Ep. 123: Remi's Late Season Tips and Holiday Gift Guide
52:53 Share

Check engine light on? Take the guesswork out of your check engine light with O'Reilly Veriscan. It's free and provides a report with solutions based on over 650 million vehicle scans verified by ASE certified master technicians. And if you need help, we can recommend a shop for you. Ask for O'Reilly Veriscan today. O, O, O'Reilly Auto Parts.

You ever get that feeling, the walls closing in, the concrete jungle suffocating you? You crave some wide open spaces, the chance to connect with nature, maybe in a spot all your own. Well, head over to land.com. They've got ranches, forests, mountains, streams, you name it. Search by acreage. You can search by location. You can search by the kind of hunting and fishing you're dreaming of. Land.com. It is where the adventure begins.

Market House has the cleanest, leanest, juiciest meat and seafood shipped to your home overnight. Expect the service of a local butcher and the convenience of a large supplier. Unlike many online butchers, you can grab just one meal's worth or lock in for a subscription box. Choose from grass-fed and grass-finished beef, American Wagyu, free-range poultry, grass-fed lamb, wild-caught king crab, seafood, and more.

and more. For 15% off your first order, use code COUNTRY at checkout. Just visit markethouse.com. That's M-A-R-K-E-T-H-O-U-S-E dot com. And use the code COUNTRY.

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 now what I would consider the late season. And while it took the longest to arrive, it very well might be one of my favorite times of year to chase mature animals. If you've got a tag in your pocket, you're extremely lucky because if you can withstand the cold temperatures and harsh weather that you might find yourself in, I believe it's one of the best times to find a mature animal.

Now, some hunts are weather dependent, but with the right weather, mature animals seem to come out of the woodwork. Finding those big bulls and big bucks, even in general units, it's the best time of year to chase them. I've personally got a couple muzzleloader tags for mule deer and elk that I'm looking forward to going out after the next couple weeks.

So this week, I'm going to be covering some of my favorite late season tips, whether you've got an elk tag, whether you've got a deer tag, covering a few of my favorite tips, as well as adding a little bit of a bonus at the end with a Christmas gear guide. But before I do that, I want to share the story of a giant late season mule deer and my 100 yard stare down. This hunt took place quite a few years back. I had drawn a late season migration hunt mule deer tag in western Nevada.

And this particular year is an area where the deer kind of migrated in from various different places, but you really needed the weather to push them in. And if you got the right weather and the right conditions, you could find a really good buck. The rut was pretty much over. Sometimes you get a little bit of, maybe like a little bit of second post-rut kind of activity. But for the most part, my tactic was finding pockets of does or pockets of deer rather, and then

waiting because the deer would kind of start to group up late in the year so they would there be like a pocket of deer and then other deer would start moving in as that migration hit so you'd find an area where there's maybe a few deer and then as you started watching it it's like

more deer would move in daily. So I kind of had these different areas that I was checking. They were holding deer. There's a lot of the area that didn't have any deer. And then a few of these South facing pockets that didn't have snow, good feed. And just focusing on those places that seem to be deer magnets is like, those were the spots where there's a lot of feed and it harbored a lot of deer. So my dad actually had a tag as well. And

we found earlier in the season, we found a good buck that he ended up shooting and then it was just me. And so I was out hunting by myself and checking a few of the pockets and this one particular area right at last light, I was glassing up at the top of the mountain. I'd been kind of looking in this lower land pockets and I'm started glass up at the top of the mountain. It was kind of a South facing area, but still covered in a lot of snow. I look up there and I just see this giant buck, like big, non-typical, probably 200 inch mule deer. And I'm like,

I'm like, oh yeah. So I had probably an hour and a half hike and I had about 30 minutes of shooting light. So of course I'm like, I'm going to try to sprint up there. I hiked as fast as I could get up there and I just couldn't make it in time before it got dark. So I lost the deer and I was like, okay, the next day I'm going to go back. Next day, go back. Don't respot the deer. I think I gave it two or three more days and I'm like, okay, where did this deer go? It definitely didn't get spooked.

But I did not spot the deer again. So about three days later, I'm looking in that same little pocket and I see this big bachelor group of, well, there's probably, there's a few does in there as well, but it's almost like the bucks are kind of hanging out on one side and then the does were in this other pocket right up at the top. And I was like, okay, there's a, there's a nice buck in there. And it's pretty much toward the tail end of the season. And I'm like, I've still like got that big buck in my mind.

But I was like, man, and then, so I'm glassing and I see it's a long ways away. And I see this buck go through the timber and I'm like, man, was that the weight? It was like, just, it looked different than the other deer. I was like, that was that the non-typical buck, like the big buck that I saw. So I was, I was like, man, I got to get up there either way. I was like, there's some good bucks up there. And I just didn't have a good look at it, but I just had this feeling. I was like, that's the big deer.

So I get up there and I see a couple does across the way and start glassing and looking for the bucks. And they're bedded below where I was at. So when I actually got into this pocket, I couldn't really see the deer very well. So I started working my way down. And as I'm working down, there was some deer that I didn't know were in the brush and they spooked out. They ran down the mountain and then started running up the other side single file. And they just seemed to take every deer that was in there with them.

So they're running up the other side and I'm like, perfect. So I get down, get set up and they start going across the other side and then just kind of settle. And it was across the Canyon quite a ways away at the time is my furthest shot. But I was like, I'm looking, I arranged them. I had my little dope chart at the time. I didn't have an adjustable scope. So I just used hold over and I'm like, okay. And I got my spotting scope out and out start coming the bucks. I'm like, Oh sweet. So the bucks come up.

And I look and there's like the, the, the biggest buck in there is a nice four by four with a cheater coming off one side, you know? So he's got an extra point. He's got eye guards. So he's got, I guess if you're like Western, well, I mean, I would call it a five by four, but he technically had six and five. If you're counting the eye guards, just give you a good picture. So typical bifurcated mule deer, nice cheater coming off one side, good frame on him. Like that's a nice buck. And I'd never shot a deer with a cheater. So,

So I'm like, okay. I look around and I was kind of hoping, I'm like, man, I wish I, that big buck was in here. And I was like, that's probably the deer that I saw, you know, from that distance is a good buck. And I figured everything had come out from below me. So, all right, I'm going to take this buck. It's a good deer. So I get set up, line up, take the shot. Boom,

And I was just by myself and I couldn't know, you know, it was a fairly far shot, but I didn't know if I hit the buck or not, but I saw him running down the hill. So it was a good indication that I'd hit him. I throw another round in and as he's running down below me, shoot again. And he disappears below in the Canyon below me. So I'm like, all right, well, I'm pretty sure I got him going to go check. I'm not sure. Like maybe he's just running down. Like I couldn't tell if I hit him, but I, I was fairly sure like based on him running down and all the other deer running up that I hit him.

So I go down, I start working down and I get to where I see kind of some tracks coming down in the brush and I go down there and sure enough, well, actually before I get down there, I'm working my way down there and I'm working down the hillside that I'm on and out of the brush jumps a deer. And I'm like,

Kind of where this buck ran to. So I'm thinking like, okay, is this the buck? And I throw my gun up and the deer stops at a hundred yards and turns and looks. And sure enough, it's that big non-typical buck, like that 200 inch buck. And he is just staring at me.

From a hundred yards away, perfectly broadside. He was in there. He had never moved. And I'm like, you've got to be kidding me. And I was like, that buck is still in here. But having just shot at a deer and assuming I was like, obviously I was like, I got to check and make sure I see what happened with this other deer.

I didn't even think about, you know, I was like, man, of course you shoot it a buck. And then the big buck pops out at a hundred yards broadside. And I was like, that's one memory. I'll never forget just the sight of that big buck. I'm like, man, he was below me the whole time by himself. All the other deer ran out that deer never budged. So I'm like, all right. And then he starts walking off and he just kind of like feeds off up the Canyon. I walked down to the, um,

Kind of where I figured that other deer was and 20 yards from where that buck ran up, that other buck was dead in the bushes. So I was like, Oh sweet. You know, I still got a really nice deer. Wasn't, wasn't the giant one that I was chasing, but still a great buck. So top of the mountain, I skin him up, quarter him, load him up in my backpack. And it's like, ah, okay. I could hike back up to the top where I could just go down this really steep Canyon and

covered in snow, straight down to the bottom, pack him out. Had the whole deer in my backpack by myself, all my gear. And I was like, I just didn't feel like hiking back up there for a second round. So I had everything strapped on and I'm like, I'm just going to, I'm just going to bomb straight down this thing. It was like, it seemed pretty steep, but I thought, yeah, it'll be fine. I wish I would've had some kind of trekking pole or something. So I got the buck loaded up in my backpack. I'm going down the mountain and

And it is like progressively getting steeper and steeper. And for me, I'm like, it's like that kind of steep where you're standing vertical and you bear, you don't even have to fully extend your arm to touch the hillside beside you. I've got a heavy pack on, I'm going and it's slick.

And I, I step over this little ledge. And as I step, my feet go out from under me and the weight of the pack pushes me forward. And I just start tumbling down the mountain. And I was like, Oh, I'm like going endo down this mountain. And I'm thinking like, this is not good. I was just like hoping I didn't hit my head on something, just protecting my head and

quite a few tumbles down and then sliding down and finally catch on something and rest in the bottom. I'm like laying there. I'm like, Oh, that hurts so bad.

Definitely felt it along my ribs and spine. And I did, it turns out I popped like three or four ribs off my spine somehow, but didn't break anything. Thankfully. I'm like, all right. So I just cinched the pack up. I was like, I got about two miles left. So I just like cinched the pack real tight and, and trudged my way back to the truck. I got the buck packed out, went and then went and then got my ribs put back in place and

But it was a really fun late season hunt at the time. It was one of my best bucks. So I still shot my best buck. And then, of course, had one of the biggest deer that I'd seen up until that point as far as like with a tag in my pocket. Stare me down right after shooting. A pretty decent deer. There are a lot of different tactics that I like to utilize. A few tips and kind of things that I've picked up along the way.

So I figured I kind of created just this list of 15 late season tips, some things to think about whether, you know, depending on what you're chasing. So let's just dive into it right here. For the first one, because I got a lot of questions on it, was late season cows. Now, a lot of late season tags are cow tags because it's a good time. The animals move down, they might migrate into an area. And it's a time where it's generally easier to find them.

But it can be difficult. So I would say the thing you want to focus on when it comes to late season elk, especially, would be focus on those food sources. Especially if there's some weather, finding those south-facing slopes, those places that can hold a large number of elk and provide a good amount of food are the places that I'm going to first focus on. Now, number two would be finding those late season bulls. For late season bulls,

I like to focus on pockets of isolation. One thing that you'll find when you get into this later part of the year, especially if you have weather, those bulls will be up in those isolated pockets where it's got shelter. It can lay down and be protected from the elements, but also probably isn't going to be messed with by people, by other things. So oftentimes they're in a pocket where they can move from their bed to feed in a very small area. I've seen this one patch of like

black spruce where an elk will just be bedded in there. He'll go out and feed for a little bit in the morning, go back in the spruce. And he's maybe moving only a few hundred yards from where he's bedding and living. He's got everything he needs. He's got snow there and feed for like, essentially he's using the snow for water feeding on and clearing out a little bit of grass. And then he's got a nice bedding area where he can bed be protected. If it gets cold, he can walk out

get into the sun and he can go back and get back in his bed. He's not being bothered. He's not burning a lot of energy and he still has everything that he needs. He's in a pocket of isolation. Tip number three, I would say when you're focusing on late season elk, this tip would be go high.

A lot of my success for bulls especially has been in those higher places, in that deep snow. The more mature bulls, if you're like, hey, I want to find the best bull in the area, then you're going to have to go to the places where those bigger bulls are hiding out.

and they will be the very last elk to leave. They will be up in some pockets. As long as you've got some kind of food source where the wind or the sun can burn off, where they can access the grass below, they'll stay there. I've seen, you know, mature elk moving out of that high country stuff in essentially chest deep snow for them. And that's, it's, it's a hard grind to get in there, but looking high, don't kind of discount those high pockets.

Tip number four is going to be the exact opposite, and it's going to be go low. Depending on what the weather is doing, those elk might have already moved out of that higher country stuff.

And the majority of those elk are going to be in those lower basins, especially if it's a migration type unit, they're going to be in those low areas. That's why they moved to this particular area. Once that December storms kind of hit, maybe even if you got a tag that busts into January, those elk are in a feed pattern survival mode, and that's going to push them down to those lower elevations. Definitely don't discount those.

how productive areas around agriculture can be. If you've got mapping software that shows private and public lands, find those places where, hey, there's maybe some

bedding up above the feed, there's a really consistent food source, maybe some leftover alfalfa, maybe something, some kind of open grass or meadows in the bottom, or maybe just those like rolling hills where there's a lot of different pieces of cover and food sources that stay burned off or while there's going to be snow up higher, those areas are burned off, they don't hold as much snow, and it's more amicable to survival and eating.

those places definitely don't want to discount late in the season. I kind of like to think of elk hunting, deer hunting, whatever late season is finding that, that spot where those elk or deer can winter. And oftentimes that winter area is low. It's those foothills. It's like that migration winter area where they're going to survive from there through the spring. And so definitely, you know, springtime,

Certain times you want to look high, especially if you're targeting bulls, but if you're just looking for numbers of animals and probably the highest concentration of population, go low. Think about those foothills and that winter range. Tip number five, on cold days, look for spots where animals will warm up. One of my favorite things is when that temperature drops significantly.

Really cold. So I would say definitely below freezing, generally nearing the zero degree temperature days. That's my favorite time to hunt late season because what happens is it's

It's cold enough where those animals that have those heavy fur coats that are always kind of hot are actually cold and they're going to be out in the open sunning themselves. On really cold days, I always choose a good glassing vantage where I can cover a lot of country because animals are going to be out sunning themselves on those sunny hillsides too.

Burns are a good place to focus on those really cold days if you've got an area where you can hunt a burn or just finding those pockets where there might be open. And then even just picking out areas that have a lot of timber where maybe those animals are holed up where they're using that shelter more that late season and then it gets cold. They're cold inside that timber and they're going to pop out in the sun and warm themselves up. It's probably the best time to find those animals that

aren't really found other times a year. So when that temperature really drops, when we hit those zero degree temperatures, 10 below 20 below Fahrenheit, those are some of the bet, in my opinion, some of the best hunting days, when it gets really cold, those animals come out and they utilize that sun to, to warm up. And so focus on those areas. If you get those cold days, tip number six, if it's cold out, use an insulated type water bottle.

When I'm hunting late season, one of the things that I find is you kind of forget how important it is to keep your body fueled and stay hydrated and be able to hunt longer and harder.

walking in the snow, walking in the cold, you burn a lot of energy and you also forget that you actually need to ingest water. I like to also mix in a few electrolytes late season, especially just to kind of keep my body from getting wore down. The days are shorter, but I end up burning way more calories. And it just seems like when it's cold out, I don't really want to drink my water or the water freezes in my bladder, my bottle. I've found that I can, I

I tend to hunt a lot harder and further and more comfortable when I'm ingesting water and I do it when it's warm. So I've been just getting like a big Yeti

style thermos bottle. It's a little bit more weight, but I'll put warm water. I generally don't boil the water, just like get it just about boiling. So it's warm for most of the day. It won't freeze in my pack. And it's a lot easier to drink when it's warm. It kind of warms you up when you're sitting there, glassing, having something warm or hot. Another good option is just like bringing your jet boil. Even if you're just day hunting, bringing your stove, whatever, to be able to heat up something hot and just drinking hot water or

something else. Um, try to kind of limit the coffee a little bit, even though I love some coffee, I'll drink it in the morning and drink it. And maybe if I'm set up glassing or whatever, but you just also got to remember to just stay hydrated, keep your body fueled for the hunt. You know, you think about it earlier in the season, you're, you're doing those things, you're drinking water, whatever. And I find me personally late season, I tend to not drink as much water. And then I kind of

end up feeling more tired because I'm expending way more energy walking through the snow, keeping my body warm. So just the things like bringing enough food and then having drinkable water is a huge key to just continuing pushing through those, uh, late season hunt days.

Tip number seven, also kind of a little bit of a gear tip. I like to use toe warmers and hand warmers for various things, not just keeping my body warm. When it comes to the toe warmers, some of them show you like put it on underneath your toes. I put them, I like use the sticky thing, put it on the top of the toe because then it doesn't affect like the way that your foot uses the boot. I found like when I put it underneath your toes are kind of like

When you're hiking, you use your toes as almost a grip inside those boots. And so I don't like it affecting that. So I just put it on the top of my socks, slide my foot in, never have problems with it rolling around or getting uncomfortable.

hand warmers. I'll throw in my gloves just because when I stop in glass, you're putting your hands on cold optics and you want to just be able to hunt efficiently. You don't want to be sitting there shivering, worrying about being cold. You want to be comfortable. You want to be warm because you want to be able to focus on the task of finding the animals. So I'll throw those hand warmers in my gloves. And then also, uh, I carry my camera with me or whatever I've got, like

the batteries get zapped by that cold weather, especially on like a back country hunt. So I'll even use those little hand warmers to warm up an area in my pack. I might just throw one in. I don't put it right against batteries or things like, but maybe in a dry bag with a jack or like a coat or something and then throw that in there, seal it up and just kind of keep my electronics a little bit warm, but not overheated. Keeps those batteries lasting longer. And then with my phone or anything else, I keep those in like an inside pocket and

And maybe even like a spare camera battery on an inside pocket, let my body heat keep anything that's electronic that I might need warm. So if I've got a GPS unit or anything like that, I keep it in a pocket that's inside a layer close to my body, let my body heat warm it up. Or if it's somewhere else, maybe throwing a hand warmer in with that pocket, just kind of double check that it doesn't do the opposite and overheat your particular gear.

Tip number eight for late season hunting is going to be have something to sit on for glassing. I've got an outdoorsman pad. They just keep in my pack. There's, you know, any kind of little foam pad. Maybe you've got an old, maybe it's not inflatable, but like an old sleeping pad, a piece of foam, something, something I've used a little bit more recently is just like

like using my dry bag. I've got like a little dry bag in my pack that I keep. I might've mentioned this in a gear episode before, but I'll just roll the top of it a little bit. It gets a little air in there. I've got maybe some spare clothes or other things. If I'm backcountry hunting or even just late season, having a few extra clothes and then setting that on the ground and sitting down. If you're on snow, you're,

Just keeping your body off the snow, staying warm and comfortable while you're glassing is a huge factor in being able to find those animals. So just staying warm, staying dry, having something as simple as something to sit on when you're glassing keeps you more focused at finding those animals. Number nine goes along those lines. When I'm hunting late season, I like to stop

and build a fire. If I'm going to glass for a little bit, build a fire, have things ready to build a quick fire, whether it's some fire starter or lighter, whatever you've got. I mean, obviously if there's a fire danger or whatever, I'm kind of thinking late season, like a lot of snow, a lot of cold, not a lot of fire danger, but you know, every year is different. Sometimes it's dry and you might be somewhere else, but if you're in the mountain West, it's a cold day, you've got some snow, build a fire and pick your glassing spot where it's just, you know, obviously you're

upwind of it. So the smoke doesn't blow into where you're looking because sometimes you'll get those heat waves and it messes it up, but I'll build that fire. I'll sit in front of it and I'll glass. And then I put it out and I walk to my next glassing spot and I build a fire. If I'm in an area where I'm waiting for an elk to come out late in the evening to feed, I'll get in there and I'll build a fire. I've found that the fires really don't affect the elk movement or the animal movement. They're used to the smell of fire.

I mean, obviously, like if you're sitting on a skyline ridge with a big bonfire and they see that, they probably see you anyways. But for the most part, it doesn't really affect the animals late season. So I don't get worried about building fires. When I'm at camp, I build a fire. When I'm sitting in glassing, I build a fire. I haven't really noticed it like affect them in a negative way, especially real late in the season. So that's something to think about. That's one thing that I think a lot of people don't realize, like,

If you aren't used to Western hunting, it's like, I'll get down. I don't like being cold and I'm generally not wearing a lot of clothes if I'm hiking back and forth or I might've sweated up the mountain. So it's just sit down, build a fire. Just remember, don't get your stuff too close to the fire. You don't want to burn any gear, delaminate any boots. Tip 10 is what I like to call double down. Don't be afraid to

on those really cold days to have two pieces of down gear. I'll wear like a lighter down jacket and then have a heavier down jacket for when I glass. Down's an excellent way to stay insulated, to stay warm. Thinking about, you know, I,

a lot of these tips are how to stay warm late season. And there's a reason for that because when you're warm and you're comfortable, you're focused better, you're hunting harder. You aren't worried about getting in that shelter. That survival mode doesn't kick in like, Oh, I'm shivering and freezing and I'm looking around, but I'm not actively glassing. I'm not actively hunting. So staying warm. And then when you're walking also, don't forget to kind of take those extra layers off, let your body heat

Heat you up. And then when you stop, throw those extra layers on. There's many days when those, those really good days that I like to talk about when it's zero degrees or below zero and the animals are out sunning themselves, they're

You know, you might need to be sitting in glassing for a long time. So doubling down, throwing an extra set of down on, maybe you've got some down puffer pants that you can throw on underneath your pants. When I stop in glass, I throw all my warm stuff on. I get my gloves on. I got my beanie on. I throw that extra down on. And then when I walk, I take it off. I put it in my backpack and I move to the next spot. So I don't get it all sweated up and wet. And that's a really good way to kind of a good system to have.

late season is have those extra clothes and downs a good lightweight packable thing. Cause all this stuff late season gets bulky, gets heavy. You got extra gear and extra weight. So I generally use my extra insulation as the form of down number 11, when it comes to back country camping, maybe you're, maybe you've got into an area where you're, you've got your tent out. It's super cold.

A little bit of a tip that I picked up this last year is one of the guys I was hunting with started carried like this light, like just a little carbon monoxide detector. And I was like, that is genius because I'm always afraid to run my stove in my tent. But it's nice if you've got like your stove and you bring an extra fuel canister in the morning to just cut down a little bit of the cold, warm things up.

just run that fuel inside your tent. Obviously be safe. Don't light yourself on fire or whatever. Run it in the vestibule and dry things out, kind of just cut some of that moisture and whatever. And it's just sometimes nice, but you're also worried about suffocation. So a friend of mine had a little carbon monoxide detector. I went to Home Depot, immediately picked one up

It was like, this is a great idea. You know, and now if you, if you pack in somewhere or maybe you've just got a car camp and you can bring extra fuel, you know, you can run your stove, maybe you've got a bigger tent. You can run that stove and just in nighttime when you're sitting in there making dinner, whatever, you've got that, you can run it till you sleep and you've got the carbon monoxide detector to make sure that you stay breathing and wake up in the morning. I was like, that's a great idea because I always, I never do it because I'm always afraid of

Not waking up. So having that is just a little bit added kind of thing to think about. And obviously still vent properly and whatever, but use common sense. But having that little carbon monoxide detector is not a bad idea. Number 12, as far as late season hunts and camping go,

One thing that I found over the years, if I've got a tent, let's say got a car camp set up or whatever with a wall tent, or maybe we packed in somewhere or whatever, I've got a lightweight teepee set up with a stove. What I will do is bring some of those Duralog sticks. It's a little bit extra weight, but hey, you're going to burn them. And I kind of think on late season hunts, I just get into my spot. I'll carry a little bit extra, but have some stuff that keeps comfortable because sometimes you'll,

You've got that fire going and you do it at night and you got your sticks in there and it's either like super hot or super cold and then it burns out fast.

i found that just some of those durolog sticks if you throw one in there at night and they burn a lot longer especially once you damper that stove down and they just seem to keep it at the perfect temperature just a little bit of a a wall tent secret if you've got some of them obviously yeah the other times you'll burn sticks and things you find around there uh cut your firewood and what have you um but one just

It doesn't take a lot to pack a few of those sticks and they burn. I mean, I've got them like going for like six hours at the right temperature. You wake up, you just slide another stick in there and you've got that late season comfortable camp just as an added kind of thing. I picked that tip up from my buddy Jeremy Rusink in Alaska. He was running that on his bison hunt.

way late season in Alaska. They just snowmobiled in and then used those little bit DuraStix to just kind of keep the right temperature in the tent all night long without having to, you know, go through a lot of, a lot of fuel. So I thought that was pretty cool. That was a good idea. And I started doing that myself and it's, it's worked really well. Late season tip 13 is dealing with crunchy snow. I think that one of the hardest times to stock

animal is if you've got that crunchy snow. It's like the entire ground makes way too much noise. Now, when it comes to elk hunting, I treat crunchy snow like I do loud going through anything. I have that call kind of handy. And I'll also kind of like mix in a little bit of calling as I am walking. Now, if it comes to

And I'm like trying to stock. I had a late season tag down in northern New Mexico one year. And it's just, it was a good area for big deer. But man, it was tough to get close on that archery hunt because every time you take a step, it's...

So one thing that I've kind of found is you can kind of change the way that you walk, especially on a stock where I would go, you kind of kick out the snow a little bit and provide a place for something to land. So it's almost like a sweeping step where it not where you're dragging, but where you're like clearing out and then pushing down.

that sometimes helps. Another thing to think about when it's really crunchy snow is planning your stocks when the snow's the least crunchy. And that's generally during the middle of the day. So

Uh, that's when that sun's hit it long enough. And then that snow kind of starts to soften up. So the mornings it's really crunchy because it's been cold all night and the evenings is like, there's two times where it's the loudest and that's the morning. And then I guess I would say in the evening, once that shade started to hit and starts to cool down again, but I like to plan my stocks. If there's like snow, super crunchy.

And I've got some animals up here. I'll bed, I'll watch and I'll see, okay, like the sun's hitting this particular area. And I start to plan my route and plan it where it's like,

It's got enough time to soften up a little bit. I let that sun hit it. And then I go in and make my, make my play and try to do it in the, what would be kind of like the middle of the day or like mid afternoon before it starts to cool down again. So the warmest part of the day, even if it's real cold out, sometimes there'll be enough to soften up that snow. It might still be loud, but it might be less loud than it is first thing in the morning or first thing in the evening.

Tip 14, we're going to focus on late season mule deer. And when it comes to late season mule deer, kind of like I talked about in that story, is one thing to think about is thinking about what I would call kind of grouping pockets. So if it's a migration type area, the deer are going to be focused on

food sources. And I kind of look at late season mule deer hunting the same in this, like, it's a very strange way of thinking about it, but I think of late season mule deer hunting, very similar to deer behavior, early season mule deer hunting, like in August. And what happens is the deer kind of do the same thing. The, the bucks start to pull off and bachelor back up again. Um,

And they'll be in these like groups because it's kind of a safety and numbers game where they start grouping up and they want to be. They need a few things. They need that safety and they need that feed. So they need the cover and they need the feed. It's generally not hard to find water because it's with snow and all the stuff they can. They've got water around, but they need those pockets where they've got that adequate winter range.

And during that late season, they kind of start to group up more, they find more safety, it makes it harder for predators to sneak in on them. Because it's they don't want to be running as much, they can't expend as much energy. So if they're in that safety group, they can use kind of that safety numbers technique where they all scatter and potentially prevent getting killed by predators. And also there's just more eyes and ears.

So one thing I started to find is as late season goes on and those deer, those bucks start batchling back up again,

I find those pockets where it's like, okay, here's a pocket that has a deer habitat. There's clearly deer in it. And then I keep watching those pockets because it keeps, it kind of creates this deer magnet where it's like, it's good habitat. Other deer start joining in. So you've got does moving in, you've got bucks moving in. Those bucks might be in a bachelor group. And then if I find a pocket that has bucks, I keep an eye on that pocket because the animals that are in those pockets will change over time.

And that's one kind of my favorite late season mule deer tactic is finding and focusing on those pockets. And that's in hunting in areas that is cold weather.

So for tip number 15, let's go down a little bit south of the border or not south of the border, but south close to the border. And we're going to talk about some coos deer and late season mule deer tactics in Southern states, because that's probably one of the hunts that I think a lot of people are going to be getting on now is those, those over the counter type mule deer coos deer tags around Arizona. And one thing that's nice about heading South for the winter is the rut kicks off late.

hunting those late season you start to get some rutting activity some rutting behavior when it comes to late season coos deer late season mule deer it's just like any rut i focus on the does now focusing on the does is going to be where the bucks find themselves

I also kind of find that, you know, getting in those, those areas where you've got good vantage to glass and cover a lot of country, coos deer, mule deer, desert species, it's generally lower densities, not always, but generally lower densities. And so you want to cover a lot of country. And I like to cover that country with my eyes. You got to look close. You got to focus in, but finding those pockets that hold like even those, those thicker brushy pockets where it's like, Oh, here's some does in here. And then I start to really pick it apart and,

and, and turn out a lot of bucks. I also have found some good success on those type of hunts

cruising in that more broken country where it's like it's it's very difficult to glass some of it but i kind of go into those tight pockets go in pop over start glassing if i see something great if i don't back out and go to the next pocket one thing that's nice about those little kind of broken country pockets is when you see something they're generally already already fairly close and you can often kind of get a good stock in it because it has multiple angles of terrain to do your approach so

Looking in that broken country late season is a good way to kind of find those pockets of does as well and find those hopefully read it up bucks. O'Reilly Auto Parts are in the business of keeping your car on the road. I love O'Reilly. In fact, the other day, I'm not kidding you. The other day, I went into an O'Reilly Auto Parts looking for a part. I needed a different thing that wasn't really in there, you know, only like tangentially related to what they carry.

They did not have it, and the dude told me specifically where I would go down the road to find it is how nice they are. They offer friendly, helpful service and the parts knowledge you need for all your maintenance and repairs. Thousands of parts and accessories in stock, in-store, or online, so you never have to worry if you're in a jam.

They'll test your battery for free. If you need your windshield wipers replaced, a brake light fixed, or quick service, they'll help you find the right part or point you to a local repair shop for help. Whether you're a car aficionado or an auto novice, you'll find the employees at O'Reilly Auto Parts are knowledgeable, helpful, best of all, friendly. These guys are your one-stop shop for all things auto, do-it-yourself,

You can find what you need in store or online. Stop by O'Reilly Auto Parts today or visit them at OReillyAuto.com slash meat eater. That's OReillyAuto.com slash meat eater. We've all seen plenty of gadgets and fads come and go, but here's one product that stood the test of time. Seafoam motor treatment. Lots of hunters and anglers know that seafoam helps engines run better and last longer.

It's really simple. When you pour it in your gas tank, seafoam cleans harmful fuel deposits that cause engine problems. I'm talking common stuff like hard starts, rough engine performance, or lost fuel economy. Seafoam is an easy way to prevent or overcome these problems. Just pour a can in your gas tank and let it clean your fuel system. You probably know someone who has used a can of seafoam to get their truck or boat going again. People everywhere rely on seafoam to keep their trucks, boats, and small engines running the way that they should the entire season.

Help your engine run better and last longer. Pick up a can of Seafoam today at your local auto parts store or visit seafoamworks.com to learn more. This is Brent Reeves from This Country Life. What makes South Dakota the greatest for pheasant hunting? With over 1.2 million pheasants harvested last year, South Dakota boasts the highest population of pheasants in the nation. In fact, you'd have to add up the total harvest from neighboring states just to get that many birds.

There's also millions of wide open acres chock full of different landscapes, meaning the hunt in one county is often completely different from just a few counties over. But what really makes South Dakota the greatest goes way beyond just hunting a colorful bird. It's the pursuit of something more like the camaraderie that awaits all kinds of hunters from all walks of life and partaking in South Dakota tradition over 100 years in the making.

It's about taking the greatest shots and watching your dog work the greatest fields in the greatest lands, carrying on the greatest heritage and making the greatest memories. So what are you waiting for? From the rush of the flush to the stories at the end of the day, experience a thrill like no other. Learn how at HuntTheGreatest.com.

As promised, I wanted to do a little, this time of year, I always like to do a little bit of a Christmas gear guide. I actually get a lot of questions this time of year of like, hey, I'm looking for a gift for someone. You know, you got any ideas? I'm like, well, I don't really know the person. So it's kind of hard because I like to do gifts that, you know, maybe it's something somebody needs. But there are some things that I've found. I always try to like make a list of things throughout the year. Then I'm like, okay, that's something maybe somebody doesn't know about that I thought was pretty cool.

Or a way that I use something. And I'm like, oh yeah, I can be one of those people. I could see being very difficult to buy a gift for. But then I find some things that somebody gets me and I'm like, oh, this is super handy. And I would have never thought about this. So I figured I'll cover some of those things. And then I also like, I'm pretty big on the homemade gift kind of thing. So give you some ideas of some things you can do with some shed antlers and some, maybe some stuff that you've taken over the season. So some sharing in the harvest and,

So I think one of the, let's start with some of the homemade stuff. I think

just giving some ideas on this one thing that I, these are just things that I do a lot. Um, and it's, I, I like getting crafty though. You know, it's fun time. It's like, this is kind of the only time where I might even get a little bit of time to make something for someone. So, um, one of the things that I make a lot with some shed antlers is cribbage boards. If you don't play the game of cribbage, you definitely should. It's a fun game. My wife and I play it all the time or when we're in a hunting camp and friends and whatever, we sit around the, uh,

the old fire at night on especially late season hunt you know you're in the wall tent short days and play a little bit of crib that's fun um it's pretty easy all you need is a shed antler maybe a drill something good to measure it with and you're on your way to making a cribbage board another really good gift idea one thing that my wife and i do is we

Slice up a lot of meat and make a lot of jerky. I've got a couple of those made with meat, 10 tray dehydrators. I went with the big one because it's like, man, if you're making a batch of jerky, I found the other day, well, I shot a white tail dough. I had like an extra B tag, bow tag,

and shot a doe and then just sliced the entire thing into jerky and then made the jerky and was like, wow, an entire deer is like a one bag of jerky. That's the way jerky is. It goes fast. So I like to have a lot of room to make big batches when we make it, which we tend to save cuts every year from whatever we shoot and make jerky. But it makes a great gift because you can vacuum seal it up

you know, put a nice little whatever on it. And even friends and family that don't hunt or whatever, it's like something they enjoy. Everybody loves a good jerky. And a side note, pay attention to my website because pretty soon I'll have a pretty sweet jerky mix coming out. But unfortunately, packaging didn't make it in time for the holiday season. So something, just a little bit of a tease, keep an eye open.

Another thing I've making this year for some guys is I saved the leather off a bunch of elk and stuff. I always do some stuff with the leather and got it tanned. And then I'm doing just something super, super easy to make just like a leather flask wrap. So I just bought some flasks on Amazon. Pretty easy. Just measure around it, cut the leather to size to size.

And then I poke some holes and then do just like a X or just, you know, whatever, just with some needle and sinew kind of stuff on the back. Sew it up and you've got yourself a leather flask cover. You can, whatever, if you get a wood burner, you can burn something on it. I picked up, you know those stupid ads where it's like an ad on Instagram or an ad on whatever. I can't remember where I saw it. Some ad that popped up and I never...

and i was like oh that's pretty cool it was like a 40 laser engraver i was like okay for 40 bucks it might be garbage but if i can get a couple things on leather with it that'd be pretty sweet the one i got um yeah it's kind of it's it's not the greatest like but it's about as good as i expected but i did i i am able to burn like some cool like burn initials or

a couple little designs. You can even supposedly take a photo and upload it from your phone. And I was like, yeah, it seems like I tried. It didn't work super well. Um,

Um, but just for a simple design, it was pretty sweet. So I get on the front of the flask, just like, you know, if you got, if it was a hunt where friends helped you out, um, something to think about just kind of a fun thank you gift. Like, Oh, these buddies came and helped me. Maybe we had like a funny saying during that hunt or something like that, burning that on the front, kind of a good memory and, and something that they can keep saying and take with them. Always fun.

And then another good homemade gift with antlers or wood or whatever is I like, I've just got like a small lathe, make some pens. You can get little pen making kits and pretty easy. Just turn it down, make a, make a round, uh,

pen and drill it out. It doesn't take very long. I'll do it with shed antlers. And also sometimes when I'm hiking around an area, I find like a cool piece of wood, a knotted up piece of whatever. And I'll use that to make some pens for people. Christmas time is just a thank you, or it's just a cool gift, like a little bit of homemade, a little bit of hand touch, a little bit of story with it. That's always fun. So if you're into that kind of thing, just a few ideas to throw out there. You know, some of those, you might have to invest a little bit in a small lathe or whatever, but

you know, it's gift saving, gift ideas for years to come. When it comes to some other items that I think about, you know, there's always those like big ticket items, whatever. I mean, there's things guys need bows and whatever. And, you know, the holidays could be a great time to get somebody something like that or get yourself something like that. But I figured for this gear gift thing, just kind of picking some smaller items that I find really useful and maybe something, you know, just a couple of ideas out there.

One thing, if you know a bow hunter, one thing that they always need and is always good and they're kind of expensive but not too expensive is a pack of broadheads. Figure out what broadheads they use and show up at a Christmas party with a pack of broadheads. I have always been like, yep, I need some broadheads. It's a good thing to have stockpiled. So broadheads are always a pretty solid gift idea if you've got somebody that hunts broadheads.

One, another piece of item that I find, I use it all the time and I'm like, I think it just kind of seems, I think it's probably a piece of gear that's understated as a Yeti. It's called a Yeti backflip. It's like that backpack cooler, uh,

If you know somebody that travels and hunts or just does, I find that to be probably one of my go-to things. I take it everywhere. I use it more than anything. When I'm going on a trip somewhere, I pack stuff in it, carry it on like my camera gear and whatever. Then when I'm there, I've got a cooler if I need it. And then when I fly home, I can put pretty much, I think I can put about 50 pounds of meat in there, which is like a substantial amount once you've butchered it up.

And if it packs nice and I'll freeze the stuff, put it in there, travel home with it. And then we use it like, you know, around for any, it was like, Oh, Hey, we're running up to the lake for the weekend or whatever. It doesn't matter. It's like, we've got a cooler and a backpack. It's pretty awesome. I think that's probably one of my favorite,

I don't know. That's one of my favorite things. And I think every time somebody sees it, they're like, whoa, a cooler backpack. I don't know. It's like anytime I travel with it or whatever, people are really interested in it. And I think it's just kind of one of the, a thing that probably doesn't, maybe people don't even know about them that much. I don't know. Maybe people do, but I find it super handy. Like it's one of my favorite things that I own.

As hunters, as sportsmen, processing animals is always like having your own butcher stuff, I found, makes things like having good stuff makes a big difference. I remember when I first started out, I was like, I would always take stuff to the butcher because I bought a crappy grinder and it just was such a pain in the ass to grind anything, such a pain in the ass to clean, such a pain in the ass to use.

That it was just easier and cheaper to just drop it off and have someone do it. But I like being a part of that process. And I found out that a lot of butchers that you drop stuff off at don't even give you your meat back. Like when it comes to grind and things like that, they will mix it and then give you like other people's meat, which I think is absolutely disgusting and should never be done because you don't know how somebody else took care of something.

You don't know like what condition it was in. Maybe you shot a younger animal that's like, and you took really good care of it. And then you take it to a butcher or processor and you're expecting this really good meat. And you got something that had been riding around someone's truck for four days and got shot and just like not taking well care of. So I am a big fan of doing stuff yourself, unless you know of like a butcher that does things the right way, which they should all do things the right way, but they all don't.

Um, and so processing stuff I think is like one of the, it's something that definitely is super valuable and really nice to have. I work with a company made with meat and they make really good commercial grade stuff at like a pretty good price. So,

That's some of my favorite stuff to recommend. And I get a lot of questions on that stuff because, man, the difference between having a really good grinder, it's like don't invest in a bad grinder. It's just not worth it because it makes the process hard and sucks. But if you have something that's like a high power grinder or really good grinder, it's

That makes the job and tasks so much easier. Just like every time I use it, I'm like, oh yeah, wow, this is way easier because I definitely knew the pains of having like the crappy KitchenAid attachment and trying to grind stuff. And it just is not good. I spent hours and then like finally got a good grinder and it's like, wow, I did in five minutes what it used to take me two hours. So good processing stuff is always a great gift.

If you could find ammo, that's – if somebody showed up at my house with some ammo, the same kind I use, I'd be like, that's the best gift ever this year. But good luck. That's probably still the hardest thing to find. I think that's like – what was the – every year you hear some kind of crazy toy that people –

would wait in line for and fight. What was that? There's an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie was a jingle all the way or something where they're like fighting over a certain toy. That's really hard to get. Ammo's that it's like, if you can find it and it's the right stuff, man, that's the most thoughtful gift you could give a hunter this season.

Another cool gift idea, Gerber has these custom knives. So you can go on and you can design. You can actually upload your own photo things. I've got one that's got a picture of a deer that I took, not just like running around. I didn't have a tag. But I cut it out in Photoshop and then just did it black and white, like the outline of this deer that I saw.

And then like chose the handle and all the stuff you can do different designs and things like that. That's pretty cool. Anything that's a little bit custom is always a sweet gift, uh, kind of along the lines of it's like, it's kind of homemade, but somebody made it for you. You kind of customized it, picked it out yourself.

Another fun gift I found, it's a flip-flop sauce. So it's like this, it's for cooking. It's like wild game, sharing your meat. You essentially cook a whole hind quarter. So it saves on processing time. And it's really fun to do. I do it over like a, I've got a Brio outdoor grill. That's definitely the way you want to do it, over some wood fire. And actually one of those Brio grills, pretty sweet.

It's a cool, like cool gift, something different that I think maybe a lot of people don't think about. I've kind of over the last couple of years, really fallen in love with cooking on it. It's fun. It's a fire pit. It's got the sear plate. It's got, you know, I've got the outpost thing and you could just do the outpost thing. It's just like a, for camping, big,

mesh cooking unit over the fire. It's fun to cook over the fire and that's like a cool way to do it. Smokeless fire pit, but the flip-flop sauces you use, you make like a mop with the rosemary and then you marinate it a little bit. And then as you're cooking it, you just keep swabbing the sauce on there, turning it and then slicing. It's incredible how good it turns out. I just made one the other day and a lot of fun. It's kind of a fun gathering thing, especially, especially around the holidays. Um,

I don't know. I'm sure you can just Google search it. And yeah, I think that, oh, here's as somebody that is very difficult to buy a gift for. Was it last year? It's a terrible name. But I got, I was like, every time I go use this thing, I'm like, man, this was still one of the best gifts I've ever got. And you're like, ooh, let me hear. Is it a new gun? Is it a new bow? And I'm like, no, it's a stupid thing called a battery daddy. Terrible name.

Right. I don't even know where it came from. I just, I was in there the other day and my dad gave it to me. It's like a, it's like a toolbox that just holds batteries. So it's like battery organization. And he gave it to me full of batteries.

And first I was like, oh yeah, this is cool. And then I realized throughout the year, I'm like, oh, my headlamp needs batteries. I'm always looking for triple A's and it's like my battery organization is just in this box and they're random. It's got like a little battery tester in there. And, and then just different things like I was running some trail cameras and I was like, I need some batteries.

I was like, man, just go to this box and they're all in the same place. And I had batteries and random batteries that you might need for something. I had a buddy one to borrow a lantern. I was like, yeah, cool. I got one. I hadn't used it for years.

And I was like, oh shit, I don't even have like D batteries. And I was like, oh yeah, I've got those batteries. I don't know why, but that gift really just struck a chord to me. I was like, this thing is awesome. All my batteries in one place, I keep it in the same place, super organized. And I didn't realize like how reliant I am on batteries and would just generally have to be like, oh, I don't have those batteries. I gotta go buy that battery or my headlamp needs batteries, whatever. I thought that was a pretty sweet gift. I actually just forgot the number one gift

gift to give a hunter this season. One of my lucky t-shirts that you can find on my website, remywarren.com. There are a very limited quantity left. And so if you want one of those, it'd be a good gift. They're in low supply, hard to get. And once they're gone, they're gone.

They won't be, this is the end of that run. So if you want one of those shirts or know somebody that does, you better head on there now because they're going to be, they're going to be taken up pretty quick.

I found a few more shirt blanks and we were able to get a few more printed up. So if you want one of those, they're pre-lucked. I think everybody that's bought one shot a giant animal this year as far as I, from the comments that I've got. That's all I know. You know, I can only go off the information I'm given. So,

We'll just, we'll say that that's true. Yeah. So if you want one of those, you can go to my website, remywarren.com. And if you would like to sign up for my mailing list, it's at the bottom of the page there. Go for it. Also, you

YouTube channel. We've got, feel free to subscribe to that. That's my pitch for my stuff. Uh, next week, I'm really excited. I'm going to tell a story, going to share a fun story of a hunt that I did this season. Also got some news, uh, podcast news, and I'm going to be launching a really big giveaway. I like to do a end of the year, Christmas style giveaway. I've got one,

what would be, I don't know if you're like, Hey, I need gear. Then this, the winner will get all the gear they need. Let's just put it that way. It is an Epic giveaway of Epic proportion. So that will be next week. And then we'll do my fan,

famous Christmas special, which is one of my favorite podcasts every year. That'll be the week of Christmas. And then we will end on kind of a, what I like to do, the year-end recap and some tips going forward. So I'm looking forward to the coming up

podcasts, the holiday season, the Christmas season. Thank you guys so much for all your support, the comments, the likes, the whatever, the questions, the participation, and most importantly, sharing your success stories with me. I've got so many awesome ones. I'm really surprised. Some of the best success, like I've got, or not best, but I would say like the

Most success stories from one particular podcast have come from the rattling tactics. A lot of guys saying like, I never thought to rattle, or I just thought that was a Midwest thing, or I just thought it was a, this kind of thing. And guys saying like, Oh, I killed my, this buck came running in. I shot my best buck this year. You just rattling, never rattled before. And to me, I was like, man, rattling tactics just seemed like something ever. I thought that was just something everybody did all the time. Um, maybe some people do, but I think that, uh, got a lot of success stories from that. So, um,

Thank you guys so much for sending that in. It always gets me pretty pumped up to see some of this stuff. And some guys, somebody sent me their first, I think it was their first or second elk general unit.

like a three 60 type bull, like, Hey, look what I found, you know? And it's like, man, that's pretty awesome. Um, maybe not for your first one, you know, you might be completely tainted, but you know, use these tactics found this bull. I'm like, Oh, that, that was, that was, uh, exceptional. Um, but yeah, I appreciate you guys all. Thanks so much for listening, checking things out. And until next week, let's, uh, let's go late season it up. I'll be out there. Catch you guys later.

Hey, we're going to take a little break here and talk about interstate batteries. Now, if you're like me, enjoying the great outdoors, you need gear that is as reliable as it gets. That's why I power my adventures with interstate batteries. I use interstate batteries in my boats. I use interstate batteries in my camper. Great for your truck, too. From Alaska to Montana, they're outrageously dependable.

Battery is essential. With over 150,000 dealer locations, finding one is easy. For all your vehicles, land or sea, choose Interstate. Head to interstatebatteries.com and find your power today. You ever get that feeling, the walls closing in, the concrete jungle suffocating you? You crave some wide open spaces, the chance to connect with nature, maybe in a spot all your own. Well, head over to land.com.

They've got ranches, forests, mountains, streams, you name it. Search by acreage. You can search by location. You can search by the kind of hunting and fishing you're dreaming of. Land.com. It is where the adventure begins.