The Garden State Outdoorsmen Podcast
Welcome to the Garden State Outdoorsmen Podcast, the ultimate New Jersey podcast for outdoor enthusiasts! Presented by Boondocks Hunting, we dive deep into the world of hunting, fishing, conservation, and everything that makes the Garden State a unique outdoor haven. Join us as we explore local hotspots, interview seasoned experts, share hunting tips and tactics, and discuss the latest in outdoor gear and regulations. Whether you’re a seasoned outdoorsman or new to the wild, our episodes bring you closer to New Jersey’s rich outdoor culture and community. Tune in and get ready to chase the unknown!
The Garden State Outdoorsmen Podcast
The 30-Year-Old Rookie: How Joe Arabia Became a Jersey Rut Warrior
The unexpected journey from non-hunter to passionate outdoorsman lies at the heart of our conversation with Joe Arabia from Northern Jersey Outdoors. Having only started hunting six years ago at age 30, Joe offers a refreshing perspective that breaks from the typical "lifelong hunter" narrative that dominates outdoor media.
Joe's story begins with a surprise 30th birthday gift – apprentice hunting permits from his cousin who had been trying to get him into the woods for years. That first hunt, watching a doe approach through lightly falling snow, his heart pounding so hard he could barely hold his shotgun steady, changed everything. "It opened up a different part of my brain," Joe explains, "I can't picture living without it anymore." This transformation from complete novice to successful trophy hunter provides a roadmap for late-blooming outdoorsmen everywhere.
We dive deep into the unique challenges of hunting Northern New Jersey, where mature bucks are scarce, predator pressures are high, and deer populations are concentrated in suburban areas where hunting isn't permitted. Joe shares the thrilling story of his 133-inch buck, taken during the rut after calling in the dominant deer who came charging in to chase off a younger rival. The conversation flows through tactical discussions about saddle hunting versus traditional tree stands, the effectiveness of different hunting strategies in the Garden State, and the complex relationship between hunting pressure and deer behavior. Whether you're hunting the crowded Northeast or just curious about regional differences in deer patterns, Joe's insights reveal how adaptability and persistence lead to success.
Ready to elevate your hunting game? Subscribe to the Garden State Outdoorsman Podcast for more authentic conversations with hunters who understand the unique challenges and rewards of Eastern whitetail hunting. Follow Joe's adventures on Instagram at Northern NJ Outdoorsman, and join us at our upcoming summer archery event to continue the conversation in person!
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Welcome back to the Garden State Outdoorsman Podcast. I'm your host, frank Bustica, I'm your co-host, mike Nitre, and today we have a very special guest, mr Joe Arabia from Northern Jersey Outdoors. Joe, welcome to the show bud.
Speaker 3:Hey guys, thanks for having me on, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:No, appreciate you coming on, man, as we were just talking having a little fun before the podcast. But uh, joe, for the people who don't know you, why don't you just give everybody like a little background on yourself?
Speaker 3:Sure, uh, well, I guess, like my Instagram handle says, I uh, I live in Northern New Jersey where I uh, I uh hunt as well. Um, I guess my, my story is kind of a little different than most people, I feel like, who hunt. I just started hunting when I was 30. I'm currently 36. So I've only been hunting for like six years.
Speaker 3:My cousin was the one who really got me into it. My cousin and my two uncles, so his father and then our uncle. They hunted their whole lives and growing up they were like oh, you should come, you should come, you should come, you know, and I just I never, I never did. I played sports and stuff like that, but I never, I never went with them. And then it was kind of funny. We had my now wife. She was my girlfriend then, but my now wife had a surprise 30th birthday party for me and my cousin got me a card and in the card were permits because the apprenticeship had just started, so they had implemented the apprenticeship, so he was able to buy, you know, permits for me and uh, and he, you know, he decided to be, you know, it was like I'll, I'll be, you know, the, your, your guide, you know you have these apprentice permits. Um, why don't you just come out with me? You know we'll, we'll, we'll have fun. So I was like, okay, you know. And uh, boy, I think it was shotgun season and my first deer was a big old doe. She came in and it was like just lightly snowing I'll never forget it and my heart was just beating out of my chest. I didn't know whether I was going to be able to hold on to the gun or not. My chest was beating so hard, my adrenaline was going so fast. And you know, he talked me through it, calmed me down and uh, pulled the trigger and she just fell right there.
Speaker 3:Man and I, I've been hooked ever since with deer on. I just been obsessed, obsessed with deer hunting. Um, you know, there's nothing, there's just nothing else like it. You know I uh, I mean I, I got, I got some other hobbies. You know I like to bodybuild and you know work out and stuff, but there's just something primal. You know it opens up To me. I feel like it just opened up a different part of my brain where it's just like I can't picture living without it anymore, to be able to go hunt and chase.
Speaker 3:And when people ask me why I, you know, I feel like I, uh, it's because, like, you get out of it what you put into it. You know. So if you want you know, if you don't want to scout and and you don't want to do anything, you just want to go sit in the woods and and enjoy being out, uh, outdoors and in nature, all the more power to you, you know, like it, that alone is is, to me, is great with, you know, the uh technology age now, like everybody's just kind of sitting indoors. I'm also a, uh, a nurse. I work in the emergency department, uh, so, you know, I, I see that all the time, like people just, you know, decaying away but um, uh, yeah, so, uh, and now I don't know, yeah, so, um, uh, what was I, what was I saying right before that? Oh my God.
Speaker 1:No, you were. You were talking about like how you were nursed and how you saw everybody like like start, oh, so you get everybody like like start, yeah, so, oh, so you get out what you put in right, so but if you put in the time.
Speaker 3:If you put in the time, I really feel like you know, you know, and if your goal is to get more mature, older deer and stuff like that, if you put in the time, scouting and and and doing the work and the research, like you know, you get out of it what you put in and you are able to put down mature bucks. But I also I like the fact that you can grow in hunting too, right. So, like I think, at first, like I said, my first deer was a doe. I was so happy with it. That memory will always be with me, you know, and that's what I love about it. So, yeah, that's just that's a little bit about, about me.
Speaker 2:No, that's hey, that's a heck of a story, but like yeah, really especially six years real quick Frank the six years, like I would have never have guessed, like you know, when I first started following you on Instagram. And like I would have never have guessed like six years is still a very short time. I mean, I know we're talking before the show about turkey hunting, and you know how it's so and don't be wrong.
Speaker 2:I think turkey hunting definitely, I think, is something that's going to take people a little longer to get their first bird and everything like that. But I think the hardest thing about deer hunting is really not deer hunting itself, but where do you go like? What are all the? Rules and everything like that. Like you know where do I bring, you know the butcher like how do I? How?
Speaker 3:do I cut the.
Speaker 2:If you didn't grow up do it. How do? How do I cut this thing? Where do I take it to the butcher? Like I think a lot of what makes deer hunting so hard and why people have a tough time getting into it is kind of the the stuff before you actually go on your your first hunt and everything like that, and then the whole scouting thing and all these different things. Like I I think there's there's just so much that you need to know before you actually go deer hunting that if you didn't grow up in it or you know you have somebody close to you and everything like that that makes makes it extremely hard to get into.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I definitely agree with you and that's why I say like I was definitely blessed, or am blessed, with my cousin. You know we're really good friends and we're close and he really, you know the first I would say two years like held me by the hand basically and walked me through the woods and was like you know, this is a deer rub, this is a deer scrape. You know these are droppings. You know, um, basically, you know you name it, like he, he taught it to me, uh, my uncle too and uh, you know where to go, what's public land, what you know what permits you need to get for which uh area. You know, by me, there's a lot of Newark watershed, you know, so, getting that permit and where you can go to hunt and set up trees. He taught me how to set up tree stands and stuff like that.
Speaker 3:So, as a, as an older guy, getting into getting into hunting, I think you know that's that's key really is trying to find somebody that's that's willing to do that. I don't and I don't know if that's really easy or not. I don't. I probably it's probably not, you know, but I know there's a lot of programs out there, um, but so I do suggest anybody who you know is is a little older and not that you know, being in your thirties, is old, but you know, for hunting, usually people start hunting when they're 10, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I think I was going when I was like five.
Speaker 3:Right, exactly. So you know, sometimes I feel like maybe I missed out on that. But then sometimes I think like I don't know if I'd be that passionate about it now if I had started when I was like five or eight, you know like I probably would have been, would be right.
Speaker 2:But, like I, don't know, I probably would have been would be right.
Speaker 1:But like who knows, Over the years, it only burns, it only grows.
Speaker 2:I think what I've heard from a lot of people, especially you know, doing this podcast, you know both podcasts now for so many years is that you know, correct me especially for you, frank, you're, you're someone that's been doing it for I imagine Squatch or something like you go through these dips, especially like when you become a teenager and you know when you, you know, hit that a young adult and everything like that and you're trying to now balance. You know school, social life, like everything like that, and then you go to go to college. I usually hear a lot of people say that they get into it. You know they have a lot of fun, but then other things take over, as as a kid and everything like that. And honestly, I think hunting especially in in, you know, takes a lot of effort and it takes a lot of time, especially once you really get dialed and dedicated into it. You know then it's like, oh, this is a full, it's a full, oh this is a full time job.
Speaker 1:It really is.
Speaker 2:It really is so this is the only thing that we're you know. This is what we're thinking about. This is everything that's going into it. So you see, those hunters that started at five, they go, they hunt and then they take a huge dip. And then I've talked to a lot of people that they'll take a couple years off, especially around college time and everything like that.
Speaker 3:And then they get really back into it and then they really hit it hard like okay, like now I'm obsessed, like we're also out of college now and everything starts burning hot again, yeah yeah, I don't think I ever lost a man.
Speaker 1:I lost a lot of girlfriends for that really hell yeah, man, like I was, I was always on the go man, I always I just wanted to be out there, especially in high school. Forget about it. Like I was, you know I was chasing girls. But then, you know, come deer season, I was like, oh, gotta go.
Speaker 2:You know, like that's it, oh yeah, I think for me, honestly, like I don't know, like and you know all the listeners and you know that no, and joe, for you, like I was a big time hockey player, like that's what I did, like I big, big time hockey player, like friends playing the nhl and everything like that, like so it was full-time job. I honestly could say in a big part why I've fallen on and I still love hockey and I still watch it, but I don't care about playing really anymore. And what has also helped my retirement from hockey was hunting and like I honestly, like people are like, oh well, do you wish you were in the NHL?
Speaker 2:like yes, just so I can have money, so I can go it's not necessarily because I want to like and yeah, cool, it'd be pretty damn cool to play in the NHL. Don't get me right. It's not necessarily because I want to like and yeah, cool, it'd be pretty pretty damn cool to play in the NHL, don't get me wrong. But it's not like I would be able to go to Alaska, like I would be able to go to the Midwest, I'd have my own properties and everything Like.
Speaker 2:I kind of think of it now as like, all right, how is that going to help me? Like I'll have all the money I need, like I can get a new pro every year and everything like that. You know, and the people like, oh, you know, you want your kids to play hockey. I'm like, yeah, I do, but like and like, I'm really like I really want them to hunt, but I want them to play hockey and stuff like, but I really like, I want to show my kids, you know, and I want them to be as obsessed about hunting as as much as I am, especially, you know, hopefully I can pass a lot of this stuff down to to them. And maybe you know this company with the podcast and whatever the future holds and everything like that. You know, it's, it's crazy, but you know, I frank, I completely get you. Like I, I can only imagine what girls would have been.
Speaker 1:They would have been like, yeah, no yeah, they're like no, we can't you're, you're going again.
Speaker 3:No, that's it, you know I like, I like how you said you want, you know, you want to pass it down to your kids and I can see the the passion in your eyes, uh, about that, because I I think about the same thing with my two-year-old. You know he's only two, but I keep saying to my wife I'm like man, I really hope he wants to hunt you know, like man, I really hope he wants to come out you.
Speaker 1:You don't want to force them, but you're like, please want to do it Right, right, cause I feel like if you force things on on kids like you're right, I don't, they don't ever want to do it, right.
Speaker 3:So I keep saying, man, I hope, I hope he does, and I, I tag him along, I mean to pick him up, but he doesn't want to be picked up, you know. So instead of a you know half hour thing, it's taken like you know, but uh, I get him out.
Speaker 3:I just get him out there and uh, and I hope the same thing. I think that's another thing, that right, that, and I keep this is how I I think about it to myself. I'm like that's another aspect of hunting that will soon be unlocked for me right like now I can pass what I've learned from my cousin, my uncles. Now I can pass that down to to my son, hopefully, and I think that's one of the the the great things about it, you know, so I I get what you're saying yeah, no, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Because, like even with me, like every chance I get I take my, my four-year-old son, out with me. He's always wants to take pictures there. We, you know if we got a track one scouting like he's, that's one thing. He's always with me, always wants to go, that's awesome. I mean that's. I'm looking forward like I can't wait until he can actually go out with me. Believe it or not, me and one of my buddies were actually talking about trying to bring him out this year. Like set up just a ground blind. See how he does, like I don't care if he spooks. I'm like put the ground blind somewhere. We're like I really don't care about knowing where we're going to see those, at least you know, entertain.
Speaker 3:You want him to be yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and just see how you know, see how he is Like, see if he can, you know, learn to be climbing, because at the end of the day, he's a kid, you know Right.
Speaker 3:So that was going to be my next question. Do you think at four, like he's?
Speaker 1:old enough to stay quiet. I don't, no, I think he needs like another year or two. But you know, I I kind of want to start him like sooner than later. So I kind of want to just get out there and like at least take him for like one sit this year or whatever. See, see how he does. If he does good, then like I'll keep bringing him.
Speaker 1:You know, like yeah and you know, I'm sure he he's gonna love it. I'm sure he'll get bored, but like, that's what you got snacks for and everything like. It should all work.
Speaker 3:Sometimes I get bored but like that's what you got snacks for and everything Like. It should all work. I get bored sitting up in the tree too. Yeah Right, it happens.
Speaker 1:It happens, listen. I took my daughter out. I mean she's, she's turning 16 now. I took her when she was, I think, like eight or nine and she was fine until, like, all her snacks were gone, and then she was like all right, daddy, we're done make sure you always have more snacks than you actually need. Just the right yeah, yeah, I learned the hard way but I, you know, I've listened to.
Speaker 2:You know I don't have kids and everything like that. I work with kids and and things like that. So, but you know, always the key is kind of like, yeah, you don't want to force it, you want to and take him out that one time just to see how he does, and you know what, even if he does have, like you know he had, he's Perfect. You know what I mean, which I don't really believe in anything being, but Say he does just a phenomenal job. You know, if he Just keeps asking and you want him to Keep asking, asking, asking, so then Right, when you bring them another time, it's like all right, this is something that I look forward to and you know it's one. It's creating memories, but it's also now him pushing that he wants to go, especially once it gets a little bit, a little taste of it and everything like that. Hopefully, and as much as hopefully there's deer and everything like that, because we all know, how hunting can go like it gets boring and it's action.
Speaker 2:It does get tough and I always deer hunting is hard to get people into like. If you're getting people into hunting like man waterfowl hunting is like one of my favorite things to do yeah, that's something I've never done, but I heard it's fun.
Speaker 3:I heard it's fun and it's the interaction. It's because of the interaction.
Speaker 2:It's because you get to talk and you communicate, you're, you're laughing, you're having a good time, you're not really worrying about anything until the birds are coming in.
Speaker 3:Right, right you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:So it's completely different with deer hunting. You know and, like you said, you want to take them to a spot that you don't have to worry about which you don't, because at the end day, like we know how these bucks are, you know, we know how, like the mid minute, something is off or they hear something or smell something or whatever you're not going to see a deer and and you know anyone who takes their cat out there, they may not have the fun because they want to see animals no, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Or the reverse side is that, as you can go to a spot where, where you don't think he is, all of a sudden he shows up and you're please be quiet you know, any given, any given day, right, like they, they can show up and, yeah, it's that's.
Speaker 3:That's that's the one of the tough things about hunting, for myself too, because, like I said, I'm always, always trying to be better. But, like like we all said, right, you know, there are those boring times and trying to stay focused during those boring times is hard, because that's when you get caught literally with you. You know, your pants down basically, yeah, because the big buck all of a sudden starts running in and you're just not ready.
Speaker 3:You know know the phone's in your hand or something stupid on your hand, you're trying to get your feet situated, you're trying to pick up the bow, you know, without them seeing you, and and it just. And then you know, even if you do get everything right and you draw back, like everything now is, instead of being smooth, everything's rough. Yeah, and like, I'm one of those people where it's like when it feels good, it feels good, but when it's like off, it's off. You know what I mean. I think everybody you know can kind of kind of relate to that. And it's like, uh, you know, this year that happened, that actually happened to me. Um, you know, it was November, november 3rd, yeah, it was November 3rd, and it was cold on November 3rd. Man, I remember it was a cold, cold morning and I didn't see anything and I told myself I was going to stay till 10 o'clock, I was going to get down, my mom was watching my son for me, so I was like I'll get down, I'll come back and we'll eat lunch, I'll eat lunch with them and then, like she said, she could watch them again in the afternoon, you know. So it was like, uh, 9, 50 and I'm like you know what that's, you know that, that's, that's basically it.
Speaker 3:And all of a sudden, I look over to my left and there's a buck, you know, and I don't have my bow in my hand. My phone is in my hand, right like, which is like you know, because I'm I'm scrolling instead of focusing and uh, so I put my phone, you know, in my pocket. I grabbed my bow. Luckily he was like on an angle where he couldn't see me and I'm trying to stop, I'm trying to stop him, but again, like everything just just felt wrong, you know, and I pulled back on him and I was able to settle the pin and, um, I got him right, right in the right in the shoulder blade. So I was like to settle the pin and I got him right, right in the right in the shoulder blade. So I was like, oh man, I don't know, I don't think that was a deep mouth penetration, and so he, he had run off out of my sight and I I gave it some time and you know it, like I said, it looked that the placement looked like it was like right on the shoulder and you know. So I walked about, saw blood, and I walked about like a hundred yards and I found the arrow and then that that was it. The arrow didn't even like just the head of it had broken off, didn't look like I got any good penetration.
Speaker 3:I searched and searched for him that day but never found him and he wound up being on a trail cam picture of mine actually a few, a few weeks later in a different, different spot. But, um, you know, contrary to the next day, actually, with the, the buck, I got in November, like everything, you know, everything felt right, you know, everything felt right and the shot was, was, was, was perfect, and and you know, I was actually. That's actually a pretty, pretty cool story too, with, with that buck, I had that. That same afternoon that I, that I had put the bad shot on the on the deer, I went and checked my trail camera on the, on the same ridge but a little further down, and, um, that buck that I, that I shot November, november 4th it's this big eight point um was on the trail, was on the camera the day before, so he was on November 2nd, he was on November 2nd, it was November 3rd, and I'm like yo, I, you know, this afternoon I'm going to stay where I am, but like tomorrow morning, I'm, I'm, I'm moving down this, this ridge, here and um.
Speaker 3:So the next morning I moved I I I just started saddle hunting, like two years ago, so I I use a saddle now that was literally my next question for you.
Speaker 3:That's perfect yeah, yeah, what kind of saddle you got before you get into the story what type of saddle yeah uh, I have a. I use XOP sticks. I have XOP sticks and I was using for starting out, I was using an XOP saddle as well, the one that's got like the harness and everything Like it's like I forget what it's called, to be honest which I think like for like bang for your buck, is a great setup. I don't know if they sell it anymore, though.
Speaker 3:I think they, I think they revamped it and it looks. It looks a little different now, but now I use the trophy line, trophy line Nexus, the, the, the Nexus, which is, which is pretty comfortable, and the platform I use actually is like a platform off Amazon.
Speaker 2:I had the.
Speaker 3:XOP yeah, I had the XOP one, but it was a little heavy. You know, like I said, it was like a beginner's package one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've heard they're heavy.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so the sticks are super light. I got the new sticks and they're really light. I love them. The grip on them is is amazing, um, and I use, uh, daisy chains with those. I use daisy chains with those to lighten it up a little bit, because the buckles they come with are like it's crazy, by the time you you put it all together they're so heavy. It's like, yeah, why even take the weight out of the sticks? You know, yes, they make they make a lot of noise. You know. So the daisy chains, they I think they work great.
Speaker 3:I don't know, uh, that was that was a new thing I tried this year. Um, I do like it. I mean they kind of they. I know some people complain because they kind of get like caught up in things and stuff like that you're trying to get them around, but, um, I haven't had, I haven't had too many issues but I like that.
Speaker 3:But the actual platform is, like you know, I think it's like a 12 by 12, three pound platform. I got off Amazon. It's not really anything to write home about, but it's super light and the actual it comes out a little further than it is, than it is wide, which I, which I, I like, cause, like you can turn sideways on it a little easier, and stuff like that. Um so, really really basic, basic stuff, you know not, not anything crazy, um so yeah. So I the next morning I uh, I uh, went, went to that spot on the ridge but I had forgotten to take off my uh, my uh cabinet, the uh, the, the rope, basically you know, the, the rope on the on the other set the day before.
Speaker 3:So like I get there in the morning and I'm setting up and I'm like shit man.
Speaker 2:I don't have anything to hang from. I don't have my rope here.
Speaker 3:It's like hanging 20 feet in a tree up the ridge. I had forgotten to take it down that day.
Speaker 1:So I'm like what am I going to do? That's the worst. I said that's the worst the word.
Speaker 3:It was the worst, right, and I like I just figured this out, like when I basically set every everything up. You know, I'm like about to pull it out of my bag and it's it's not in my bag and uh, I'm like, luckily it was a small tree, the, the right. What I felt was like the right tree was a tree. That's basically. You know, basically I don't know, maybe it was 12. I don't know, it was like it was like this wide, basically. So it was it was a very thin tree, but I felt like it was in the right spot. So what I did was I took the, the, the belt, basically, and where where you would latch, you know, your, your your rope too, and I just secured myself to to the tree and I stood basically, uh, the whole time.
Speaker 3:Thank God I didn't have to stand for a for a long time uh because at first light, you know, there was some laurels to my right and about 80 yards, I see I hear a deer moving pretty fast and I'm like I think that's a, I think that's a buck. You know, like the it sounded like it was by itself and it was moving fast. And sure enough, I see I see about 80 yards like some, some antlers. So I'm like you know what? He wasn't heading my direction, he was perpendicular parallel to me. He was heading parallel to me. So I said it's November, I'm going to try to just clash some antlers together and see what happens, you know. So nothing crazy. You know, like I just kind of like hit them together and then made like a small little grunt afterwards and just touched him again and I hear him stop and I can't see him at this point. And then I hear the walk. Now he's walking, but he's walking towards me. I can tell he's walking towards me. So like now I'm jacked, you know, because I've never called a deer in that way, you know what I mean. But I was like I'm going to try it and I had never actually seen what the deer looked like. And he's coming, he's coming, he's coming.
Speaker 3:So I got my bow and, you know, I got the shakes going on. I'm like, oh my God, like this is, this is sweet. And I finally see him and he's a uh, I would say probably a two-year-old, eight pointer, nice, a nice deer man, and I, like, the thought in my head was, like you know, cause we I think we were saying it before like you know, I work, I had the, the, the, the baby at the time. You know, I'm like I might not get another opportunity, like this November for deer. Like you know, maybe I should shoot this deer. You know, and it's a cool story, you know, I call, I call the man and I said you know what, nah, man, like you promised yourself, like you know there's a big deer in the area. You promised yourself it was, it was him or nothing Like. And you're not going to be able to get the big deer unless you sacrifice, you know, maybe maybe eating a tag, you know.
Speaker 3:So, um, you know, I put the bow back down and, like you know, he uh, he walked across about 15 yards and uh he got my, you know my scent from from where I walked in and instead of you know how young bucks kind of act crazy during the rut. Instead of getting spooked, he's like trying to find me, he's like walking around like looking all over the place, you know, kind of like a doe might do you know what.
Speaker 3:I mean, but like, not like a mature buck at all, because he's only probably two years old, but he's stomping around, making like all this noise and I'm like man, this is kind of crazy, but I'm just watching it. Actually I was. I was filming it with my phone and all of a sudden I hear this like ruckus to you know, I was turned around on the tree. He was, cause he was behind me, so it was to my left, um, and I look up and there is just the biggest deer I personally have ever seen, coming coming down the ridge and he's pissed, like, just like you could tell by the body language, like he's coming down like yo, what are you doing on my block?
Speaker 3:You know, and that deer sees him, that young eight pointer sees him and takes off, Doesn't want anything to do with him. You know, and I'm like holy shit, Like I grabbed my bow again and he's coming like like a like on a string. He's coming like on a string to to my, to my stand, and I'm like he never even checked the wind. He was so pissed he never even stopped to check the wind. He stopped at 20 yards, at about 30 yards. He was walking behind, he was in the Laurel. So I pulled my bow back and he stopped about 20 yards and of course was his.
Speaker 3:His vitals were in a tree, was blocking his vitals, Of course you know, it felt like forever and I'm like thinking I'm like, should I just shoot them? Like you know, I'm just like, should I just shoot? Should I just shoot? Like, like you know, I'm just like, should I just shoot? Should I just shoot? Like I think it would have been a little forward. Though you know what I mean In my head.
Speaker 3:I'm like, logically, I'm like it's going to be four. I'm like just calm down and just wait. I'm like he's coming, he's already come this far, like he's going 30 seconds. You know what I mean. But it felt like an eternity. But he finally gave me two more steps, uh, basically broadside at 20 yards, and I and I let it fly and, uh, I doubled long. I mean he went. I saw him drop it around 60 yards, 50 yards, 60 yards. So but, um, it was pretty, pretty sweet, pretty sweet story I thought it was. It was kind of of kind of cool hunting experience you must have been celebrating in that tree, huh I had to wait to get down because I was so, like I said, it was a thin tree.
Speaker 3:The whole tree was shaking from me shaking like afterwards love it called my cousin I called my uncles and, uh, you know my brother, and uh, you know, I took my, took my time because I was thinking like I'm, like you're going to, if you don't calm down, you are going to fall out of this tree and it's kind of funny, like I, like you know, I have a tree stand and and saddle, but I hate heights. I actually I hate heights. So every time I get up in a tree it takes me about five to ten minutes to settle down. But actually I wound up getting that buck officially scored and it went 133 net.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I did see that on your Instagram. That buck was gorgeous man.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thanks, man. I was really pumped about that and you know I had done some. I did some digging after that and I realized that I had. I actually had a few pictures of this deer previous years in the same spot and one in a different spot and I didn't realize it was the same deer. So I'm pretty sure the deer was probably around six years old. You know, I pulled this another crazy story. I pulled his teeth to get him aged, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And I left them in my garage and mice stole them. No.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I swear to God, so I put them on God.
Speaker 3:I have. I have a butchering table and I put the teeth on the on the table and and two days later the kit comes and I go to the table and the teeth aren't there. So I asked my wife. I said, listen, I don't think you touched them, but like, did you see where the teeth went? They're on the butchering table. And she was like no, I have no idea. And I was like man, what Like? The only thing that could pop in my head was that, like, maybe an animal stole them. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:So I set out a couple mouse traps and of course you know, I got about four mice in around three days. So yeah, I wasn't even gonna mage you should take that you want to steal my teeth?
Speaker 2:I got you what a, what a story. Though like on all honesty, like that is just say that got me fighting my heart rate, I think. Got up like that for season, like that, that was great it was.
Speaker 3:The story is like it was like half of what what I love about it was like the, the like. You know that perfect rut hunt, you know what I mean that that you want, like you know, I guess there's like two scenarios, right, like a buck chasing a doe, or a buck fighting off another buck and it was just like it was.
Speaker 3:Uh, it was crazy. I'd never seen a deer act so aggressive before in my in my, like I said, I've only been hunting for for six years but I've never seen he was just so dominant and, like, like I said, never even checked the wind, like he knew he was the baddest dude there and he was and he was coming to to kick him out of, out of his uh, head of spot.
Speaker 2:So it was uh, it was definitely really cool yeah, and, and for, and, for the rat and everyone. I'll tell you it is always. My dream too is to hit those rattled together antlers and get a deer coming in. And I've, I've kind of, you know, I've talked to a bunch of people on the east coast, you know, and things like that, and yeah, you can do it, but I always feel like you, you see it, on these, these midwest shows and they make it seem so easy and I do think right yep, I do think the vocalization in out the mid Midwest is a little different than here.
Speaker 2:Also, you got to remember, especially like northern Jersey and everything like that, everything's thick and you could rattle in a buck and just never know where. A lot of these places where you see it happening, it's a lot of ag, so it's a lot of open fields and everything like that.
Speaker 2:So I think it's a little different of open fields and everything like that. So I I think it's it's a little different, um, and but it's always a frustrating thing because it is so cool when you watch it and whatever show you're watching, and they hit that antler scale, they get the grunty and you get a buck that comes in. That's just all jacked up and everything like that. Like that's what everybody wants I know it's, it's crazy.
Speaker 3:I think I think another reason why it's not so effective here because I I've tried it, I've tried it before is that, like you know, the dough to buck ratio here I I think it's very skewed. It's very skewed and if you don't have a truly aggressive buck, they're like listen, man, there's plenty of fish in the sea. Yeah, I'll go, I'll go on to the next one, you know, and it's like uh, so I think that's that's one of the reasons, one of the reasons too, because they just they just don't need to, you know, they just don't need to like it's not life or or death, or like there's a, there's another broad around the, around the, around the bend, a bend for them you know.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, and that's a great point, that's a phenomenal point because of just us being in New Jersey, our, our deer number is just so much different than everywhere else. And you know, I've I always tell people like, at least in in the areas I hunt, our rut isn't like a normal rut, because I think a big part of it is because, like you said, like they don't have to get fired up, like they, they don't have to get fired up, they don't have to fight, they don't have to do this. They are going to, and if they do get kicked out of an area by a big mature buck, they're just going to go right over to the next area and go breed some does over there while he's breeding the does in his domain. You know what I mean. So it's this thing where you do get a lot of bucks that do travel, but I agree, I don't think they're fighting and, yeah, they may scrap here and there, but right, yeah, they're not.
Speaker 3:I don't. I've seen like on trail cams.
Speaker 2:I got some videos like they'll scrap a little bit. You know what I mean? Yeah, nothing. I've never seen anything crazy. I want to write something, yeah you never seen one.
Speaker 1:Really go at it.
Speaker 3:Right, I've never seen two bucks really go at it on camera in the middle of the night or in person, like you're saying, out in the Midwest where you see them, they're really, really going at it. You know what.
Speaker 1:I mean.
Speaker 3:I just don't see that here. And the vocalization you're talking about. You said too I agree with that too Like I don't hear deer, like I was able to go out to Illinois I guess it was three years ago now, three years ago now and I swear the deer out there, like even the does, like they're all grunting. They're all grunting and talking, you know, basically talking, you know to each other, and I was like really, really amazed by that Like as they're, you know, 20 yards away you can hear them like grunting to each other and talking. And I remember sitting there thinking like I don't hear this ever in New Jersey. You know what I mean. They're a lot less vocal, I feel like.
Speaker 2:Two things before I forget One also. You got to Midwest. You get a lot of deer that are four, five and six. You get a lot more of those Mature bucks in the Midwest versus New Jersey. You will get a four year Old every once in a while. Five, you know. I mean you'll get it, but I don't think also the age class and the Dominant bucks like you have in the Midwest it's not the same too as Well, because at the end day your buck that you killed. If there was another buck in that same class as him, they would be probably a little more.
Speaker 2:There might be a better, bigger chance of them fighting I agree, you know what I mean over there you're midwest, you get like one property can have a bunch of freaking four-year-olds, you know, I mean, or five-year-olds and six-year-olds, that, and all really big deer, where that big guy, yeah, he doesn't like, he doesn't have to worry because he knows he's the biggest, baddest thing. You know. The other little bucks, like like that eight ran, just ran away because you know where you you might not get that you know, um, and then also I wonder if and I know the midwest has a lot of coyotes, but right now jersey has a ridiculous amount of coyotes and also at the end day and I know I've seen bears interact with deer and on the camera honestly and eat together. It's, it's absolutely wild, yeah, but at the end of the day I wonder how much really not trying to be vocal because of bears, because of coyotes, because maybe even the Bobcat population is is on a rise in in Northern.
Speaker 1:New Jersey, you know, versus and.
Speaker 2:I know people are like oh well, yeah, they have some of that in the Midwest. Which 100 percent they do. I still think you look at how tightly close everything is here in New Jersey, because we're a small state. Every little thing matters and if you're too vocal you could get a pack on you real quick.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, I definitely agree with that. And you know you're talking about the coyote situation. Like I think even in the short time that I've been hunting, like it's gotten. It's gotten a lot worse. Like I used to hear some, some yips, you know, when I was out there. Now I got I hear whole packs just howling away while I'm out there and I'm like that's a lot of coyotes, you know, like they like one, two, three, four, that's like five, six, seven, eight. You know what.
Speaker 3:I mean Like running, running as a pack. You know, I was actually able to shoot one with my bow this this past. I guess it was October, it was in October. It was like a, so I was, I was happy about that. It was my first one.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, it was like a, so I was, I was happy about that was my first one, so yeah it was like last light, I could barely see my pin, you know, and uh, so I was like I'm just gonna let it ride and see. But you know, the problem is with the coyotes and you, you guys know this too is like. You know, shooting one is like doesn't, doesn't do anything. You know what I mean. There's, there's so many of them and they, they populate so so fast that it's uh, it's tough. And and going back to um, you know the skewed deer numbers in new jersey. You know it's funny. Like I, I two, two thoughts on that too is like. You know, people who don't hunt are funny, right, they're like, oh, come to my backyard.
Speaker 3:Like there's 20 deer in my backyard every night yeah, I get that all right, you get that all the time as a hunter, especially new jersey, right, but I think it it tells us something, though.
Speaker 3:Right, like all the deer are in the wrong places in new jersey, because you can sit you know, you can sit on, you know, the mountaintop or or whatever, and and, like we were saying, not see a deer, like bring somebody out there and not see deer deer one, two, three days, you know what I mean whereas all the deer are living in these suburbs, uh and and you can't, you can't hunt them, you know, because everything's so, so close together, so the deer numbers are really skewed and, um, I think that's going to probably stay that way. Unless you know they, they start trying to take it serious and I don't know.
Speaker 3:Me personally, I feel like we should go to a two buck state yeah, you know, I think yeah, I think it should be one bow, one gun, like like a lot of other states like two bow or whatever too right or two yeah, two bucks, basically two bucks, state.
Speaker 3:I know some guys like me, like you know, some guys like to shoot guns, some guys like to do bow only some guys like to do bow only, some guys like to do both.
Speaker 3:You know, I feel like you should be able to pick and um and like. For most places you could probably still do unlimited dough. I mean, there's so many doughs around, uh, it's crazy. But if not unlimited, then then a higher number of those, and that will actually change. You know, like you're saying, it'll change the hierarchy, right, because now if I can only take two deer, right, two bucks, I'm saying, then there's a chance for these young bucks to get, to get some age on them, to smarten up, get off that corn pile and and and get some some age on them. And if we bring the doe population down, the, the bucks are more willing to, to, to, like we said, to fight, to rut, to run around and and and try to find those, try to find those does. So I don't, you know, I don't, I don't know if they're actually ever going to change that Cause. I think I don't know.
Speaker 2:It's an insurance thing from from what I always hear is it's a lot for the insurance companies because in these residential areas there's all there's people always hitting deer.
Speaker 2:So, and and I I understand to a very small degree, right, and obviously, like us being hunters, we actually see like, yeah, I've seen such a decline actually in population with with deer, um and and when I say a decline, that's not saying we still don't have a freakishly amount like big amount of deer. But compared to, you know, public land that I'm allowed to hunt versus across even like a five minute drive into a residential area, it is a night and day difference. But also, the bucks know that as well, and I've experienced a lot too. Not only do they know that like, oh, they don't really have to fight over it, they will leave public land and they will go into those private. So you also have to use that to your advantage, and I tried doing that two years ago, using it to my advantage of, I think, how to be somewhere on that line where they're going to be coming from public land and going across to meet on private.
Speaker 2:That's smart yeah. And then and then coming back and vice versa. You'll have. Does that come from the private? Because they don't know boundaries like that? But they'll come from the private and they'll come into state land and you got to kind of cut them off.
Speaker 2:As much as I sometimes don't like hunting that close and everything like that, Sometimes that's what you got to do, especially during that rut time, if the doe number isn't high on your public land, you have to find those bordering areas of private where there's a road right there, where they're just going to be going right across the road, where there is going to be a high number of does on on private, because that's where they're going to want to be.
Speaker 2:They know where. They know where the deer are. I've seen it with my own eyes. The buck that I killed this year. I'm pretty sure he was fighting one of the other big boys across the road, because I can hear fighting early in the morning. I think it was a death type of fight that we're talking about.
Speaker 3:You can hear it though.
Speaker 2:It was a spar. When he came in, it wasn't like he was. He didn't look injured, nothing was hair wasn't gone, nothing like that.
Speaker 2:No cuts, no, nothing like that. But you can hear the spar. But it wasn't yeah, it's, and I'm pretty sure if he came across in private. If not, it was somewhere close to private where he was able to just come where I was and gave me a great shot. But New Jersey, unfortunately. Look what they just did. We were going to be at seven deer, I know, yeah, I really thought they were going to go the opposite way.
Speaker 1:I was hoping did.
Speaker 3:We were going to be at seven deer, I know, yeah, I really thought they were going to go the opposite way. I was hoping and praying it was going to be the opposite thing and I was like, oh, now there's four, I think.
Speaker 2:Unfortunately and I really don't want to say it's, I don't really think it's the bow hunters. I think like there was a good amount of people that said that it should either stay the same or drop down, and I think that was a lot of bow hunters and I don't want people to get upset and everything like that, but I think a lot of gun hunters. They really don't care, obviously when you're going out for 6 day Listen when you go out for 6 day.
Speaker 2:There's only one thing on your mind Kill 2 bucks. It doesn't matter what, because you have the, you have the buck tags. Like I, I get it where our state allows it. They allow this to happen. I don't blame people who like, oh listen, I'm just going out to kill a buck. I don't blame you because our state this is what our state allows, so you're going to listen? Shit, I'll do it. And I've been in that position. I'm like damn you know what, let me go have fun for six days. I'll walk around with a gun and whatever comes out, I'm not looking for a big buck.
Speaker 3:Right and like you said it's all about what you want to do, right, and I said that before, I feel like personally, like if it gets you, if it gets your heart racing and it's what you want, it makes you happy, I say, go for it. And, like you said, as long as you're within your legal right to to, to harvest that buck, uh, like I'm, I'm all about it, me, just me personally, like, like we said, like, or I was saying before, I like to, to kind of like, grow into it, right, me personally, like yeah it just doesn't.
Speaker 3:It just doesn't do it for me anymore. You know so, and I think, if we ever, I think think you know what drives me crazy and my cousin and I, we talk about this all the time is that, like, the genetic potential is here to have very big deer, to have very, very big deer. We have. You know they call Jersey the garden state, right, like we have fertile soil, you know there's, there's an abundance of food here, even in the mountains, like egg corns. You know, browse, there's, there's, there's, there's an abundance of food here, even in the mountains, like eggorns. You know, browse, there's, there's, there's an abundance of food. They just need to get the years on them. And I think, like we've been saying, it's just, it's just tough if, if you get to take seven bucks.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think a lot of people like going back to, like the gun season. I think a lot of people's mentality, mentality too, is that that, like I've talked to or experienced in the past, it's they go in there and they say, if I don't shoot this buck, the other guy will next to me, right, so that's another. You know another thing that's always on the table and back of people hey, it's happened to me.
Speaker 3:It's, it's happened to me.
Speaker 1:It's happened to me yeah it happened to me too.
Speaker 2:I don't know if you were a part of the team yet, frank, but I think a couple years ago, yeah, a couple years ago. I'm out hunting and I'm after these two big, a 10 and an 8 pointer, and this little, you know little 6 pointer comes in, probably a 2-year old deer, really small guy. I'm sitting there and I'm filming him, whatever. He's giving me a show and I'm I'm happy, and then all of a sudden he heads up the ridge. I'm watching him, I guess he he goes and he finds a corn pile which I I didn't see.
Speaker 2:This was like my first time, like first or second time being in the spot and all of a sudden you hear a whop and the deer just runs off and I'm just like. I was just like, oh my god, like I passed him. Obviously that didn't get me going, but like he's gonna be a good, he's gonna be a good deer in like a couple years. You know what I mean, this is gonna be a good buck, you know. So I was like know what I mean, this is going to be a good buck.
Speaker 2:So I was like, all right, my hunt's done, whatever I get down, and I go meet the guy. And I told him straight up congratulations. Like hey, listen, I'm not going to say anything Like that's what guy. And he said it, he goes. My heart started pumping and he goes. I shot it. That's what guy. And he said he goes. He goes.
Speaker 3:My heart started pumping and he goes.
Speaker 2:I shot it and I go I go there, you go, I go, then that's all that matters and I go congratulations, you know, we talked, whatever and everything like that, and I was like you know that that's, that's funny. You know, I've never had that happen literally sit there watching a buck pass him and he goes up and literally gets shot and then, like the next week or two it happened to um, I think it, it happened to American Mike, where he was watching a deer passed it and then somebody else just shot it.
Speaker 3:See, that's crazy. That's crazy. It happens, man. I, you know it's funny I got a deer on my in my sights for next year and he's a six and, like you know, he's nothing, nothing crazy, but he's got like these tall G1s now and for two years now he's broken off one of the sides of his antlers. So I feel like it's saved him because they, you know, each year he's broken off the sides. So people, if they do see them, you know probably going to pass him, and so I'll be excited to see what he, what he, what he does. This year. I'm hoping that he'll be. I think he'll be four, you know, for my trail camera, you know data, so I'm thinking he might make a big jump, even if he stays at six. You know what I mean A big six something about a big six.
Speaker 2:I love big, everyone loves big sixes, absolutely.
Speaker 1:I got a few on my wall Now. Um, where you hunt, is that? Is that private land or is it state land? Like, how's the hunting pressure over there?
Speaker 3:So there it's like a mix. So around by where my parents live there's, uh, they have a little bit of private land, um, it's about 15 acres, um, so it's really it's not bad. During the rut there's some family of does that beds, that lives basically kind of stays on the property. Obviously they don't stay there all the time, but they do bed in that property a lot. And well, some mature bucks, usually around the first week of November and the very last week of November they seem to run to run through there. Now there's only there's not really a lot of cover, it's not. It's like old forest, you know what I mean. So it's uh kind of the. The understory is very open, you know. So, um, there's it's very hard to get bucks to go through there during the day, unless it's like the, you know, unless the rut is like on Um. It's like the, you know, unless the rut is like on Um.
Speaker 3:But this deer I got, uh, this year was actually on, on, on on public land, so, but the pressure wasn't too too bad. So, um, I think there was. There was another guy who actually messaged me afterwards saying that he had, you know, he had had trail cameras of him, um, for the past two years. And you know, at first he was like, oh, is this the deer? And I was like, I don't, I don't think that's him. And then he showed me another picture and I was like, oh man, I'm sorry that's, that's definitely you know I, because that you know, that's happened to me before too like I, uh, uh.
Speaker 3:Two years ago I think it was about two years ago I was on a nice 10 man.
Speaker 2:I was like no-transcript like we know damn it. We just know, yeah, there's not too many deer walking around this area looking like that. All right, that that's yeah, I know that's the deer, but that was a heartbreaker man.
Speaker 3:You know that was, that was a heartbreaker. It sucks, you know. I was happy for the guy, but uh, I'd be lying to say it didn't. It sucked, you know yeah, that's.
Speaker 1:Let me ask some. Did you, uh, did you send the food back?
Speaker 3:I ate it, man. I was. Uh, that was a. That was a miserable dinner, though I'll tell you that.
Speaker 3:That was the first time that had happened to me, you know, and my cousin you know, he always told me he's like listen, man, he's like, if you have a picture of a deer in New Jersey, somebody else has a picture of that deer too, you know. And he's like, and I was like, no, I don't you know. And he's like, and I was like, no, I don't, you know, I don't think so, you know, I don't think I, I think I would have heard about this theory, you know. And he's like trust me, man, somebody else has got a picture of that deer I have found that to be true.
Speaker 3:I have definitely found that to be true. Um, you know, you don't think a lot of people are are hunting. I mean, you know, I could only say, say from where I am up in North Jersey, you don't? I mean I see people hunting, don't get me wrong, but you don't feel like there's somebody around every corner. But there is there is there is?
Speaker 1:Yeah, because I learned that this past season too, I end up shooting like one of the big nines we had on our place on my buddy's farm and I end up shooting them during six days, like the last morning, and I'm sitting there, I'm taking pictures with them and I only had, like myself, I only had like two or three trail cam pictures of this deer, that's it, and I put and you know, after I do all the posts, I I same thing. I get a message from a guy. He goes hey, I know that deer, I know exactly what road that that deer was on.
Speaker 3:I was like yeah, there it is yeah okay, yeah it's, it's funny, but you know, it does show you too, like, how much these deer travel to I. You know, I in New Jersey, I feel like again, I'm talking about Northern New Jersey, it's kind of like PA and and I've seen you're talking about upstate New York. You know, they're definitely a little bit more nomadic. They're a little bit more, and when I mean nomadic I don't mean that they stay, they they're. They're more of a spread out Like. So the bucks that I usually get on camera, um, they're almost like on a two-week cycle. You know what I mean two-week cycle where, like or or a week week cycle where, like you know, I'll get a picture of them and then it'll be a week, maybe even two weeks, then I'll get another picture of them.
Speaker 3:You know, and it's like they're not, you know, and for a long for, and I've been trying to figure out buck betting in in hill country for a long time, and I think the Midwest is different right and I keep, you know, I was thinking like, all right, there's one bed, right that this buck is at, because in the Midwest that's kind of what happens, because everything's either ag land or this little lot of woods. You know what I mean, but where I'm hunting that's not the case. They have several beds, they have several areas spread out across a couple of miles where they feel comfortable, you know. And uh, to me, me, I, and I feel like you know, it's kind of, I mean, you might get lucky and find out where they're betting, but it's tough. I think it's tough, like my general go-to, which has worked the past two seasons, is using rut funnels, is using funnels, using finding terrain.
Speaker 3:I use Onyx and I find terrain where, more than where, where more than one or, you know, more than two or three trails are coming. They have to come together. You know what I mean. So this spot where, where I shot the deer out of, I shot the deer this year and last year at basically the same spot, not the same exact tree, but within 20 yards of each other, and it's where, like you know, the ridgeline goes like this, so across, and then there's, I guess, like you would call it, a little creek that kind of goes down down the mountain, like there's not always water on it, but during the winter, when the leaves are down, it's a, it's a small stream right, so across.
Speaker 3:So it almost makes like this, this, this cross between those two, two, two landscapes, and it's where four different trails, game trails, can converge. So you know, your odds are are much higher to to see game because of just the way the, the land is laid out and um, and bucks are, they got to travel. They got to travel through there eventually. I'm not saying you're going to be there on the right day, but there's going to be a day during the rut where bucks are or traveling through through that area, you know so.
Speaker 2:I think that's what makes New Jersey so great and why. I don't know how people don't. I mean I get why, but why there has to be a little more respect on New Jersey. You know name and is because we have that. You look at North and South Jersey. You can't compare the two, you cannot. Everything is just so different. The behavior of the deer are so different. You know what I mean Both of them and I hunt both. I hunt both north jersey and I hunt a little more south. They're both like, yeah, north jersey it's tough but it's fun, like I love it they're. They're the different challenge to it, you know.
Speaker 2:And then you go to south jersey where I think it's a little it's easier to get on big bucks but it's hard to kill big bucks just because you're in those ag fields, right, and at the end of the day they have so much space right you know what I mean and it's you have these smaller plots of wood and if you have another hunter there, it's not enough room, like it is up in north jersey like listen you can and I'll give you know, like blairstown, for example, because I hunt. I hunt blairstown. You know I've done it so many times and you know I have a property like I didn't have to really worry about other because you know what. I could just keep going right, look at all the land.
Speaker 2:Look at the delaware gap. You're right by the del Gap, like up there. You can keep going. There's so much land in North Jersey that you could just keep going.
Speaker 3:The trick, I think yeah, I totally agree. But the trick is, I think, is having faith in your spot and sitting it out. You know, and sometimes that's tough because, like we were talking about, like you know, you don't see a deer all day and you're like I don't, I don't get what's going on you know, I don't get what's going on Like this is the spot, this should be the spot.
Speaker 3:You know, and even if you've been doing this for for a long time, you know when you go, oh for for nothing, for mean, maybe I should move, and I think that's something that you know takes definitely takes some time, like I I always uh and questioning myself with that and, uh, you know, I got, I got. I feel like I got lucky because, like I said, I looked at that trail, can I decided to go take a look at that trail camera and he was literally in the area the day before.
Speaker 3:So it's like you know, I had a lot of faith that he was probably still in the area, you know, cause there's more than one doe there, and usually doe families come in to breed around the same time, so I figured he was probably going to be in this area for a few days. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:So when you get a little sliver of information like that to give you a little bit of faith in your spot, really it really helps yeah, no, I agree because and that's actually a good point because, um, one of the big nine pointers that I killed on the wall, same thing. I had him patterned all summer long. I knew exactly what he was doing, so I got my doe out of the way and the spot he should be in that. I always watched him come out all the time to this one alfalfa field. I hunted it. I'm like no bullshit. A week straight before I shot him and I'm like there you go. And literally it was like every day. I'm like like where the hell did he go? Oh, this is textbook. Like now he's gone. Like he disappeared, he's somewhere else. Now I gotta start all over Again. And then it was just One day I just happened to go.
Speaker 1:I still remember it was like I think it was, uh, september 19th and it was like, uh, I think it was like 15 or 20 minutes before dark, I watched this big Six jump a fence and, believe it or not, I was contemplating on Shooting him. He was only like he was like 15. This big six jump offense and, believe it or not, I was contemplating on shooting him. He was only like he was like 15 yards and I was like, oh man. And all of a sudden I just happened to look and here he comes, he jumps, he jumps the fence, just like that, just like that six did. So I was like, all right, like he's coming. So I was, I was, I got all ready and I could hear him coming through the hedgerow. I can't remember. He's taking his time.
Speaker 1:I see his head coming, my heart's pumping, I'm shaking. I go to draw back. As soon as he hits the field, he like starts sprinting. He sprinted to like 30 yards in like two seconds oh geez and I'm like nervous. I 30 yards in like two seconds oh geez and I'm like nervous.
Speaker 3:I'm like that that you know trying doing everything, I tend to stop them stop.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and he finally stopped and I ended up, you know, put, you know, getting an arrow through him. But I mean it just goes to show you, I mean having faith in your spot, like I, I do believe in it because I, like I had that feeling. I was like if I stop hunting it, he's going to show up right right so I'm like I I gotta at least try for the week, even though it's tough, but it's definitely not easy.
Speaker 3:It's definitely not easy. But I've moved around before and you wind up just chasing your tail. You know you wind up, you're you're like one step behind them or one step in front of them, which both are bad. It's not the right day. It's not the right day. So do you guys get a lot of your bucks early season or during the raw or late season? What do you guys usually or is it kind of a mix?
Speaker 1:I'll let you go first Frank. Yeah, usually for me it's usually towards the later part of the season. I mean, I have gotten lucky during early season, like when I shot that big nine and stuff, but most of the time it's usually like either late october like until like mid, like mid-november usually like that time frame is usually when I usually have more success okay, I would, for for me it depends where, where I'm hunting um, you know, I've I've had success early up in northern new jersey.
Speaker 2:I've had success later into into the rut. But I will definitely say, like we're talking about earlier, with the rut there it's really wishy-washy, you know, because of the doe number um, and it just feels like once the doughs start really getting in heat you can't really find the bucks, or they're on private Yep Down in where I was, southern Jersey, first of all, the big, big monsters are all there from the summer until like October and I Frank knows this like Halloween was the last time I saw one of my giants like, and then it was nothing until I killed my buck, november. When the hell did I kill this year?
Speaker 2:november 19th remember yeah, november 19th, yeah, and really wasn't seeing much for buck with like only small bucks. And the day before where him and another big eight or ten pointer came into the camera and they're chasing does and that's like I got. I got. It was like put in the work cameras, boom right, saddle spot, jumped right in there right after like an hour after that that trail camera, because I was in a completely different spot like I was like 600.
Speaker 2:I was like 600 yards in the opposite direction and I worked myself completely around. But um, yeah, it's I. That's the focus for south jersey this year and where I am is going to be early, early in the year, yeah.
Speaker 3:I'm trying to get better at the early season, for sure. I think it's again like I have some trouble with trying to, like everyone's like, get on the food sources right. Food sources food sources, but when you're in big woods, the food sources are everywhere.
Speaker 2:Every ridge is an oak ridge.
Speaker 1:There's acorns everywhere, I literally live in Oak Ridge.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:All right, I live up the Wantage, so I'm not too far from you, yeah yeah, so every ridge is an oak ridge.
Speaker 3:You know what I?
Speaker 1:mean.
Speaker 3:There's oaks everywhere. In my experience I've baited before and I still will in some areas, but I just don't, I just don't get mature bucks coming there during the day and I that's just been my experience, like through the rut it'll, it'll, it'll happen randomly.
Speaker 3:I think they're just going there to check to see if those those are there really, but most of the time, if, if, uh, it's a bait pile, from my experience, it's just you're getting them in the middle of the night yeah, no, I agree because, like I mean, last year was the first year, like I got, you know, a private property and I was baiting last year.
Speaker 1:Last year was the first time and, believe it or not, I had bucks in there constantly and like mature bucks, like mike knows this. So one day I was at work and this big 10 pointer that I was watching showed up. I think it was like at like seven or eight o'clock in the morning and I told Mike, I texted him and I said I'm leaving work now because I know that that buck's going to be back tonight, a hundred percent. I got in there early, left work, got up in there. Sure, shit enough, here he comes, he's coming, and actually he, he caught me off guard because I was in the saddle and expecting him to come from, uh, my right, and all of a sudden I hear something. I hear like, um, I think what that was. Oh, it was a squirrel.
Speaker 1:I heard a squirrel run and I heard like a deer jump and I look over and he's standing like probably like 15 yards from me, to my left. So I'm like, oh shit. So like I go and I like my bow's hanging up, so like I grab it, he, he actually does a complete circle and when he does the complete circle he's coming back. And he didn't. He didn't see me, but I drew back on him and I'm waiting for him to actually turn broadside, because he was quartering to me a little bit and he just, he just stood there like me and him locked eyes for, like it seemed like an hour that's the worst I'm trying not to look them in the eyes, you know, I'm like I'm sitting there, I'm like just just please turn, please turn.
Speaker 1:And what I thought was he. I thought he turned. What happened is because, like um, mike saw the video and actually I'll send it to you after this podcast. Okay, he just moves his head, like his upper body, his, his chest, and everything stays the same. He just moves his head in his neck to look like the other direction. I don't know if he heard something, but in my peripherals, like I thought he had and I released, and it was like the same same thing to your story I hit him smack dead in the shoulder. He does, he does a back flip, he flips over, he's on the ground that he gets up and he takes off and the arrow sticking out of him, and it was. It was like you said. I think it was like I didn't get him back on camera for like a month and a half probably after I shot them.
Speaker 2:But I think, like depends where you're hunting. I think one of the big things is learning your bucks and their behavior and what they like and and I get it. We're in it. We're in a state where everyone baits, almost everybody baits, yeah, like I. I read like I've. It's something that I've always tried to get away from and this year I did a really phenomenal job like getting away from it. I didn't. Yeah, I did two last year single animal over bait this year. Now do I use it and do I use it still? Yeah, like I'll use, especially for for trail cam right trail cameras everything like that and everything like that.
Speaker 2:I shot my doe and um with a giant right on giant acorn tree, just like dropping. I had a big nine and a big ten there the first day that I that I found them, they, they came right in and was it white oaks?
Speaker 3:or was it white oaks that were dropped?
Speaker 2:no, it wasn't white. Um, no, it wasn't white. Um, I can't remember what, and I just said I can never.
Speaker 2:Every time I find a tree, it's never freaking white oak yeah they're a little rare around here, yeah yeah um, so you know it, it was, it was a highway and they were just, they were, they were hitting it. And then you know, fast forward. I killed buck during, during a rut and everything like that. But you know you, sometimes you just have to do it because, at the end of the day, you can do everything in your power not to, but almost every other hunter is going to?
Speaker 2:I mean one of the guys that killed that 10 pointer that I saw. He I think he was told that the 10 pointer over bait and was dropping, like I think, two bags of of corn at a like at a time. So, like you're, you are competing with people that aren't, that are beating. So, listen, sometimes, like what are you going to just shoot yourself in the foot, and that's what you know. If I find acorns like that, listen, I'm just going to just shoot yourself in the foot and that's what you know. If I find acorns like that, listen, I'm just going to stick to the acorns and I don't even, you know, I'm not going to even bring you know anything like that.
Speaker 2:You know hunting cornfields, you know ag fields, like everything like that, like that's. I love doing it, you know. But you have to know your deer. You have to know how they're not going to hit that corn pile or they're only going to hit that corn pile at night, or the deer which you talk to, a lot of jersey hunters it's like the minute they see corn, they just start looking up in the tree.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's smart yeah, yeah it's, it's crazy that like, but it's, it's a thing, that it's a reality, that anyone coming here to hunt has to understand. Like that's what you're going to be competing with, especially if you're hunting on public or even the most experienced people. I see guys all the time that complain oh here's another corn pie. I'm like, well, it's legal in New Jersey, so listen. It doesn't matter.
Speaker 3:To me. I look at it like if you want to shoot a small buck, if it makes you happy, it makes you happy. If you like hunting over bait and it makes you happy, then then then go for it. And, like I said, I'm not against it. I've done it. I still do do it. Um, you know, I, I'm getting more and more away from it because it's just like I feel more. It feels more rewarding to me when I'm like putting in the work and, um, you know, I'm like, you know I find a trail, game trail, it looks, it looks good. You know, like I know I'm saying, okay, well they're, they're probably betting up here and I think they're feeding down here. If I come here and intersect them and like, and when it a lot of times it doesn't work out Right, but when it does work out, you're like, damn, I'm, I am actually a hunter.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean. You're like damn, I'm good.
Speaker 3:You know most of the time it doesn't work out, but when it does work out, you know it's great, but but like you said, um, I think it's still great for for Intel. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3:Like I was saying, that a small private property that, um, that my parents uh own, um, that's, that's basically what I use it for. I I just use it for Intel. Like, I know the bucks aren't going to be there during the day, but I'll know what bucks are in the area. Uh, based on, you know, a couple of months worth of trail cameras for for being in the corner, or mineral blocks. I go back and forth. There's so many goddamn bears that uh one is like 13 a bag, now, you know.
Speaker 3:So it's just like I. You know it's expensive. I mean, if you're dropping two bags at a time, you know, and it's just like it's lasting a week, you know like it's, you're spending a lot of money, you know you're spending a lot of money. So I I for me where, where I'm at, I noticed the bears kind of mess with the mineral blocks less and yeah, you get less pictures but they still come around. You know what I mean like.
Speaker 2:So such a such a northern new jersey problem is bear. Listen, I'll tell you, going down hunting now, an area that I don't like. You don't have to worry about that, like I've yet to see a bear, it's more Southern, so like there really is, there's like it is nice, like.
Speaker 2:I will actually say like and the deer behavior definitely is different than it is in North um Northern Jersey and the coyote pressure isn't. There isn't as many coyotes like up being up and hunting in Northern Jersey anywhere from anywhere. The zones that I hunt in Northern Jersey, like you hear coyotes like, like you're talking about before, like six, seven, eight, like. From the minute the sun starts to go down, they just start going crazy. The whole woods erupt, erupts.
Speaker 1:I didn't hear that one down in. It shows up. Yeah, absolutely, especially when you're walking in the dark and they start it up.
Speaker 3:You know, my thinking is right. If there's one or two like I'm probably going to be fine, but if there's?
Speaker 1:like eight.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean that might be an issue, you know, yeah.
Speaker 1:I had guys tell me that like hey, like, hey, man, like I was walking in you, hey, man, like I was walking in you. Know, I heard all of them. I turned around, went right back to my truck, like if I hear that many, I'm not going.
Speaker 3:You know, the reason the bears drive me crazy is because they don't just come to the pile and eat and be on their way. They sit there and lay down. They'll be there all day and all night.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's easy to eat it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it just drives you nuts. So I'm I'm at the point where it's just like I usually, just like right now, like at that spot, like I just got a mineral block, like they come and go, you know yeah, because I know once, once a mama font with their cubs comes, you know soon soon, you know, like that'll, that'll be the end of it, you know so yeah.
Speaker 1:now I want to ask you real quick, joe. So how was your transition Cause you said you start saddle hunting this year. How was your cause? Me too, this was actually my first year too. How did you, how was the transition from that, from going to a regular tree stand, to the saddle?
Speaker 3:You know I was. I was a little, I was a little worried at first and then more and more people like I'm listening to podcasts, like everybody does now, and more and more people are like you got to try the saddle. You got to try the saddle and I just wanted to be more mobile, right, which is what everybody says and it's the truth Because I had stands hang on stands, but they weren't what I would call like micro light hang on stands because, like I said, I really don't like heights and those micro, small stands like they.
Speaker 3:They freak me out. Man like I, I hate them. I feel like I'm about to fall out of the tree, like at any moment, you know. So the the hang on stands I was lugging around were were pretty big and, and, to be, I was not very mobile with them. So instead of, like you know, putting them up and taking them down, I was putting one up, putting another one up. And you know, and like you, just you know, if I, if I was doing that, I would have never killed that deer this November, because, you know, I wouldn't have been able to move my setup the way I did. It's funny, and I don't know if you feel this way too, but actually in the saddle I feel more secure. I actually feel more secure because I have that constant pressure on me.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 3:Yeah, having that constant pressure on me is, I guess, subconsciously reassuring that, like something has me you know, so it's like funny Cause most people are like, oh, you're afraid of heights, but you rather be hanging off a saddle and I'm like I know it sounds weird, but it actually does feel feel better, you know. So, like you said, I uh. So, like you asked, I transitioned by using that. Um, that combo that, uh, xop was was selling because it wasn't too expensive, because, like with anything in hunting, you know, like you, you can spend a fortune, you know, you can spend a fortune.
Speaker 3:I didn't know whether I was going to like it or not, um, but I wound up. I wound up really liking it. Like I said, I feel more secure in it. You can move around the tree a lot easier, you're? I feel like you're able to make more shots if you practice, you know.
Speaker 3:But I guess it's the same with the hang on stand too, like one of the things I tell myself, because you know you forget, or whatever is. You know, practice pulling back your bow at every angle on the tree. You know what I mean. Like some people, sometimes I get in there and I'm like, yeah, I pull it back once and I'm like, oh, it's good, you know. But like you know, they're, they, you might have the right tree but, like you know, very rarely do you have the right tree and the right angle that the deer is coming in on, you know, you know. So you're going to have to probably shoot at, at, at a weird direction uh, more or a direction differently than what you're thinking about and, uh, I think, with with the saddle, it's definitely, uh, definitely, a little easier.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, I'm glad I made the transition. I think I'm gonna, I'm gonna stick with that. I I do have, you know, some stands still set up that have been set up um. But you know, I think for for for mobile hunting, I mean it just, it doesn't really get much better. But but how did mobile hunting? I mean it just, it just didn't really get much better. But but how did, how did you do it?
Speaker 1:so it was basically the same thing. So, like I always mainly use lock-ons, like I would have ladders every now and then for, like, gun season or something, but other than that I was always like a lock-on guy. So I actually I got in the saddle from listening and talking to mike before I was a member I used to listen to talk I was like man, like everybody's talking about the saddle, like I want to try it. So, you know, I think my wife ended up messaging Mike and cause she was going to buy me a saddle for um for Christmas. So she got me the trophy line like covert pro, okay, me the the trophy line like covert pro, okay, and I still have that.
Speaker 1:And then, um, I went up to the um, the great american outdoors show and I bought, uh, the arsenal platform with the sticks, which you know wasn't that cheap, you know. But uh, you know that's what I've been running and like I love that I was practicing in the backyard, I like as much as I could, trying to trying to learn how to shoot, like on my weak side, on this side, you know so, but I'll never go back, but it was almost like, like you said, like I remember I use a saddle for most, like 98% of the time. I was in the saddle last year.
Speaker 3:Right, me too yeah.
Speaker 1:I went, I think, one time. Uh, I got out of work and I was like I like I don't feel like climbing the tree, like I'll just go to my lock on, because I had a lock on over there and I, I think I remember telling mike it was like the most uncomfortable feeling I've ever been and I used to live in those things. Right, I got up there. I felt when I would get up I would feel like dizzy from sitting down because I felt like I was gonna fall and I would always like catch myself and I was like I'm like if a deer comes, I don't know how I'm gonna pull this off I feel the exact same way.
Speaker 3:I think I. I just to me it was definitely, uh, just just funny, because I thought it was gonna be the opposite. I thought it was yeah, for sure, and uh, but it definitely feels better actually, yeah, absolutely it's the way to go.
Speaker 2:It's by far. The I'm not gonna say like it's not perfect, like that does have its issues, but they're everything.
Speaker 3:It has has something that you could say negative, I mean I won't say it's the most comfortable thing, always right, like you know it's always and that depends on the tree and how you set it up, how high.
Speaker 3:But I just adjust, like you know what I mean. So like, if I'm starting to get uncomfortable, I'll lower my set a little bit. If I'm getting uncomfortable with that, I'll raise the set a little bit. You know I'll try different things. You know my feet get tired after a while, so I kind of switch back and forth on which foot I'm leaning on.
Speaker 2:So it's definitely I won't say like, oh, you're definitely going to be the most comfortable in a saddle over like a nice big stand. I will say it really depends on your actual saddle. I will say it really depends on your actual saddle, Like in Frank I moved to the hell. Did I move to Frank?
Speaker 1:What you moved to Arsenal right.
Speaker 2:Arsenal. Yeah, I got Arsenal saddle Last year, the years. Every other year I've had a wild edge saddle, Not this is nothing bad about wild edge. Like I, I do love this, this saddle. It was actually like a perfect beginner saddle for me to get introduced, but it's not. It wasn't as comfortable, especially around like my hips, your hips, yeah yeah yeah, pinch the hip yeah, yeah yeah, so now with this, the what I have now with this, it is great.
Speaker 2:It is so comfortable, it's so light and it adjusts on the back so you can actually pull it up higher.
Speaker 3:So is it like a two-panel, or is it just one that folds out? I think?
Speaker 2:it folds up. It's not a two-panel, but I think it folds up. And then also, what they created also was like for your, for your legs, and you actually clip it on to the saddle and it now gives you a chance where you can rest your knees, instead of using knee pads. You can rest your knees and it's kind of like you're fully sitting and you can actually you can basically actually work your whole entire way around and how does it?
Speaker 3:how are you able to sit? What is it?
Speaker 2:I, I would have to, I'll. I'll show you when I am it's to explain it basically like it's out of, when I get all my saddle equipment and everything like that out of the thing, I will send you a uh, a video of it, um, or, if I have, if I'll go through my stuff.
Speaker 1:I probably do have one, but it's super, super comfortable you know, nice, yeah, but uh, all right, mike, we're getting to that. That mark um. Let me do a few, um rapid questions, mike, and then we'll start wrapping up. So all right, joe, you ready for this? Sure? All right, what's your favorite game meal?
Speaker 3:Favorite game meal. Yeah, my wife makes an awesome venison enchilada man, we make venison enchiladas and they're great Wow.
Speaker 1:I didn't see that one coming man. That sounds great.
Speaker 2:That's cool, that sounds great.
Speaker 1:We gotta get him to the game dinner. Yeah, definitely. Alright, now the next one. Would you rather forget your ammo or your boots?
Speaker 3:Man, I guess my boots, because If I don't have any ammo and something comes along, I can't shoot it.
Speaker 1:Me and Mike were talking because actually that happened. Something similar happened to Mike Dorn, turkey.
Speaker 2:Really.
Speaker 1:In a way.
Speaker 2:I grabbed the wrong boots. It was my big insulated ones. It was rubbing so bad. I think I put six miles in that day and by like mile three both blisters on both of my feet so I said screw this. I took them on and I walked barefoot the rest of the like. I think I did like a like two miles or so barefoot.
Speaker 3:Did you really yeah? Then when I got back to the truck.
Speaker 2:So barefoot Did you really? Yeah, and then when I got back to the truck, put on sneakers and I went to another spot and I hunted the rest of the day in sneakers.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's a good one. So for the next question what's scarier being charged by a bear or your wife calling mid hunt?
Speaker 3:I'm going to. I'm going to say wife calling mid hunt man, that's mine, Something's wrong thenunt man, that's mine too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, something's wrong, then yeah, right, yeah, I don't want to go home at that point.
Speaker 3:Exactly If she knows I'm hunting and she's calling me, something's up.
Speaker 1:Something's up. Trust me, I've gotten the call where your son did. I'm like, oh shit. So are you a fixed head or mechanicals guy?
Speaker 3:Mechanical actually. Actually, you know what I like. I like those schwackers man, I like the regular schwackers.
Speaker 3:I haven't had any issues with them. I know they're not anything crazy, but they always seem to put a devastating hole for me into them. So I can't complain. Yeah, I can't complain, but I will say I always try to obviously put. I wouldn't try to do a frontal shot on them or anything like that. I try to keep it broadside and stuff like that you should try Sever, me and Mike, we're big Sever guys. That's why, like that, I try to keep it broadside and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:You should try Sever Me and Mike. We're big Sever guys, that's why Sever, yeah, Big Sever guys. What's your go-to snack? Oh yeah, what's your?
Speaker 3:go-to snack I'm going to have to say PB&J man, that's a good one PB&J with you.
Speaker 1:We're going to go with those crustables, you know those crustables yeah. Sounds good to me. Now what's another one? I got one more. Would you rather miss a deer at 10 yards or spook one at 60?
Speaker 3:I think I'd rather spook one at 60, because if I miss one at 10, I'm just going to be.
Speaker 1:You're confidently shot.
Speaker 2:That's pretty true. I think 60 would be. If I miss at 30, I'm going to be having some serious questions. I'm going to be at the bow range like what the hell is going on.
Speaker 1:Maybe I should be a gun hunter.
Speaker 3:Yeah, if I miss that close man I'm gonna be really upset with myself. I'll be the next week I'll be just shooting every every day, you know. So at least if I spook one at 60, I'm like well, it's 60 yards away, I wouldn't be able to shoot him anyway.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean yeah, exactly, all right, I got one more and then we'll wrap up. Um, is there any gear that you bought that you ever regretted?
Speaker 3:any gear that I've bought that I've ever regretted hmm, uh, I don't, I don't really, I don't really think so. Oh, you know what I guess? Maybe, uh, a bino harness, like a bino harness. You know, thought I liked the idea of a bino harness, but I actually just like the straps better, you know what I mean, because I'm constantly taking it in and out, in and out.
Speaker 3:Maybe I just need a different one, Maybe I should try a different one, but when I just had the straps like it was just easy pickup, easy pickup you know what I mean.
Speaker 3:So so maybe that. But to tell you the truth, I'm not like a crazy gear guy, Like I'm not, I don't, I don't go nuts Like I don't need a new bow every, every year and stuff like that, and I try to keep it logical. You know what I mean. It's as much, as much as you can. You know. I know, like me, anywhere I get the itch. You want to get something new and and and nice, but I try to. I try to keep it reasonable, yeah.
Speaker 1:OK, no, I hear you, but all right. Well, I got, I got one more.
Speaker 2:I got one more for.
Speaker 1:Mike.
Speaker 2:I got the typical, my favorite question of them all what's your two weeks anywhere? Money's not an option. What's your dream? Hunt and where.
Speaker 3:Oh man, I think that's tough Because I got a couple of different dream hunts. You know what I mean. I want to do the typical, you know. I want to really do an elk hunt really bad, and you know so. And I hear Montana is gorgeous. I hear Montana is gorgeous and the hunting is great there. So I'm going to have to say I probably would love to go out to Montana and chase elk and whitetail, you know.
Speaker 1:Awesome, awesome, but all right.
Speaker 2:Joe, I respect it.
Speaker 1:Me too, Absolutely Listen. Elk's definitely on my list one day.
Speaker 3:Yeah, hopefully one day, but like you said, you said money's not an option, because it's money's, not an option.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think elk is on there. I think elk, elk, like I have the itch for it, but not, he's a moose guy I am a moose guy yeah, big big, yeah, big moose guy. Um, but I could see myself hunting elk in the next five years, did you?
Speaker 3:did you guys see that that trail cam pic of the day yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah, I've I've heard of it before that that happening before.
Speaker 2:I'm also pretty sure I saw mountain lion two years ago and really, I listen, I believe it.
Speaker 3:I believe it because they they travel, man, I believe they do they do travel.
Speaker 2:Um, I know one was killed, I think, in connecticut one day, like on, it got hit by a car. So, like the thing is with with mountain lion and almost any animal like, they do travel, like it's, you know, especially males or young, young males that get pushed out or or whatever the case is. So I, I don't know where the closest area to us.
Speaker 3:Well, pa, pa nevermind PA does, so I mean yeah, they have a season and everything like that.
Speaker 2:So like that's not a huge stretch, like that's right there, swim across the Delaware.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I mean it's pretty cool.
Speaker 2:I mean, I would love to see one. I don't know what I would do if I saw one. I'd call Fish and Wild and be like hey can.
Speaker 3:I shoot technically.
Speaker 2:I'm definitely trying to make my case Technically there's no rules on it.
Speaker 3:There's no rules in the game. Yes, yeah, I pop this thing.
Speaker 2:I want to make sure that you guys are going to take it from me and I'm not losing my license.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll be like. I knew you guys lied to me. I'm looking right at them.
Speaker 3:So what? Uh, I'm just curious what are your guys' dreams hunts?
Speaker 1:You want to go first, Mike?
Speaker 2:Everyone damn knows mine on their show yeah mine's a two-week alaskan float for um, for moose, for moose. But I was on just on the blue hen podcast and he said any, like it could be multiple and like I'd probably want to do that combo because you're going to like, if I'm going to alaska I'm already probably spending, yeah, fifty thousand dollars already. So like I would add now, like, think I'd add, like a brown bear hunt or like maybe a caribou or a wolf or like see what other tags I can, I can grab, especially if I'm going to be there two weeks floating, like I don't want to like and if I don't kill a moose, like there are other things, like there's so many animals there, like I'll bring, bring my fishing pole and you know fish and everything like that.
Speaker 2:Like that's, that's the, that's the dream. That may not, really may not happen. That's why I always tell elk like you know, I've already turned down an elk hunt so like, for me that's definitely more achievable. And then maybe also I can dabble in now. Africa has started to pique my interest and it never has before, up until my buddies started hunting in Africa and I've gotten close with some of the African guides and seen more about it and talked to people on the podcast, I mean like that Africa is starting to definitely pique pique my interest.
Speaker 1:Yeah I'm with you on that one, but for mine it's definitely, uh, it's definitely an oak 100. I've always wanted to do it. I just want to hear them bugle and everything you know. Um, it's for me it doesn't matter, I'll go anywhere Colorado, montana, it doesn't matter. I just want to get after one One day yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, me too, man. Me too, Of course, like anywhere where there's huge whitetails is fun too right.
Speaker 1:Yep, yep, a hundred percent. But hey, joe, it was a pleasure having you on the show. We got to get you back on Definitely.
Speaker 2:We didn't even cover that much. We didn't even cover that much.
Speaker 3:That was a great conversation. Yeah, man, I appreciate you guys having me on. I love just bullshit and talking hunting. It's funny.
Speaker 1:Anybody who knows me is like oh don't even talk about it, because you'll just get them going. You've been imperfect with us. Listen, you're more welcome to come on anytime. Just hit me up and all right, we'll definitely make it happen. But, um, for the people who don't know you like, where would they find your content?
Speaker 3:uh, so you can find my instagram is uh northern, uh, nj. Northern northern nj. Outdoorsman. Um, anything I post I post hunting-related is on there, so feel free to reach out anybody who wants to. Like I said, I love talking, hunting and always looking for new ideas and strategies and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:So yeah, Definitely I'll message you after this. I'll give you my number, so if you ever need anything, just feel free to reach out. You know we could swap pictures and all that too. So uh definitely be a good time. Mike, you, you got anything you want to say, or you're good.
Speaker 2:No, I mean it was, it was a play. I mean I had a lot of fun.
Speaker 3:now that one fast and we were trying to keep our episodes lately down to to an hour, now that we got two shows and everything like that, and like time flew and we're at 30, like that.
Speaker 2:I had a good time that was that wasn't. You know, I've been doing this for quite some time and I think this episode has definitely gone into like one of my top, uh favorite recordings. Sorry, everyone else out there um but this one is.
Speaker 2:It's probably definitely in in my top five, just because like it just feels like we've flown you so many times, but like this wasn't your first time on the show and everything like that. Like it feels like you're you're a regular, that we've known you now for a while. We're just sitting here just just bullshitting and great storytelling too, like that those stories were were great. I appreciate that, yeah we'll definitely have to get you and your wife to our game dinner because I need you to try the that like.
Speaker 1:That is phenomenal and if you can make our archery shoot, we'll we'll be setting that up soon. So if you can make our archery shoot, we'll be setting that up soon. So if you can make it, we'd love to have you out and that way we can all meet in person and you know, we can all shoot the shit Some more and hang out.
Speaker 2:We'll be there all night. I think everyone and this is for everyone out there I think we're going to do it now in August and do like a Pre-shoot before the season and just have Fun and chill with the guys.
Speaker 2:We're going to New York in July. So it's just been a crazy time now for us and we're getting these shows and we're doing these events and everything like that. So you know, doing one in August I've always wanted to do. So I think we're just going to push this one to August because it's normally in june.
Speaker 1:so and we're already in june. It's like it's the month 30 here. Yeah, we literally had this conversation the other day. Mike's like, yeah, that's not happening. But uh, joe, it was a pleasure, go ahead. What were you gonna say, mike?
Speaker 2:no, I was gonna say we we're never going to end this show.
Speaker 1:But listen, Joe, it was a pleasure having you on man, Definitely going to get you on again. Like I said, just keep in touch, All right will do, Thanks guys. All right, appreciate it Everybody. We hope you enjoyed this amazing episode and we'll see you all next time.
