It is not too late to establish rye into your 2022 food plot program here in the northern tier of ststes but, your opportunity within the growing season is slowly coming to it's end.

Farmers across the region are chopping corn for silage, and many will still be seeding winter rye as a cover crop well into the month of October. And the deer will be thanking those farmers for it. Especially if we have harsh conditions going into late deer season and into next spring.

Do you have a all but failed food plot, or want to establish a food plot this year? Sandy/rocky soils? Then perhaps you should consider the using winter rye as part of your food plot program. 

Are you like me and love to hunt deer in and along farm fields or larger destination food sources during the hunting season, especially the early season?

In this recent video I discuss ways and means of exiting your stand location when these areas are filled with deer at the end of legal shooting time. And I discuss what I refer as the single most effective method of leaving your stand and being totally undetected by the deer you are hunting. 

​Enjoy!

In my most recent video I discuss what I how the soybeans turned out on our home property along with what I am doing to "sweeten the pot" for the coming archery season. I hope you enjoy!

​Scent Control for Deer Hunting

Take a complete shower with some sort of scent neutralizing soap and shampoo. Always take care of your hunting clothes and all the other items you wear by washing them in a scent-free laundry detergent. Then let the clothes dry outside and not in the dryer. then place the clothes into a scent-free bag or sealed box totes. You can add some leaves, branches, etc. to give them a natural smell. Whenever you go to your hunting location, apply odor eliminators on your clothes, boots, body, and gloves, and let them dry. But don’t forget about your camera, gun, bow and others gear. Be sure to spray those items too so that deer do not detect the smell of plastic, human or other foreign odors.

The bigger and older the deer, the harder it is to fool them. They don’t get big and old by being stupid! But a crazy fact in my experience is, the older they are, the easier they are to pattern.  So they become fairly easy to kill if you can cover up and remove your human scent and pressure.

Is Eliminating Your Scent Useful?
Jeff Murray is a well-known author of a book called “The Moon Guide” and is an expert when it comes to whitetail deer hunting and has provided several useful deer hunting tips. He says that wearing carbon-lined clothing such as Scent-Lok has increased his personal success rate of catching mature whitetail bucks
Does scent blocker really work: What is a hunter’s Opinion?
Does scent blocker really work?
A hunters’ opinion for this matter varies. There are some who swear it works, but there are some who said it has no effect at all. Why do the hunters differ in their opinion? The answer is quite simple.
On one hand hunters who have experienced great success when they have used scent-eliminating products thoroughly believe in them. On the other hand, those hunters who haven’t yet experienced or used them do not.
Why is it that scent-eliminating products will work for some deer hunters and not others?
Hunters who believe in and use scent elimination take deer hunting seriously, and they know there are several steps a hunter must do and go through in order to be completely scent-free. If you miss just one step these will not work for you.

9  Deer Hunting Scent Control Tips – That Actually Work

Tip 1: Hunt the wind – The Untapped Gold Mine Of SCENT CONTROL That Many Have Seemed To Have Forgotten.
Here is the #1 secret scent control tip, and it’s FREE……. hunt the wind! During the off season, You need a bag that you get after you buy a comforter set. You must then place the all your hunting clothes into the bag, poke holes in it, place it in a big tote and fill it with dirt. The dirt will release all the air in the bag and the holes will help the NATURAL earth scent to seep into the cloths.
But the downside of this trick is that if you hunt in the mountains, this trick may not work properly because the wind blows in 360 degrees every 5 mins.

Tip 2: # 1 Form Of Scent Control For Deer – ( If You Can Master This Technique, You Can Hunt Deer Anywhere )
You can do a lot more things for scent control that don’t take a lot of time to do. And if you spend an hour on scent control every time you go into the woods there’s a lot more you need to be worried about. Simply remember, the number one form of scent control is simply your stand location. Where your stand location is set or where you’ve planned it to set is the number one form of scent control. If you have your stand located properly you should be in the driver's seat. If your stand location is set correctly for archery hunting you can take your scent right out of the picture and should be able to fool a deer’s nose easily. That’s the basic foundation of all scent control…making sure that your stand is positioned well first.
A good reminder for all – Your access to any stand location must be planned out well in advance also so that the deer you plan on hunting never have a chance to know you are in their domain.


Tip 3. Scent Eliminator Sprays – The Truth About Scent eliminator sprays
Dress outside the truck when you arrive to your hunting location. Use a scent elimination spray. Even though I believe that it works and I have seen many proofs, scent elimination spray can’t eliminate human scent completely. It just covers up human scent a little bit. Scent control is all about adding up small percentages. A Scent elimination spray might give you some extra advantage.

Tip 4: Activated Carbon Lined Suite – Have You Heard? 
Many claim wearing a carbon-lined suit like Scentlok will make you scent-free. Also some controversies arise whether carbon suits really work. When you are not using your carbon-lined clothing keep it in a separate pack. This will keeps foreign odors from other clothing transferring to your deer hunting clothes.
To make it effective, you must activate it by placing it into the dryer for at least 20 minutes. Once your carbon suit has dried it will be activated and you must then place the suit into a scent-free bag and leave it in there until you arrive at your hunting location. Do not place your activated suit on the back of your truck or hang in your closet because this will attract odors.
Make sure that your suit is scent-free so that it can perform well. There are scent-free bags so that you can make sure your suit remains scent-free.

Tip 5: Being Scent Free is Easy!
Here are some more deer hunting tips before you leave your home and head to the woods. Make sure to take a shower or bath to make sure you have gotten rid of as much human scent as you possibly can. The smaller amount of human scent your body has, the better off you will be. When you are wearing your carbon suit, it’s extremely important to remember to wear your gloves, hood, and hats. Human hair and breath give off a large amount of odor. To make the carbon suit effective you must wear the entire suit, not just parts of it.

Tip 6: The Lazy Way To Make Your Boots Scent Free
Along with the gloves and hood, you also need to remember to ensure your feet are also scent free. The nose of the whitetail deer detects the human scent that has been left behind by your hunting boots days after you have left the woods. To ensure your boots are also scent free, you should keep your hunting boots in a scent-free container anytime you do not have them on.
During some point of your deer hunting trip, you’ll most likely have to walk a great distance to get to your deer hunting stand or blind. It is pretty likely that several deer will be walking over and around the exact same trail, you walked on. Rubber boots are the best for warm weather simply because the rubber boots will not hold on to foreign odors. On the boots you use for cold weather use a scent free soap in order to wash them. Always use you cover scent spray all over the entire boot and this also includes the soles.
You can also spray scent eliminating spray to your boots and be sure to wear an odor eliminating socks before going into the woods

Tip 7: Use some sort of neutralizer spray -Advantage against a deer’s sensitive nose.
There are varieties of different odor eliminators that also include dirt covering scent. This spray helps to eliminate the odor from your boots and will make them smell just like dirt. Make sure to spray down all of your equipment that you will be bring into the deer woods with you like your bow and any other gear. They may have odd odors on them that could possibly spook a deer. 
Your tree stands along with any other equipment also needs to be scent free. They usually pick up human scent from people being on them. Use some sort of neutralizer spray and/or covering scent spray on every piece of your accessories that you carry in. If any of your equipment is washable then you should wash it and store it along with your clothing.

Tip 8: Beware: Before You Go Hunting
Before you leave for your deer hunting trip you should shower and use scent free shampoos and soaps. You should not use any kind of soap or shampoos that contain a scent. You can also purchase deodorant that is scent free or possibly not use any deodorant at all before you go on your hunt. Remember, do not use colognes, perfumes, or any scented deodorants.

Tip 9: How to Cover Human Scent on Your Breath when Hunting
A great deal of human scent comes from the mouth when breathing and your head. Wearing a carbon-lined hood is of great help.
Chlorophyll tablets are yet another way that can help you eliminate your human body odor. It has been prescribed by doctors to cure extreme bad breath and body odor. Taking chlorophyll pills to help get rid of your human scent by starting with the metabolic level.
 Chewing gum that contains chlorophyll helps eliminate breath odor too.

Conclusion:There are many ways to eliminate your human odor. But regardless of what method you choose, just be sure you have done that before going into the woods.
Anything you can do to help get rid of your human scent helps. The nose of the whitetail deer is similar to a smoke detector. Just as with the smoke detector and smoke, it only takes a small amount of human scent to set the detector or the nose in this case off.
The steps needed to be able to eliminate all of your human scents before you climb into your stand can seem like a great deal of work and time in preparation for your hunt. But think about the extra time as a well-warranted event once you have harvested a large buck. Not to mention that by following these deer hunting tips it can be very easy.
Covering all human scent your body is carrying can be a hard task, but the harder you work to make yourself scentless, the more likely you will get a good, quality deer.

Verdict: Can You Eliminate Your Scent? Regardless of all these scent control deer hunting tips, trying to actually trick a deer’s nose can be a difficult task. And essentially it's impossible. The key is to take some time and effort in scent control and you might actually get that few extra seconds you need to pull the trigger on your trophy buck.

Mental Durability for Bowhunting

Regular exercise schedules condition your body, indeed, yet maybe more significantly, they condition your mind.

Guides who take clients on extreme chases after creatures like bighorn sheep and mountain goats let me know that psychological strength most frequently isolates fruitful clients from ineffective. As a wellness proficient and energetic bowhunter, I know each bowhunter can get things done to build the ability to manage vulnerabilities in the field. Undoubtedly, actual wellness adds to mental durability. Truth be told, wellness preparing prompts individual discipline and upgrades your capacity to be more OK with being awkward - - the structure blocks for mental durability in the field.

Discipline
The craft of discipline truly reduces to needs and execution - - sorting out the main thing to you and following through on the cost to accomplish it.
For my purposes, the need is that pursuit of a mature whitetail from September through early January. In any case, how would I accomplish that need? That deer lives in the most isolated and thickest parts of the forest for the greater part of the year. He endures brutal winters, hunters, and numerous different obstructions, and he everyday trips all over edges just to get food and water. Conversely, I inhabit 2,000 feet, purchase my food at a store, drive to and from work, and don't need to watch over my shoulder for hunters.

The distinctions in our ways of life make execution of my need an extreme test, and I get an edge over the buck just through a restrained way of life. I punt on rest to get to the exercise center early, set up my dinners ahead of time as opposed to pulling up to the drive-through, plan exercises in my day to day organizer, train with a virtual exercise partner for accountability, and express no to overindulgence. Making little sacrifices every day, limiting alternate ways, and pursuing the more respectable option cultivates an edge for the woods.

Become Familiar With Being Awkward

Please accept my apologies, however cookie cutter preparation won't test your breaking points.
While preparing, perserverance ought to be the main objective, and it's not estimated just by pulse or how much perspiration you produce, but how much work you achieve at all measure of time. Exercises should be observed with a stopwatch so you're contending with the clock. This approach could leave you lying on the ground in a puddle of sweat with your muscles shouting and lactic acid streaming through your body, yet all the same, that is fine.

These come as the consequence of a greatest exertion and proceeding when your body asks for kindness.

Look To Go on With Commitment

Exercises like this not just burn away calories and fat, they additionally adjust your mind to awkward circumstances. All things considered, the unexpected happens constantly in bowhunting: You climb straight up hill two hours before light, sit in an unforgiving tree stand from day break to sunset, battle weariness following 10 straight days of hunting. You get it. What's more, when you're there, you'll be grateful you've prepared for it.

You additionally can improve mental intensity through day to day way of life. Do you search for the more responsible options? Do you challenge your intellectual ability consistently by doing things you would rather not do? I call this psychological molding. It rules out narrow-mindedness, split the difference, or interruption. It constructs an outlook that shapes the bedrock for progress in difficult stretches. So test yourself continually with affliction to fabricate mental durability. It will extend into all that you do, including bowhunting.

Mental Molding

Mental abilities, as actual abilities, need continual repetition. Go get a 3x5 note card and a pencil. On one side of your card list your own keys to progress; on the other, list execution keys to progress. Keep this card convenient and concentrate on it frequently. It will act as a cordial wake up call of the psychological signs required for progress. I'll utilize my own note card for instance:

Individual Keys to Progress

-Discipline
-Hard working attitude
-Persistence

Execution Keys to Progress

-Confidence In Myself
-Top Level Concentration
-Accountability

I compose these things as an understudy, not an educator. I actually have huge space for development in this my home, however I'm continually looking for more truth and sharpening my psychological distraction with progress as the shared factor. Raise your bowhunting experience by being more mentally prepared.

I love to read while in a tree stand or blind of the sort. It's one hell of a lot better than being caught up in some totally pointless conversation on social media when scrolling on the phone. I'll opt to save the battery life for more important things like calling or texting my wife or best friend after a successful hunt or for an unexpected situation. 

I recommend indulging into personal development books like the ones I have pictured below. I highly suggest checking them out and studying them. DON'T just let them collect dust on the couch. You can find them on Amazon. Just click on each image to order, if you'd like to check them out or other great personal development books. Discover secrets to a greater quality of life that the school systems fail to ever teach. And they will give you a greater ability to stay engaged longer into your hunt. I'll almost guarantee it!

Health, Fitness, Hunting : Everything is Circular
 
By no means will I ever tell any of my clients, or anyone I meet, or anyone that exists in my life how to live their lives. That's just plain rude! And definitely none of my business. But, when I'm asked how I stay so "skinny" or how I can zip right up a hillside with very little effort, then I'll gladly share with anyone why staying in shape and trying to have what I perceive as a healthy lifestyle is so valuable to me. Why shouldn't it be at the forefront for any of us. And to me, having little eyes watching me at home is even more important to maintain a healthy lifestyle because my children are being conditioned by observing my choices, habits, and rituals on a daily basis. Ultimately, they will become a product of their environment. 

"How does health, fitness, and overall lifestyle tie into deer hunting?"  

I am so glad you asked!!! Let's take a journey down that rabbit hole, because ultimately your health and your mindset are the two biggest assets in your life that you do have control over, despite your genetics and/or current circumstances in your life.

Every year here in Wisconsin it seems we have at least one fatality in the deer woods due to an unexpected heart attack or some other health related issue. Most of which could have probably have been prevented. But at the same time I realize, too, that even some people given clean bills of health or that seem to be in top physical condition, can ultimately perish due to the unexpected curve ball life tends to throw at every single one of us.

Isn't it worth it to you you to give yourself a fighting chance? Why not be an inspiration to your family members or friends who could be struggling in their own way? Remember, overall health isn't just about the physical.Achievement of any goal in life starts in ones own mind first. And believe me, conquering our own minds is the #1 challenge anyone of us will ever struggle with with anything that happens in or lives.

Everything Begins With Mindset.... EVERYTHING!

I think it's safe to assume that many of us struggle with the discipline to overcome procrastination. We don't shoot our bows or guns enough when it comes to practice during the off season. We don't accomplish habitat improvements or hunting strategy projects we set out to achieve. We spend more time watching others on social media or TV instead of just getting off of our own duffs and getting to work.

We have to become aware of our own actions, and really, our own inactions when it comes to overcoming procrastination in our lives, And that is especially true when it comes to fitness and health. 

All to often I see good, honest people setting New Year's resolutions to get in shape. Yet by 3 weeks into their desire to transform they start to put it off. They hit the snooze button for "just 5 more minutes" or longer. They reach for their phones first thing when they wake up. And before they know it they've wasted a half our seeking fulfillment and a dopamine hit while ultimately ignoring what they intended to accomplish which eventually leads them back into their old habits of their daily lives.

What happened?

Simple. It's a lack of and failure to shift how they identify who they are.

For your life to change for greater success in any area of your life, including your goals for hunting and the great outdoors, you have to learn to focus on what you want and to shift your identity as though you are already that person you have set out to become. 

It's simply a paradigm shift!

You Are Never Alone! 

Throughout my journey to chase my own health and fitness goals, even starting my own business, I sought out people who had already accomplished the things I wanted to achieve. I was intimidated at first, but so glad I had the guts to reach out to these individuals because they have become some of my greatest mentors and friends. They are the ones who help hold me accountable to my intentions.

I look at my health and fitness from a different view. Sure, it is for my own well being. But it's deeper than that for me. My own journey, health and fitness have helped me help others chase their dream of being a better version of themselves for the coming deer seasons. 

I love helping people be able to climb hills better to reach their deer stands without taking breaks to catch their breath (NO, a motorized or battery powered vehicle is NOT the solution). To not tire so easily while dragging their harvest out of the woods. To ultimately being their own personal inspiration to others in their own lives.

Wrapping Up

Why go another season being out of shape? Why wait for everything to be right to start becoming a better version of the health you want to achieve? Why not have greater stamina and endurance, whether in your deer stand or at work? Where else in your life have you waited for everything to be right and it still hasn't happened?

The best time to start anything you want to accomplish in life is yesterday. Stop waiting for the stars to align.

No, for most of you deer and hunting probably aren't everything to you. Believe it or not, they aren't for me either. My wife, our children, and our family are the most important to me. I owe it to them to be the ultimate version of health and fitness, discipline and integrity that I can be.

Shouldn't you live a life that way? Why not? Why can't you?

The choice is yours! And if you are ready, people like myself are here for you.

September = Deer Season for Many of Us

It's finally September! That means the beginning of many different types of hunting season, from small game seasons to deer and other big game species seasons. Some States opening as soon as September 1. 

The question is, are you prepared?

This is a time where either the rubber meets the road, or it is a time to wrap up habitat and hunting strategy projects on our properties. If hunting Public Land, it is the perfect time of year to be out doing a little speed scouting. Perhaps even setting a secluded, out of sight out of mind trail cameras for critical intel. 

As I write this, our expected daytime temperature today, September 2nd, is expected to be near 90 with high humidity with little to know rain in the near future. But generally, September, for me especially, is a month that we all look forward to with generally cooling daytime highs, making it more of a pleasure to appreciate all of the projects we have completed up to this point. And also more desirable conditions to wrap up any last minute projects we may have before hunting season begins.

My Personal Checklist

 - Brassica food plots receive a top dress of a minimum of 100#/acre of Urea Nitrogen fertilizer just prior to an impending rain.

- Clover and/or alfalfa food plots will receive a minimum of 100#/acre of potash fertilizer to help root systems build carbohydrates in preparation for winter dormancy. It's kind of a golden rule in which a soil test for this application generally doesn't apply. It's more of a common sense approach.

- September is a great time to seed small cereal grains such as winter rye, winter wheat, winter oats, triticale, peas, and even crimson clover. I utilize these forages either mixed as a stand alone crop or to fill gaps in thin soybean or brassica plots. and even perhaps in a corn field that I know will be harvested for ensilage or grain. A harvested field will eventually lead to little to no food source. if on a permission farm or lease, please be sure to talk with the land owner.

- Now is the time to make sure all stands, box blinds, ground blinds, etc. are in place, brushed in with access/exit strategies in place. And also accessorized with safety climbing  lines, bow hooks, bow ropes for pulling up and letting down your bow, accessary hooks for your daypacks, etc.. I will even go the extra mile, because I will have family and other guests out to my properties to hunt, to flag out stand access and locations with flagging tape and reflective thumbtacks.

- All shooting lanes are created and cleared for maximum draw and shot opportunity.

- If I absolutely have to, and if applicable, now is the time to top off any water sources that must be manually filled.

- Continually shooting at least one arrow a day with my bow. We all have at least 5 minutes in our "busy" lives to shoot our bows on a continuous daily basis. Practice makes improvement, even if you think your perfect.

- Making sure our clothing is as scent free as we possibly can. No, you cannot fool a deer's nose. But to me, scent control via scent free detergents, soaps, and ozone or air tight storage containers are absolutely worth the extra effort.

- Now is a great time to make sure your favorite hunting boots are in shape for the season. Nothing worse than finding out the hard way, like crossing a creek only to find out then that there was a hole in my boots.

- Purchasing the proper licenses.

- And above all, just having fun and living each day as though it could possibly your last.

In Summary

This is just my list that I go through this time of year in preparation for the upcoming season, which for Wisconsin is September 17th this year. Your checklist may be a little different, and that is perfectly fine. but for some of you reading this, I at least you found this list somewhat helpful. 

Good luck this season! And PLEASE, be sure to share your harvest success photos!