- 828 - How Deer Hunters Are Killing Their Odds Without Realizing It | David Heatherly
David Heatherly has killed mature Alabama bucks for 31 years by doing the opposite of what most deer content preaches: he keeps it simple. In this one, we get into why hunters make deer smarter than they really are, how to read the freshest sign instead of overthinking it, and why grinding the same spot every weekend is the fastest way to educate a buck right out of the county.
What we get into:
- Why deer are simpler than you're making them
- Reading fresh sign and building off every hunt
- How hunting the same spot every weekend patterns the buck against you
- Thermal hubs, travel corridors, and setting up on the ground
- Why cameras lie, and when a daylight picture means go NOW
- Giving a spot three days, then moving on to the next one
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E828 - 1h 34m - Sep 21, 2026 - 827 - A Bowhunting Trick You'll Want to Use This Season!
This week we're back in the mailbag: your questions on early-season food, killing mature bucks without cameras, timing an out-of-state road trip, moon studies — and the noise trick that pulls curious deer right to your tree. Plus a round of hot takes to close it out.
In this episode we get into:
- This year's mast picture — red oaks dropping while a lot of white oaks aborted in the drought, and where that's pushing deer right now
- The opening-day call: scratch the itch on brand-new public ground, or wait for the ground you already know
- What "hunting aggressive" actually means — and when aggression costs you more than it gains
- A mature buck showing up on a travel-corridor camera: sit the corridor now, or push in before gun pressure hits
- Killing mature bucks where trail cameras aren't allowed — leaning on sign and habitat instead of pictures
- Passing young bucks on pressured public: worth it, or are you just handing him to the next guy?
- A first-ever mountain hunt — a 4-day game plan for terrain that looks nothing like the flatlands
- Timing a rut road trip around Halloween: pinch points, scrapes, rub lines, and how to find "the tree"
- Moon studies and deer movement — do they measure WHEN deer move, not just how far?
- Using natural woods sounds to pull deer in: dropping rocks out of the tree, rubbing two quarters like a squirrel cutting a nut, the acorn crunch, and the grunt call
- Andrew's one-stick setup and the cam-cleat system that makes it work
- The handkerchief-and-washer scent trick from the Bill Vale episode — how to use it, and how to check whether it's legal where you hunt
- Hot takes: is planting a food plot just baiting? Are trad-bow hunters better? And what percent of hunting is pure luck?
Watch Jacob's hunt for an Alabama swamp buck here - https://youtu.be/j_25tjxlk60
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E827 - 1h 21m - Sep 17, 2026 - 826 - One of the Best Public Land Bowhunters in the Deep South | Tony Myers
Tony Myers is one of the most accomplished public-land bowhunters in the Deep South — and one of the last of a dying breed. Self-taught, with no cameras and no mentor, he's spent a lifetime learning to read the woods and kill mature bucks. In this episode, Tony walks us through how he finds and kills giants on pressured public ground, the old-school way.
In this episode:
- How Tony taught himself to hunt and learned to never fear getting lost in big woods
- The way he breaks down and scouts ground he's never set foot on
- Reading sign that actually matters — rubs, rub lines, and why most scrapes are a nighttime story
- Using wind and thermals: finding thermal hubs and why he hunts higher
- Why a buck becomes a completely different animal once he's past 3½ — and how safety starts running everything
- How a mature buck disciplines himself even during the rut
- Why big bucks hold at the cover edge like a statue before they ever step out
- The truth about trail cameras — why they can't tell you where to hunt, and how mature bucks learn to dodge them
- Slipping in and slipping out: how to hunt a buck without ever letting him know he's hunted
- Why one mistake turns a mature buck into a survivalist
- Hunting break lines and edges instead of the open hardwoods
- Tony's closing philosophy: patience, keep it simple, don't overthink it
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E826 - 1h 42m - Sep 14, 2026 - 825 - Why Deer Duck Your Arrow Before They Ever Hear the Shot
The best time of year is here — and this week's Q&A digs into why deer "jump the string" and duck your arrow before they ever hear the shot, plus a full round of hot takes and hot tips from the Circle community.
In this episode:
- Why deer duck your arrow before the sound reaches them — the deer-vision science behind "jumping the string"
- Are big-buck killers just sitting in better spots? Consistency vs. hunting brand-new ground
- Time in the woods vs. woodsmanship — which matters more
- Why "too much information" is beating more hunters than too little
- Learning new property: walk every inch, or scout your way in and hang-and-hunt
- The bullet/caliber debate — diameter vs. cartridge, and bullet construction (ELD-X, cup-and-core, polymer tip, monolithic)
- Broadheads, shot placement, and what actually puts deer down fastest
- Early-season morning hunts from a Southern perspective
- A bed-to-food pattern take backed by four years of hard numbers
- Doe harvest and herd balance — what the biologists keep telling us
- Luck vs. providence, and a few Little Debbie hot takes to close it out
- Recap: the Zach Ferenbaugh ground-hunting episode, small-game season kicking off, dove opener, and an offshore trip
These questions came from our Circle community — come join the conversation and get your questions in for next week.
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Drop a comment with your take on any of these. And remember — stay southern.
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E825 - 1h 21m - Sep 10, 2026 - 824 - Everything to Know About Ground Hunting with Zach Ferenbaugh
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Zach Ferenbaugh of The Hunting Public has killed some of his biggest bucks without ever climbing a tree — slipping through cover on the ground, calling them into bow range, and getting close enough to reach out and touch them. In his first-ever sit-down with us, Zach breaks down the woodsmanship behind ground hunting whitetails: reading conditions and other animals, moving through the woods undetected, why deer can't see nearly as well as you think, and why getting closer actually makes a mature buck easier to kill.
If you love turkey hunting, hate sitting still, or just want another tool in the bag, this one's for you.
In this episode:
- Why Zach walked away from the tree stand — and started killing bigger bucks on the ground
- How to move through the woods: when to speed up, when to freeze, and how to use wind, rain, and terrain to time every step
- Reading other animals as alarms — including the woodpecker "deer alarm" that tips him off before a buck ever shows
- Why the nastiest, thickest cover gives the hunter the advantage, not the deer
- How deer really see (and why staying still beats staying hidden)
- Calling and rattling on the ground: making it sound real, and "becoming the deer"
- Deer drives, bumping deer on purpose, and why spooking them isn't the end of the world
- Gear, shot angles, single-bevel broadheads, and shooting through cover
Special thanks to the NWTF for providing us with a space to record this episode.
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NOTE: Not all advertisements run on this show are endorsed by The Southern Outdoorsmen Podcast unless an ad is read by one of the hosts.
Chapters:
00:00 The three-yard buck
01:12 Eight years to finally get Zach on
02:24 How ground hunting made deer hunting fun again
06:24 More opportunity, faster learning off the ground
09:08 The mental hurdle of leaving the tree
13:19 Moving through the woods: speed up or freeze
16:15 Using wind and conditions to time every move
19:34 The best teacher in the woods is the deer itself
34:13 Reading conditions to predict where deer bed
46:52 Reading other animals and the woodpecker "deer alarm"
54:05 Why the thicker the cover, the better
58:42 Staying patient with a buck at seven yards
1:03:05 Why deer can't see you as well as you think
1:11:45 The sign that says sit down — and the sign that lies
1:20:24 Deer drives and spooking deer on purpose
1:33:00 Becoming the deer: how Zach moves and calls
1:40:06 Calling on the ground and making rattling sound real
1:54:52 How turkeys and elk made him a better deer hunter
2:02:14 What Zach carries: the M2 pack, water, and gear
2:12:46 Shot angles, single-bevel broadheads, and shooting through cover
2:23:30 Do what makes hunting fun for you
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E824 - 2h 20m - Sep 7, 2026 - 823 - How He Knows a Giant Is There Before He Ever Hunts | Rusty & Russten Johnson [THROWBACK]
Rusty & Russten Johnson KNOW how to find mature bucks fast, and they've got the receipts. The summer we recorded this, he had close to 100 bucks over 120 inches on trail camera on PUBLIC land alone, including a 170-class deer and a near-200-inch giant, with no bait and no private honey holes. In this throwback from the back catalog (an episode that produced a pile of listener success stories the first time it aired), Russten and his dad Rusty break down the exact trail-camera system they use to locate big bucks before season — the ridge-running, road-hunting, net-casting method that turns a blank map into a hit list.
In this episode:
- The A/B camera-spot rating system — and why Ruston only hangs cameras on "compounding factor" locations
- Why you DON'T have to hike two miles deep — big bucks on cameras 10 feet off the road
- The four pillars: organization, technical proficiency, personal psychology, and being in the right spot
- Casting the net wide in August, then narrowing cameras onto a target buck as season closes in
- Why video mode beats picture mode — and what body language tells you a still photo never will
- Building years of history with individual public-land bucks (some 10 years old on the same ground)
- Buck personality types — homebodies vs. wanderers — and how to relocate a buck that disappears
- Reading a buck's morning direction to predict where he beds
- Magnetic Points of Reference (MPRs): the terrain magnets that pull deer in wide-open Kansas country
- The psychology of the check — why Ruston goes in LOUD with music blaring instead of sneaking
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Guest: Rusty & Russten Johnson — United Outdoors
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/united.outdoors/?hl=en
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E823 - 1h 19m - Sep 3, 2026 - 822 - The Best Day of the Year to Kill a Buck - and he'll Argue Any Biologist | Russ Seale
Russ Seale has killed more mature bucks on one specific set of conditions than any other day of the season — and he'll argue the point with any biologist who says otherwise. This is the 3020 Factor: rising barometric pressure behind a cold front, a 10–15° temperature drop, and a steady north/northwest wind. Last year it put two Boone & Crockett bucks on his wall seven days apart — a 190" non-typical and a 184". We get into all of it.
In this episode:
- The 3020 Factor explained — the exact pressure, wind, and temperature window Russ builds his season around
- Why he'll argue the "best day to move" with any deer scientist — and the two booners that back it up
- Reading flat river-bottom and Delta ground where "it all looks the same" — water crossings, subtle bluffs, and the transition edges deer travel like a highway
- Why he almost never hunts a feed tree unless it's on fire fresh — and what he hunts instead
- Doe groups as the one common denominator from the Deep South to the Midwest
- Hunting the mental game — why you choke when the giant finally steps out, and how to fix it before the moment comes
- How respect on public land opened the private-farm doors that produced both giants
- The 190" Kansas hunt, the 184" Missouri hunt, and the "curse" Russ finally broke
Guest: Russ Seale — High Pressure Hunting / the 3020 Factor
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@highpressurehunting
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E822 - 1h 42m - Aug 31, 2026 - 821 - Q&A + Hot Takes: Midday Bucks, White Lights, and Loud Entries
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E821 - 1h 46m - Aug 27, 2026 - 820 - Why Mature Bucks Get Up and Move at 10AM | Clay Harper
Clay Harper is a DIY traveling hunter who's turned breaking down brand-new ground into a system. He picks a state, a season, and a "theme" long before he ever sets foot on the property, then kills mature bucks on public land across the country. In this one, we get into his early-season playbook: how he reads unfamiliar woods fast, why he hunts the mid-morning window nobody else does, and the mindset shift that's put more bucks on the ground for him than any single tactic.
In this episode:
- Why mature bucks get up and move mid-morning in the early season — and the mineral craving behind it
- The "theme of the hunt" framework: deciding what you're hunting before you ever open a map
- Overcoming the objection — the sales-mindset question Clay asks himself before every hunt
- Reading a brand-new property from the food back to the bed using rub lines
- How to speed-scout unfamiliar ground and pick spots that set up in your favor
- Why big deer often hold close to access — and you don't have to hike miles deep
- Using a decoy and rattling to pull cruising bucks off the ridgetops out West
- Why he kills more deer on the ground than out of a treestand
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E820 - 1h 6m - Aug 24, 2026 - 819 - MAST REPORT & Early Season Q&A
We just rolled in from the Mobile Hunters Expo in Dalton, and the season is coming fast so this Thursday Q&A is a loaded one. Andrew and Jacob work through a stack of listener questions and Circle hot takes: reading a spotty mast year, finding bucks when the ground's too dry to track, velvet-buck decisions, doe harvest, neighbor management, and a run of rapid-fire hot takes that'll get the comments going. Grab a seat.
In this episode:
- Mobile Hunters Expo recap and this year's record crowd
- The mast crop report — why Virginia's looking spotty and central Alabama's holding solid
- How to hunt a bad acorn year — beech nuts, browse lines, greenbrier, and other overlooked food
- Finding buck tracks when it's too dry — track traps, leaf-blower tricks, and when to just run cameras
- HOT TAKE: if your whole season depends on the rut, you never learned to hunt October
- Velvet bucks — take him now, or wait for a hard-horned target during the season?
- How many does to actually harvest, and why you can't kill them out on one property
- HOT TAKE: encouraging your neighbor to shoot whatever he wants (reverse-psychology management)
- Velvet hunting West Tennessee public land — where to focus when bucks aren't leaving sign
- HOT TAKE: most hardcore public land hunters would secretly rather hunt private
- Is a thermal drone really any different than a livescope?
- Shooting a bow with no peep sight, brush guns and slug setups, and the high-fence debate
- How to physically prep for the season without living in the gym
- What counts as a deer hunting "hat trick" — and a look back at the Ben Davis feed-tree episode
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Have you tagged a deer using something you heard on the show?
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E819 - 1h 28m - Aug 20, 2026 - 818 - The Early Season Blueprint for Killing Mature Bucks | Ben Davis
Archery seasons are opening soon across the country, and early-season success comes down to one thing: acorns. Ben Davis of central Alabama joins us to break down his complete early-season feed tree blueprint — how to find the oaks that are actually hot, the overlooked sign that tells you a tree is about to fire before the deer even pattern it, and how to hunt it without blowing it out. It's a wide-open early-season how-to for every deer hunter, then a deep, technical dive into traditional bow hunting for those who want to take it all the way.
In this episode:
- How deer feeding on green acorns tells you a tree is 1–2 weeks from getting hot
- The oak-drop calendar — chestnut/mountain oaks, then white oaks, then red and water oaks late season
- Reading feed sign — busted hulls, fresh droppings, and ground disturbance under a hot tree
- Why your first sit on a fresh tree is almost always your best one
- Scouting before rain to erase your intrusion and get a free pass
- Late-morning feed tree kills — and why wind gets deer on their feet
- Creek crossings, entry and exit, and the water-scent problem that wrecks slam-dunk setups
- Isolated oaks vs. stands of oaks, and getting tight to bedding cover
- Getting into traditional archery without getting over-bowed — form and instinctive shooting
- Bare-shaft tuning, arrow spine, weight-forward setups, and picking a broadhead
- Sharpening fixed-blade heads and getting a true burr
- The story of a mature Alabama buck taken with a recurve — and the recovery that almost didn't happen
- Plus mentors, hard-earned lessons, and why he'd rather hunt sign than stare at a trail camera
Check out Ben's latest video here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRl90uaCoo0
Looking for land in Alabama's Black Belt region? Contact Ben here - https://www.whitetailproperties.com/agents/ben-davis-1
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Have you tagged a deer using something you heard on the show? Submit your listener success story here - Share Your Story Here
NOTE: Not all advertisements run on this show are endorsed by The Southern Outdoorsmen Podcast unless an ad is read by one of the hosts.
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E818 - 2h 4m - Aug 17, 2026 - 817 - Do Mature Bucks Recognize Your Stand?
Can a mature buck actually recognize your treestand, your climber, or your trail cameras? Andrew opens this one with a story about the biggest buck he'd ever seen in bow range — a buck that stepped out, locked onto the base of the tree he was sitting in, and eased off without a sound. It never saw him. It never smelled him. So what gave him away?
From there, Andrew and Jacob work through a stack of your questions from Circle and the website. Classic Thursday Q&A — straight from you guys.
In this episode:
- Do deer recognize your treestand & trail cameras?
- The buck that busted Andrew's climber — and what gave him away
- Shooting houses, box blinds & the black-window trick
- Why you're giving mature bucks too many chances to learn you
- Will a mature buck abandon his home range under pressure?
- The good bucks you never knew were on your property
- Could you actually pressure a buck out of his core?
- Do deer relocate, or just shut down and go thick?
- You jumped your target buck scouting — now what?
- Scouting in August & September on familiar ground
- Finding a bachelor group in a cool creek bottom
- Are you putting your trail cameras in the wrong spots?
- Cameras on feed trees: before or after they drop?
- Has extreme mobile hunting saved more bucks than it's killed?
- The Who / Where / When of killing a specific buck
- Do bucks bed in the same spot year after year?
- Thermals, wind & hunting tight to water
- Is killing a mature buck more luck or skill?
- Mast crop report
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Have you tagged a deer using something you heard on the show? Submit your listener success story here - Share Your Story Here
NOTE: Not all advertisements run on this show are endorsed by The Southern Outdoorsmen Podcast unless an ad is read by one of the hosts.
Our Sponsors:
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E817 - 1h 24m - Aug 13, 2026 - 816 - Why He Hasn't Been Smelled by a Deer in 8 Years | Eddie McRae
Eddie McRae has bowhunted the same Georgia farms for 40 years — and he says he hasn't been smelled by a deer in nearly a decade. No ozone units, no expensive sprays. Just a scent system he runs 365 days a year and a theory that most deer don't even know what a human smells like anymore.
In this episode of The Southern Outdoorsmen, Eddie (of Riverman Custom Calls) breaks down the self-taught, low-pressure approach that's put six mature bucks on the wall in the last four years. We cover deer this time - turkey's coming in a follow-up.
What we get into:
- How Eddie taught himself to hunt with no mentor, and why he switched from gun to bow in the late '80s
- The bow record he almost can't explain — hundreds of deer, and his take on staying calm at full draw
- Paper tuning, shooting at 60–80 yards, and building form you can repeat 100% of the time
- His arrow setup: 200 grains up front, high FOC, and why he thinks ultra-heavy arrows are a mistake
- The scent system in full — unscented everything, baking-soda washes, clothes that never enter the house, dog fennel cover scent, and the e-bike
- Why he believes deer have stopped recognizing "clean" human scent altogether
- The UV/detergent glow rabbit hole — the glove that busted him, the black-light test, and Dr. Karl Miller's UGA deer-vision work
- The four kinds of deer (wild, suburban, managed, public) and why behavior — not bait — drives everything
- Hunting a 400-acre farm like a sanctuary by doing the exact opposite of pressured neighbors
- Why mature bucks lock into tiny core areas — the 11-acre buck that never showed on another camera
- Cutting a ground blind into the nastiest cover on the property, and building a staging spot to kill a blown-out buck
- Hunting major weather swings and "hunting from the sofa" until a deer tells you it's time
- The get-in-get-it-done-get-out access philosophy (h/t Bobby Worthington)
- Eddie's most controversial take: why he doesn't believe the South has a definitive rut, and the fawn-drop evidence behind it
Check out Eddie's calls:
Riverman Custom Calls — https://rivermancustoms.com/
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Have you tagged a deer using something you heard on the show? Submit your listener success story here - Share Your Story Here
NOTE: Not all advertisements run on this show are endorsed by The Southern Outdoorsmen Podcast unless an ad is read by one of the hosts.
Our Sponsors:
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E816 - 1h 48m - Aug 10, 2026 - 815 - Which Kind of Public Land Produces the Biggest Bucks?
Is a National Forest really the best place to find a mature public-land buck? In this Q&A episode, Andrew and Jacob debate whether National Forests or Wildlife Management Areas consistently produce the biggest deer, discuss how hunting pressure shapes age structure, and tackle several listener hot takes covering roadbed hunting, scent control, hunting shows, antler growth, and more.
Topics discussed:
- National Forest vs. WMA for mature bucks
- What creates big-buck public land
- Roadbed & right-of-way hunting debate
- Hunting club vs. public land pressure
- Timing vs. scent control
- Can hunting shows teach new hunters?
- Summer antler growth update
- Rubs vs. scrapes
- Mobile Hunters Expo & Circle updates
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Our Sponsors:
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E815 - 58m - Aug 6, 2026 - 814 - This Old-Timer Kills Bucks on His Feet, Not From a Stand | Chuck Bailey
Chuck Bailey (Old Timer Outdoors) has killed dang near every deer on his wall while standing on his own two feet — not from a box stand, not over a corn pile. In this episode, the Louisiana woodsman breaks down the on-the-ground hunting skills most of us have forgotten, why the easy way is quietly making us worse hunters, and a few old-timer scent tricks you've probably never heard of.
In this episode:
- Why Chuck refuses to hunt from a box stand — and how "devolving" back to hunting on foot teaches you more about deer than any feeder ever will
- The forgotten woodsmanship of reading the woods: squirrels, blue jays, dropping acorns, and the little signs that tell you where deer actually are
- Slip hunting a square mile until you know it cold — Chuck's approach to learning ground and killing bucks on the move
- The contrarian scent trick: using human hair from the barbershop (and mothballs) to steer deer with the wind and push them right where you want them
- Team drives and working the draws — how Chuck and his crew run deer from one green head to the next
- How the timber cutter-head machine and the loss of woods burning reshaped the habitat — and what it did to deer and turkey
- The bent-sight bow story — three arrows, one very confused deer
- Chuck's single best piece of advice: for every day you hunt the corn pile, force yourself to spend one day walking and looking instead
Chuck Bailey — Old Timer Outdoors:
https://www.tiktok.com/@oldtimeroutdoors
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Our Sponsors:
* Check out MyBookie and use my code SOUTHERNOUTDOORSMEN for a great deal: https://www.mybookie.ag
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E814 - 1h 36m - Aug 3, 2026 - 813 - Can You REALLY Kill Mature Bucks from Permanent Stands? (Outside the Rut)
This week we’re diving into another round of listener-submitted Hot Takes and Q&A! We debate whether it’s really possible to consistently kill mature bucks from permanent stands outside the rut, discuss the biggest factor separating consistently successful hunters from everyone else, answer questions about saddle hunting, sanctuaries, and dream hunts, and share a few stories.
In this episode:
- Is it virtually impossible to kill mature bucks from a permanent stand?
- The biggest factor behind consistent deer hunting success
- Saddle vs. lock-on stands after several seasons of experience
- Why “sanctuaries” don’t always work the way hunters think
- Our thoughts on summer scrapes
- Favorite dream hunts if money wasn’t a factor
- Africa, elk, bighorn sheep, and other bucket-list adventures
- Plus another round of listener hot takes and deer hunting questions
Join our Circle Community here - https://linkly.link/2o0Sn
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Check out Latitude Outdoors for your mobile hunting gear - https://2ly.link/1zVDI
Use code TSOP15 for a discount on Mossy Oak - https://linkly.link/2ERb8
Use code SOUTHERN20 for a discount on all Vortex apparel, including eyewear
Have you tagged a deer using something you heard on the show? Submit your listener success story here - Share Your Story Here
NOTE: Not all advertisements run on this show are endorsed by The Southern Outdoorsmen Podcast unless an ad is read by one of the hosts.
Our Sponsors:
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E813 - 58m - Jul 30, 2026 - 812 - Everyone Hides Their Scent. He Uses His to Kill Bucks | Wes Moye
Wes Moye is back in the studio, and this time we're breaking down the "Wolf Pack" - the group hunting system he's spent 40 years refining to kill mature, pressured bucks that get bumped by all the other hunters in the woods. Instead of hiding his scent like everyone's taught, Wes weaponizes it. Here's the full breakdown, plus a whole lot of hard-earned wisdom (and a few stories that'll make you laugh).
In this episode:
- The Wolf Pack method explained — how a group uses human scent (not leg power) to move pressured bucks toward waiting hunters
- Where the idea came from — the African painted wolves documentary that made it all click
- Why it's NOT a "man drive" — and how Wes answers the critics
- Reading pressured deer — why you should treat every deer like it's already been hunted
- Finding the exits — low spots, drainages, and cover that funnel bucks out of thick cover
- Deer pattern hunters — Wes's camera experiment proving it, and how he flips it to kill target bucks
- The Art of War in the deer woods — deception, feints, and beating a buck at his own game
- Hunting thick cover — why the nastiest bedding areas hold the biggest bucks
- Knowledge vs. wisdom — why applied experience beats anything you'll read or watch
- Timing the rut in Alabama and adapting your setup through every phase of the season
- Running Wolf Pack fundamentals solo when you don't have a group
- Plus camp stories, hard lessons, and why the bad days teach you the most
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Use code SOUTHERN20 for a discount on all Vortex apparel, including eyewear
Have you tagged a deer using something you heard on the show? Submit your listener success story here - Share Your Story Here
NOTE: Not all advertisements run on this show are endorsed by The Southern Outdoorsmen Podcast unless an ad is read by one of the hosts.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out MyBookie and use my code SOUTHERNOUTDOORSMEN for a great deal: https://www.mybookie.ag
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E812 - 2h 6m - Jul 27, 2026 - 811 - Why You Can Find More Deer CLOSER to Roads
GPS-collar research has revealed some surprising truths about mature bucks—and much of it flies in the face of conventional hunting wisdom. In this episode, we break down what the data actually says, how it has changed the way we hunt, and why some of the best deer in the woods may be much closer than you think.
In this episode:
- Why mature bucks are often found surprisingly close to roads and parking areas
- What years of GPS collar research has taught us about deer movement
- The biggest misconceptions hunters have about bedding areas
- Why focusing on individual buck beds may not be the best strategy
- How terrain and habitat work together to influence deer behavior
- Why hunting success involves more luck than many hunters want to admit
- Practical ways to use deer behavior research to become a better hunter
- How to think differently about pressure, access, and overlooked areas
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Have you tagged a deer using something you heard on the show? Submit your listener success story here - Share Your Story Here
NOTE: Not all advertisements run on this show are endorsed by The Southern Outdoorsmen Podcast unless an ad is read by one of the hosts.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out MyBookie and use my code SOUTHERNOUTDOORSMEN for a great deal: https://www.mybookie.ag
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E811 - 1h 14m - Jul 23, 2026 - 810 - How He Finds Bigger Bucks on Public Than Private | Chris Jones
Today, Chris Jones of South Carolina joins us to discuss what it really takes to consistently find mature whitetails on public land. From breaking common hunting myths to reading overlooked terrain features, Chris shares the mindset and woodsmanship that have helped him tag big bucks where most hunters assume the odds are stacked against them.
In this episode:
- Why Chris believes he’s found bigger bucks on public land than he ever did on private
- The biggest misconceptions hunters have about public land pressure
- How to identify overlooked areas where mature bucks actually live
- Why miles walked often matter more than hours spent in a tree
- The scouting strategy that changed the way Chris hunts
- Using topography, access, and human behavior to your advantage
- Why “hard-to-reach” isn’t always as far as people think
- The importance of woodsmanship over relying solely on technology
- How Chris approaches postseason scouting and e-scouting together
- Common mistakes hunters make when searching for mature buck bedding
- Developing confidence to hunt your own plan instead of following the crowd
- Practical advice for becoming a more consistent deer hunter, regardless of where you hunt
Check out Chris' YouTube channel here - https://www.youtube.com/@Simpleman667
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Have you tagged a deer using something you heard on the show? Submit your listener success story here - Share Your Story Here
NOTE: Not all advertisements run on this show are endorsed by The Southern Outdoorsmen Podcast unless an ad is read by one of the hosts.
Our Sponsors:
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E810 - 1h 56m - Jul 20, 2026 - 809 - What Everyone Gets WRONG About Bait, Minerals & Food Plots
This week on the Thursday Q&A, we’re tackling some of the biggest debates in deer hunting—from bait, minerals, and food plots to summer scouting, scent, and mature buck behavior. We also answer a listener question about hunting rocky, mountainous terrain in Arkansas and share how we’d approach finding and killing an older buck in big-woods country.
In this episode:
- Do minerals, Deer Cane, and attractants actually work?
- The biggest mistake hunters make when baiting deer
- Why mature bucks prioritize security over food
- Are food plots overrated compared to bedding cover?
- Common deer club management mistakes that keep older bucks from surviving
- Does artificial deer scent help or hurt your odds?
- How to properly use scent if you choose to hunt with it
- Summer scouting vs. in-season scouting—which is more effective?
- Camouflage vs. solid colors: does it really matter?
- How we’d hunt rocky mountainous terrain in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas
- Finding habitat diversity, terrain funnels, and mature bucks travel in big woods
- Plus upcoming events, World Deer Expo, and Mobile Hunters Expo updates.
Join our Circle Community here - https://the-southern-outdoorsmen.circle.so/checkout/join-the-community
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Use code “SOUTHERN” for a discount on Whitetail Hill food plot seed & trees - https://linkly.link/2myBP
Use the promo code “southern” for a discount on your OnX Hunt membership here - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1tyfm
Check out Latitude Outdoors for your mobile hunting gear - https://2ly.link/1zVDI
Use code TSOP15 for a discount on Mossy Oak - https://linkly.link/2ERb8
Use code SOUTHERN20 for a discount on all Vortex apparel, including eyewear
Have you tagged a deer using something you heard on the show? Submit your listener success story here - Share Your Story Here
NOTE: Not all advertisements run on this show are endorsed by The Southern Outdoorsmen Podcast unless an ad is read by one of the hosts.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out MyBookie and use my code SOUTHERNOUTDOORSMEN for a great deal: https://www.mybookie.ag
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* Check out TruDiagnostic and use our code SOUTHERNOUTDOORSMEN for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E809 - 58m - Jul 16, 2026
