the call. That's the one that I recommend. And then when it comes to rattling, I mean, it's just anything. I've used, I like to use like big mule deer antlers sometimes. Sometimes I use just shoulder blades that I've taken off of something dried out. Sometimes I use...
like a rattling bag or whatever, just something that's easy. I found that the like plastic rattling antlers don't really work that well in the cold. Like I've had them break a lot. Maybe it's because I tend like if they're outside a lot or something, I don't know. I've had a lot of those break. So I've kind of got away from those, but any kind of like small rattling bag, there's like this, gosh,
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All right. This question comes from Scott says, Hey, Remy, just listen to your latest podcast about gear. I was surprised to hear you like the smaller spotting scope. Me and my buddies utilize a pair of 10 by 42 binos and a 25 or 30 magnification rifle scope, depending on setup and bring a 65 millimeter spotter. What's your thoughts on that setup?
So here's my thought on that. The first one, the 10 by 42 binos. Awesome. The 65 millimeter spotter. Great. The 25 to 30 magnification rifle scope. I would never use a rifle scope for spotting, glassing, verifying anything. I just don't think it's good practice. And I mean, that's, and I, and I also don't think it's like a,
very great tool for verification. Like, yeah, you get a little bit more magnification, whatever, but you're just better off like using your binoculars and your spotting scope. Um, I have been in the field and like had people like walked up on people that don't even have binoculars and they just use their rifle scope to verify something that's absolutely unacceptable. I mean, I'm not saying that that's what you're doing. Maybe you're like, Oh, it's a deer and maybe it's something you can legally shoot out, but
I am so anal about gun safety that that gun, whether unloaded, whether the bolts out, whether it's anything should never be pointed at anything that you don't intend to shoot at any time ever. And so like there's been times where I've been walking down the trail, someone sees movement and they've got their gun pointed at me. And I'm like, that freaks me out. And I get pretty pissed off and I let them know about it.
I've seen people glassing other people with rifles across the ridge or glassing, you know, like using rifles to look at things. And it's like that should never be a way that you do anything ever. And I think that just bears repeating of like, I mean, whether that's how you use it or not doesn't really matter. I just think it's like something good to talk about.
that we have rifle scopes for shooting the gun and that's what it should be for we have binoculars for glassing and finding animals we have a spotting scope to zoom in and verify so if you got the spotting scope just use that and just use the binoculars now I would much rather carry the weight of a large spotting scope than you
plan on using a rifle scope to check something. So that's my thought on that. I think the binoculars are great. I think the spotting scope's good. And it's also, you know, having that spotting scope for a little bit extra verification is awesome. Now, if it's something you're lining up to shoot and you're like, oh, there's a good buck, I've got a tag for it, I might want to shoot it, and you're using the rifle scope to check it out, see if you get ready, get your shot, whatever, that's all cool. But never use the, you know, I never think of using a scope as a
more verification on something because we have better tools for that. This question says, Hey, Remy, big fan of your work slash podcast. I like your transparency and drive. I've been hunting coos whitetail in Arizona for about 10 years. I've got three smaller ones, but can't get over the hump and kill a nice wallhanger. I'm not even archery hunting, just can't find the big bucks. I hunt October, which is not the most ideal time. No rut.
slash can be hot. I hunted harder last week than I ever have tried to find isolated areas of food, water, shelter than glass and make stealthy approaches into high probability areas by incorporating wind sound sight.
Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I use 12 by 50, uh, vipers is the buy not too cheap to hunt effectively. I spot deer at a thousand yards, but couldn't tell if they were bucks. Granted, I'm sure if it was a monster buck, I probably would have noticed. Anyways, I'm not pure trophy hunter. I just like the meat, but at some point would really like to get on a big public land queues. Thanks for your time, Danny.
That's a great question. I do love hunting the coos bucks. And I will say this. So we were just actually talking about spotting scopes. I've on a coos deer hunt. That's a, that's a hunt that I take a good spotting scope on. I glass with it. I get, I use it for verification. You know, seeing those deer at a thousand yards, you got to be able to zoom in tight because during that October season, those bucks are not moving. Yeah.
And, you know, what you see, sometimes you got to be able to get really tight in that like cover in that where they're hanging out in those holes that they live in and really, really pick it apart like inch by inch. Because I've seen the best bucks I see that time of year. It's really, really picking the country apart and being able to zoom in and say, okay, that's what I'm looking for. That's a good buck.
Sometimes even just zooming in on something that might not be a good buck and you'll find a good buck. Now, I will also say in full transparency, if you want to kill a big coos deer during that October timeframe,
but you're only, I guess, quote unquote, looking for them in October, then you're doing yourself an injustice. The way that you would kill a big coos deer is by putting in more time outside of that hardest time to find them. So if you're, like, I mean that to say that to kill a big coos deer buck, it's going to take more time outside of that October time so you can pinpoint where that big buck's living. And then when it's October and they're, like, in their holes, you know that buck's home range, right?
I would say that, you know, starting out, going out in January, it's going to be like a, you're going to have to put in a lot of time outside of the season when you're hunting. January would be when I'd start. And I would go during the rut when the deer out and they're cruising and whether you're archery hunting or not say, okay, there's a big buck here. Then I would continue that on through the summer when they're in that velvet phase, it's hot, you know, but you're, you're going to be able to pick them out.
And figure out, okay, here's where that buck's living. And then before they kind of like in that September phase as well. So it's going to be kind of like a year round endeavor where you go out, you understand like, okay, this area has a high population of big bucks. I see them here. They're rutting, you know, as long as it's not an area where they're transitional moving from like a big high mountain down to the low stuff.
during the rut and say like okay here's a here's the area that these bucks are in i know that there's a big buck there because you don't you got to be in an area where big bucks live to shoot a big buck start number one so you're going to find them when it's the easiest time to find them
Then you're going to go back and try to like pinpoint that deer because what coos deer do is they actually have a fairly small home range. Like you might even find that buck in September, like when he's out more, you just find that buck and you're like, okay, he likes to bed here. He likes to bed there. He likes this kind of Canyon suite. And then when that October time comes, like when it's the hardest to find these bucks, when there's a lot of people out, when they're pressured, it's,
You're like, you can go and you can really just get in that spotting scope, get in those binos and just pick it apart because you know that you're spending your time looking in an area where that buck probably is. And you can really focus in on that, that thick cover kind of stuff. And then you can, you know, hopefully pull out that buck that you've already located and know like, this is where he's at. This is his zone. Now I just got to find him. And I would say that that's going to be the way that,
you're going to be most successful taking a big coos deer during that time of year. And the same goes for, I mean, really anything, a big mule deer can be like that as long as they aren't super transitional. If it's more of like a buck that has a home range and they're, you know, they, they don't,
cruise a big distance but cruise deer they've got like i would say a a mile radius maybe two mile radius that they like and that's their zone and so if you can pick them out in the summer and then kind of learn that buck zone even year after year you're gonna just start like you're gonna start rolling into big buck after big buck by just knowing that area so well and knowing where those deer are before the season starts this question uh i actually really like because it hits home for me um
I'll tell a little story here in a second, but it comes from Nick. He says, Hey, Remy, how to mountain lion, take a deer just yards from the house. They have been getting too bold over the past decade, but especially in the last couple of years, as you are well aware, options for hunting lions in Oregon are limited, but most of our lion trail cam photos are in daylight. And we usually get one on camera within six to eight weeks.
I hear that lions in this area run circuits that can take roughly two to six weeks. I've never hunted lions and I'm intimidated by the idea that they might only be coming through once every two to six weeks. What tips do you have for lion hunting when focused on one location? The cameras help a bit and add a few pieces to the puzzle, but are not enough alone to pattern them. Are there some rules of thumb for patterning lions? Love the show. Sincerely, some dude from a brush patch in Western Oregon.
That's a great question. And I say that's a great question because just last night I had a lion kill a buck whitetail, like essentially, I don't know, 10 feet from my cabin. I woke up and I was like, I heard, I'm like, geez, what's going on? And a cat killed a deer right behind me there.
Um, it's not the first encounter or first time I've had cats doing the same thing. We can chase them with dogs, but not this time of year. I've had, uh, I've probably, I've had a lot of deer killed just, you know, within, uh,
a spitting distance of where I sleep. So I think that one of the things that I've found, one weird thing that I found is like they tend to be more concentrated in the wintertime. Like they've got that smaller range, especially if it's really hard to decide what those cats are doing, where you're at, not knowing enough about the area. So I don't know how big the property is that you've got access to hunt. If it's just like a small neighborhood plot or if it's like you've got...
public land and then it comes in your private and they're just killing the deer because they're concentrating in like your yard. That's kind of what happens for me. So it's got a big area where they roam, but you know, sometimes the deer concentrate here, but also got some really thick stuff. I tend to find that the cats seem to be like clustered up in some of this stuff certain times a year.
They do move through, but it's also crazy how tight they'll hold sometimes. I guess really the number one thing I would do is if you've got a kill,
You could hunt off that kill or like hunt the cat as he's coming and going to the kill. Another option is waiting for snow. If you can't hunt with dogs and you can't do whatever, your only option is spot and stalk, then tracking him yourself. I've actually walked down quite a few cats myself. You know, generally they jump up pretty close. You could use, I'd have maybe two different types of ways of shooting, like a shotgun or shotgun.
if it jumps up and runs because it's kind of the brush a little bit or, you know, just going slow and glassing as well, but waiting for that fresh snow, cutting that track, then following it. As far as finding the pattern, it'd be really tough to do unless you have more information. But I will say one thing I have noticed is I find a pattern, not necessarily in like looking because I've got the same thing where it's like, Hey, I know that these cats are coming through certain times, but,
And what I do is I just, I keep all the data in one spot and then I go and look back and it's almost, it's like crazy how within the day or two days, it's like this certain time cats start coming through. And you can kind of look year to year as like, what's this pattern overall. And sometimes you got to kind of just step back and say, when you're trying to pattern certain animals, it seemed kind of unpatternable where they've got these really big circuits saying like, okay, well,
How often is this cat coming through? But like, look at it from year to year. Is it, is it coming through? Like, and then start to piece together, like look over historical data of what was the moon doing then? What was the weather doing then? What was, was it a dry year? Was it a wet year? Was it a year where it's like, Hey, maybe it's a really dry year. The deer are,
higher concentrations of deer on your property and they're coming through kind of when there's no moon or they're coming through when it's a full moon, you know, kind of deciding those kinds of things and looking at those patterns and trying to decipher, okay, well, when are these cats moving through and when's going to be my best opportunity to try to pinpoint where they're at and when to hunt. And that's what I kind of gather from that.
Got one more gear question here. It says, Q&A question. I am looking to purchase my first bow. I'm looking at a one-piece recurve, something classy and deadly. I'm expecting to spend some money on this, so I want to make sure I purchase exactly what I'm looking for. My question is, I'm right-handed and comfortable shooting my rifle right-handed. The problem is I'm left-eye dominant. When I shoot my buddy's bow, naturally I shoot right-handed first.
Should I buy a bow left-handed to cater to my dominant eye and learn to overcome the awkwardness or should I buy a right-handed bow and shoot with my less dominant eye? I'd really love your input on this big dilemma for me right now. Thanks, Remy. Keep crushing. Eric. That's a great question, Eric. I've got it. You know, if you go through a lot of the Q and A's, I think I've answered this question in one form or another many times, but it bears repeating. I would get the one left eye dominant.
I would shoot the bow left-handed, especially if you haven't really started, I think for a couple of reasons. I mean, when I talk about like bow shooting, you know, you're shooting for your eye dominance. While shooting a rifle right-handed, you're bringing the gun to your right shoulder. You're controlling the weapon with your right hand, which makes sense. You know, your right eye, I mean, it's for your dominant eye, but it's also easier to control the weapon if you're right-handed as well.
But think about shooting a pistol. You shoot a pistol with your right hand. Why would it not be more easy, like easier? I mean, it's like using your dominant hand to control the bow. If you were left eye dominant and right handed, it's actually not a bad thing because you're controlling the bow with your dominant hand and drawing back with your non-dominant hand to your non-dominant eyes. So in many ways, it's actually better. Um,
To shoot a left-handed bow or you know to your left eye dominance now if you're already kind of accustomed to shooting a Bow the other way it could be very difficult to train yourself and in which case I don't really know the answer you you know, but you're gonna be a lot better shot, especially With the traditional bow if you can shoot to your dominant eye, so I would say that and then as far as Gear goes on like a solid recurve. I definitely look into
Want like a really classy piece go for a stalker stick bow. I like those he makes some South Cox makes some incredible bows So that's one to definitely check out. That's like a piece you can pass down for generations in my opinion It does a great job with them So I've definitely look into that and I would also I mean also think about possibly doing a takedown recurve of some kind as well that's just my suggestion because
I have a one piece one and I'm like, man, it's hard to travel with. So it's nice to have a takedown, but you know, different strokes for different blokes. Last question comes from Federa says, Remy, love the podcast. The questions deal with hunting big mountain whitetails out West or Eastern Washington. The area I hunt is steep mountains with lots of ridges and draws. Is there a mix of clear cut selective logging and dense forest?
The first question says, I see a lot of deer, but almost all of them are groups of three does, two yearling deer. Is my area a whitetail nursery? Is there such a thing as a nursery? And if so, will bucks come to the area where I should, where should I spend my time to bag a big buck? And question number two says, do you ever use techniques like drag scene, uh, drags, estrus is estrus calls, grunts, rattling decoys, et cetera, while white tail hunting out West.
That is, oh, actually, sorry, this was, I sent it from his wife's account, so it's from Sean. Great question, Sean. Okay.
And I'll tell you what. So the first thing, yes, there is such thing as a nursery. It's just kind of, you know, the other thing is maybe the deer where you're at. Just, you know, like how do you distinguish where does are going to be from like where does and fawns are? And that can be difficult. I will say, yes, bucks will cruise through there, but they probably won't hold. So if you're pre-rut hunting, you're definitely going to find deer, you know, checking those areas where there's does and fawns.
And if there's a lot of does, then you're going to find a lot more bucks. And then if there's the occasional does, it's like, okay, here's a pocket with more does. It's just like anything during the rut, the does will attract the bucks. And so hunt the does. Now, question number two, calling techniques, uh,
Going to have to tune in because we're going to be doing a Western Whitetail Calling episode here shortly. So check back in next week. I think I'll do it next week, but remains to be seen. So for the answer to question part number two, if you want to know some Western Whitetail Calling tactics, you are going to have to continue to listen to the podcast.
Appreciate everybody tuning in. That concludes our mail sack for the week. Thank you guys so much for sending your questions. I appreciate every question out there. I hope that answered it and maybe somebody else had that same question. So thank you guys for stepping up, being the ones that raise your hand in class and say, hey, I got a question on this because it probably helped everybody else. So I appreciate you guys. Thank you so much for listening, tuning in. Stay tuned because coming up,
for the rest of the month we've got some late season tactics like i said maybe some white tail uh calling and rut stuff you know white tail there is a lot of white tail deer hunting still out west and maybe some tactics you could take back home to wherever you live when it comes to calling deer so we'll stay tuned for that and best of luck everyone keep the questions coming and how are we going to end this one just get out and hunt just get out and hunt
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