The Southern Outdoorsmen Hunting Podcast

Can a mature buck actually recognize your treestand, your climber, or your trail cameras? Andrew opens this one with a story about the biggest buck he'd ever seen in bow range — a buck that stepped out, locked onto the base of the tree he was sitting in, and eased off without a sound. It never saw him. It never smelled him. So what gave him away?
From there, Andrew and Jacob work through a stack of your questions from Circle and the website. Classic Thursday Q&A — straight from you guys.
In this episode:
Do deer recognize your treestand & trail cameras?
The buck that busted Andrew's climber — and what gave him away
Shooting houses, box blinds & the black-window trick
Why you're giving mature bucks too many chances to learn you
Will a mature buck abandon his home range under pressure?
The good bucks you never knew were on your property
Could you actually pressure a buck out of his core?
Do deer relocate, or just shut down and go thick?
You jumped your target buck scouting — now what?
Scouting in August & September on familiar ground
Finding a bachelor group in a cool creek bottom
Are you putting your trail cameras in the wrong spots?
Cameras on feed trees: before or after they drop?
Has extreme mobile hunting saved more bucks than it's killed?
The Who / Where / When of killing a specific buck
Do bucks bed in the same spot year after year?
Thermals, wind & hunting tight to water
Is killing a mature buck more luck or skill?
Mast crop report

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Use the promo code “southern” for a discount on your OnX Hunt membership here - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1tyfm

Check out Latitude Outdoors for your mobile hunting gear - https://2ly.link/1zVDI

Use code TSOP15 for a discount on Mossy Oak - https://linkly.link/2ERb8

Use code SOUTHERN20 for a discount on all Vortex apparel, including eyewear

Have you tagged a deer using something you heard on the show? Submit your listener success story here - Share Your Story Here

NOTE: Not all advertisements run on this show are endorsed by The Southern Outdoorsmen Podcast unless an ad is read by one of the hosts. 

Our Sponsors:
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Eddie McRae has bowhunted the same Georgia farms for 40 years — and he says he hasn't been smelled by a deer in nearly a decade. No ozone units, no expensive sprays. Just a scent system he runs 365 days a year and a theory that most deer don't even know what a human smells like anymore.
In this episode of The Southern Outdoorsmen, Eddie (of Riverman Custom Calls) breaks down the self-taught, low-pressure approach that's put six mature bucks on the wall in the last four years. We cover deer this time - turkey's coming in a follow-up.
What we get into:
How Eddie taught himself to hunt with no mentor, and why he switched from gun to bow in the late '80s
The bow record he almost can't explain — hundreds of deer, and his take on staying calm at full draw
Paper tuning, shooting at 60–80 yards, and building form you can repeat 100% of the time
His arrow setup: 200 grains up front, high FOC, and why he thinks ultra-heavy arrows are a mistake
The scent system in full — unscented everything, baking-soda washes, clothes that never enter the house, dog fennel cover scent, and the e-bike
Why he believes deer have stopped recognizing "clean" human scent altogether
The UV/detergent glow rabbit hole — the glove that busted him, the black-light test, and Dr. Karl Miller's UGA deer-vision work
The four kinds of deer (wild, suburban, managed, public) and why behavior — not bait — drives everything
Hunting a 400-acre farm like a sanctuary by doing the exact opposite of pressured neighbors
Why mature bucks lock into tiny core areas — the 11-acre buck that never showed on another camera
Cutting a ground blind into the nastiest cover on the property, and building a staging spot to kill a blown-out buck
Hunting major weather swings and "hunting from the sofa" until a deer tells you it's time
The get-in-get-it-done-get-out access philosophy (h/t Bobby Worthington)
Eddie's most controversial take: why he doesn't believe the South has a definitive rut, and the fawn-drop evidence behind it
Check out Eddie's calls:
Riverman Custom Calls — https://rivermancustoms.com/

Join our Circle Community here - ⁠https://linkly.link/2o0Sn

Grab some Southern Outdoorsmen merch here - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1u4aK
Join Woodsman Wire - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1u4aR
Use code “SOUTHERN” for a discount on Whitetail Hill food plot seed & trees - https://linkly.link/2myBP
Use the promo code “southern” for a discount on your OnX Hunt membership here - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1tyfm
Check out Latitude Outdoors for your mobile hunting gear - https://2ly.link/1zVDI
Use code TSOP15 for a discount on Mossy Oak - https://linkly.link/2ERb8
Use code SOUTHERN20 for a discount on all Vortex apparel, including eyewear
Have you tagged a deer using something you heard on the show? Submit your listener success story here - Share Your Story Here
NOTE: Not all advertisements run on this show are endorsed by The Southern Outdoorsmen Podcast unless an ad is read by one of the hosts. 

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Omaha Steaks and use my code BEEF for a great deal: https://www.omahasteaks.com
* Check out Outdoorsy and use my code OUTDOORSMEN for a great deal: https://www.outdoorsy.com

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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Is a National Forest really the best place to find a mature public-land buck? In this Q&A episode, Andrew and Jacob debate whether National Forests or Wildlife Management Areas consistently produce the biggest deer, discuss how hunting pressure shapes age structure, and tackle several listener hot takes covering roadbed hunting, scent control, hunting shows, antler growth, and more.

Topics discussed:

- National Forest vs. WMA for mature bucks
- What creates big-buck public land
- Roadbed & right-of-way hunting debate
- Hunting club vs. public land pressure
- Timing vs. scent control
- Can hunting shows teach new hunters?
- Summer antler growth update
- Rubs vs. scrapes
- Mobile Hunters Expo & Circle updates

Join our Circle Community here - ⁠https://linkly.link/2o0Sn

Grab some Southern Outdoorsmen merch here - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1u4aK

Join Woodsman Wire - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1u4aR

Use code “SOUTHERN” for a discount on Whitetail Hill food plot seed & trees - https://linkly.link/2myBP

Use the promo code “southern” for a discount on your OnX Hunt membership here - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1tyfm

Check out Latitude Outdoors for your mobile hunting gear - https://2ly.link/1zVDI

Use code TSOP15 for a discount on Mossy Oak - https://linkly.link/2ERb8

Use code SOUTHERN20 for a discount on all Vortex apparel, including eyewear

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Omaha Steaks and use my code BEEF for a great deal: https://www.omahasteaks.com
* Check out Outdoorsy and use my code OUTDOORSMEN for a great deal: https://www.outdoorsy.com

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Chuck Bailey (Old Timer Outdoors) has killed dang near every deer on his wall while standing on his own two feet — not from a box stand, not over a corn pile. In this episode, the Louisiana woodsman breaks down the on-the-ground hunting skills most of us have forgotten, why the easy way is quietly making us worse hunters, and a few old-timer scent tricks you've probably never heard of.

In this episode:

- Why Chuck refuses to hunt from a box stand — and how "devolving" back to hunting on foot teaches you more about deer than any feeder ever will

- The forgotten woodsmanship of reading the woods: squirrels, blue jays, dropping acorns, and the little signs that tell you where deer actually are

- Slip hunting a square mile until you know it cold — Chuck's approach to learning ground and killing bucks on the move

- The contrarian scent trick: using human hair from the barbershop (and mothballs) to steer deer with the wind and push them right where you want them

- Team drives and working the draws — how Chuck and his crew run deer from one green head to the next

- How the timber cutter-head machine and the loss of woods burning reshaped the habitat — and what it did to deer and turkey

- The bent-sight bow story — three arrows, one very confused deer

- Chuck's single best piece of advice: for every day you hunt the corn pile, force yourself to spend one day walking and looking instead

Chuck Bailey — Old Timer Outdoors:
https://www.tiktok.com/@oldtimeroutdoors

Join our Circle Community here - ⁠https://linkly.link/2o0Sn

Grab some Southern Outdoorsmen merch here - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1u4aK

Join Woodsman Wire - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1u4aR

Use code “SOUTHERN” for a discount on Whitetail Hill food plot seed & trees - https://linkly.link/2myBP

Use the promo code “southern” for a discount on your OnX Hunt membership here - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1tyfm

Check out Latitude Outdoors for your mobile hunting gear - https://2ly.link/1zVDI

Use code TSOP15 for a discount on Mossy Oak - https://linkly.link/2ERb8

Use code SOUTHERN20 for a discount on all Vortex apparel, including eyewear

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Omaha Steaks and use my code BEEF for a great deal: https://www.omahasteaks.com
* Check out Outdoorsy and use my code OUTDOORSMEN for a great deal: https://www.outdoorsy.com

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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This week we’re diving into another round of listener-submitted Hot Takes and Q&A! We debate whether it’s really possible to consistently kill mature bucks from permanent stands outside the rut, discuss the biggest factor separating consistently successful hunters from everyone else, answer questions about saddle hunting, sanctuaries, and dream hunts, and share a few stories.
In this episode:
Is it virtually impossible to kill mature bucks from a permanent stand?
The biggest factor behind consistent deer hunting success
Saddle vs. lock-on stands after several seasons of experience
Why “sanctuaries” don’t always work the way hunters think
Our thoughts on summer scrapes
Favorite dream hunts if money wasn’t a factor
Africa, elk, bighorn sheep, and other bucket-list adventures
Plus another round of listener hot takes and deer hunting questions

Join our Circle Community here - ⁠https://linkly.link/2o0Sn

Grab some Southern Outdoorsmen merch here - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1u4aK

Join Woodsman Wire - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1u4aR

Use code “SOUTHERN” for a discount on Whitetail Hill food plot seed & trees - https://linkly.link/2myBP

Use the promo code “southern” for a discount on your OnX Hunt membership here - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1tyfm

Check out Latitude Outdoors for your mobile hunting gear - https://2ly.link/1zVDI

Use code TSOP15 for a discount on Mossy Oak - https://linkly.link/2ERb8

Use code SOUTHERN20 for a discount on all Vortex apparel, including eyewear

Have you tagged a deer using something you heard on the show? Submit your listener success story here - Share Your Story Here

NOTE: Not all advertisements run on this show are endorsed by The Southern Outdoorsmen Podcast unless an ad is read by one of the hosts. 

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Omaha Steaks and use my code BEEF for a great deal: https://www.omahasteaks.com
* Check out Outdoorsy and use my code OUTDOORSMEN for a great deal: https://www.outdoorsy.com

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy