Most people want to be great at something they care about or put a large amount of time into. Deer hunting is no different. On part 1 of this series we looked at four factors keeping people from achieving this, and in this article we’ll look at two more and some actionable steps hunters can take to beat these. It might not be the goal of all, but I think most want to see greater results when deer hunting, and if that’s you, I think you’re in the right place.  Make sure to check out episode 1 and 2 of this series “to be a greater deer hunter” to get caught up, but here is a brief summary to help. 

First we defined “great” specific to deer hunting as having a consistently high success rate on mature deer that’s better than most, and better than you used to be. I also stressed that many don’t get to the ranks of the top few as far as whitetail hunting goes, but not because it’s impossible. The reason is because we have a hard ceiling we keep smacking our heads against, and it’s keeping us from rising to a higher level. Me included. The first four planks in the ceiling, or limiting factors that I’ve identified based on years of observation and personal experience are: ego, physical shape, lack of plans, and lack of systems. If you have some to add, feel free to do that in the comments wherever you are listening, I’d love to hear them. But now, let’s look at our last 2 and some solutions to help us on our way. 

Plank #5: Location, location, location. Realtors know this, but sometimes deer hunters overlook it. Ego getting in the way again? Possibly so. The reality is that different areas of the country, and even each state, are much better for deer hunting than others. There are a lot of factors to a prime location, but the main ones are climate (and harshness of winters), soil nutrient levels (for body and antler growth), food quality and availability (related to soil, where usually areas with at least some agriculture are better), and human intrusion. For example, if you look at the Boone and Crockett national map for whitetail entries, and compare this to the soybean map of the nation, you’ll see something very interesting - they are almost the same exact map! My interpretation is that the same good soils that grow these crops grow good deer too. These areas have high protein foods (which are soybeans in this case) that can grow big deer,  as well as enough available land and good cover for deer to reach a mature age. 

You’ll also notice that the southern third my home state of Michigan has many more buck entries in the Michigan record book than counties to the north due to these factors. I’m not saying that being a “greater hunter” just has to do with where you hunt, though. It may be harder to shoot a two year old in a highly pressured area than a four year old deer in a low-pressure setting, that’s for sure. What I’m pointing out is that the consistent success relates to areas - those with healthy deer herds and the landscape to grow healthy, older deer. The hunters that have consistent success on mature deer know this, and concentrate on those areas. To continue to bash one’s head into this plank and expect a high-pressure, low-nutrient area to produce consistent success on mature deer isn’t a reality. The deer have to be there, or be capable of being grown - meaning the food, soil, and management of large areas that allow for this. So take stock of where you hunt, and your expectations. Maybe this means instead of using inches as your greatness criteria, or points, you survey your deer herd and shoot for the top 10-15% of bucks. The point is, have realistic goals for your area because you can’t shoot what isn’t there. And, you may have to seek out better, smarter hunting locations to meet your goals. 

Plank #6: Lack of Education. Having a doctorate doesn’t make you a great hunter, nor does being a school dropout doom you to be a poor one, but your Deer IQ does matter. Think of this as “street smarts,” or “working knowledge” in this area. The more you know about deer in general, hunting tactics, proper use of gear, and more importantly the more you apply these and learn in the field, the better off you are. Because of the internet and social media, there are many out there now that think listening to a podcast or having the popular gear makes you somehow a great hunter. It does not. This takes years of application, personal experience, analysis, and success as well as failure to obtain. You can shortcut the process though, and here is the key - through good education and focused application of what you learn. That’s where Deer IQ comes in. 

We all learn in similar ways, and failure to learn comes by removing a step in the tier of growth. I’ve boiled it down for hunters to keep it simple, and I’ll also add it is an upward growth spiral. It’s on our website if you want to see it visually, but The cycle is: Educate (through learning resources and in-the-field experiences), Grow (through application of this education and analysis of your successes and failures), and Share (by teaching of acquired wisdom to others to cement in our minds what we’ve learned). Any break in this cycle will stunt or stop growth altogether and acts as a plank in the ceiling keeping us from being a greater hunter. For example, if you stop inputting good educational material, or stop having new experiences in the field, you obviously cannot possibly apply them and process these new experiences into new long-term hunting wisdom. You’re stuck. Or, if you never share by teaching anyone else from your vast knowledge, it doesn’t mean you can’t learn more, but it somehow slows down the process, much like trying to overfill a cup with water. There’s no room for the new stuff. Let me give you a different example - if you want to be a great guitarist, but get to a mediocre level then stop practicing or learning new chords, then you obviously will not get any better, and in fact will probably lose some of what you already have. Deer hunting is no different. 

There may be other barriers, but these are some of the biggies. Now let’s look at a few actions to break through these barriers and raise your ceiling of potential. 

Busting Barriers: First, we all really have to sit down and reflect on our experience, knowledge, and be honest about where we are on the “deer hunter growth continuum” from part 2 of this series. If you need to, go back and check that out.  Also, you’ll have some areas of strength, and some that are weaknesses, so try to break it down into smaller categories. For example, do you know a lot about food plots but very little about hunting public land? These two may be very different stages or levels of expertise for you. So take some time, get out a journal - like our Deer IQ journal linked below, and grade yourself on the above six areas (ego, physical shape, planning, systems, location, and education). Once you’ve done this honestly, and that is key - being honest with ourselves about where we really are - you will see key areas of weakness that have great potential.  The truth, will set you free, and allow you to devise a plan.

By doing this you’ve just accomplished tackling #1, your ego. Now, an easy next step is getting a workout routine that focuses on strength, agility, and endurance. It’s important to have all three, and also important that you can sustain this routine over the long haul.  It’s also very important that you shift your mindset to seeing yourself as an athlete-hunter, and get away from the weekend warrior mentality. As you get older, you can’t just can’t take shortcuts and expect not to pay for it. Make a workout routine part of your schedule and part of your lifestyle. I suggest a plan that allows for five days a week of a half-hour minimum. You can decide how much is concentrated on strength, agility, and endurance based on where you need the most improvement. Then, once you reach a certain fitness level, it’s much easier to maintain and sticking to this becomes fairly automatic. Not that it’s ever easy, but it will become less of a struggle and just a part of your overall hunting lifestyle. Trust me, this will allow you to function at a much higher level and do what you enjoy longer in life, and also save season wrecking mistakes.  So get a routine and get to it!

Next, plan out your hunts - how you will hunt your areas (whether private or public) and prepare the land as much as possible far in advance. Winter and spring are great times for this, and summer can work too. The main thing is to get detailed about your strategy for every spot you will hunt. Make a spreadsheet and set rules for yourself about what time of year each spot hunts best (like early season, pre-rut, rut, or post-rut). Write down the best winds to hunt them and winds you won’t hunt them, and exact entry and exit routes you will take based on the conditions. If private land, start to educate yourself about land improvements you can make to encourage the deer to do what you want them to do that will also help keep them on your land as much as possible. Set short and long term project goals and begin to implement these, keeping track of what’s working and what isn’t for future reference and quicker future improvements. There are a ton of resources out there for education with this, just set a plan and be careful to listen to true experts. 

Regarding systems, I suggest that you identify your top one or two and start to get these systems going or refined to perfection. Pick off others as you finish these. I’d personally start with a scent control system if you’re lax in this area or don’t have one at all. Just being “downwind” is not enough, so learning about ozone and activated carbon, proper washing of clothes and gear, getting a scent-free storage system, and figuring how you’ll maintain this throughout a long season is a great place to start. Think about this, as the hunting season wears on, our endurance tends to wane as the season grinds and we tend to cut corners. And odors tend to rise on gear from use. At the same time, alertness of deer is increasing due to general hunting pressure from you and others - a bad combination. So having a system in place that you can stick to religiously throughout the season is critical. There are many other systems as I mentioned in episode one of this series, but with limited time I think you get the point. As a side note, I have a scent free regimen that works very well for me, as well as a dead-silent regimen and you’ll find those both in the blog and yes, linked below.

Now, as far as location, I suggest to start looking around for other places, both private and public, that you can hunt - that hold the type of deer you want to kill. This requires effort, yes, but is a key component to being a greater hunter. You simply have to have great places to hunt, so start keying on areas of notoriously good hunting, with low pressure, that have good food sources in the neighborhood, and especially ones that contain thick cover to hold deer. I’ve observed that hunters with the most consistent luck usually have large sanctuaries on or nearby the properties they hunt, so keep this in mind. Lastly keep the education cycle of Educate, Grow, Share going. Find some good mentors and resources like Deer iQ,  dive in head first, apply this knowledge and analyze your outcomes, and then share this with family, friends, mentees, and anyone else who will listen. I believe these things, applied consistently over time, will truly help any hunter break through these unseen barriers, and potentially become a much much greater deer hunter.  

OUTRO: So, there are the 6 barriers I think if we can break, will take us a long ways. Here are your High IQ takeaways and challenges.

1.List 2 barriers you feel busting would help you the most.

2.Write down a couple solutions that are action-based that you can take to begin busting these right now, and get started doing them.

3.Join our private forum and start sharing these with other like - minded hardcore hunters. Yes, it’s part of the process and will help your growth tremendously.

See you on the next podcast as we jump headfirst into our next series - To Be in a Deer’s Head. We have some great expert guests,   you won’t want to miss it. See you then!