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Steve Pinkston hunts for the wind every other bowhunter is taught to avoid — and he's killed his last ten bucks doing it. Cameron and Tre Kerns go back through last week's conversation to pull out what's actually usable: whether Steve's "light and variable" wind theory holds up the same way in hill country as it does on his flat Ohio ag ground, why food source changes don't move Steve's deer off their bedding, the rain-triggers-movement pattern Tre's used to kill multiple bucks in the middle of the day, and a real debate on e-bikes, crossbows, and where hunting technology should draw the line. This is the Recovery — we go back to last week's episode and pull out the details you can actually apply to your next hunt. Follow along on social! IG - @modernwhitetail YouTube - @WHTLDEER Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! -Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ -OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt -Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow -Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/

Welcome to the WHTL Podcast, your source for Whitetail Deer Hunting Tactics, Stories & Expert Guests. In this episode, we're back in the studio with Johnny Stewart. We Discuss: * Early October is food-driven, so look for pockets of acorns, not a whole forest of mast. * Probe into a new area a little at a time instead of hiking every inch and burning it out. * Start e-scouting with the historic wind and focus on leeward, east-facing ridges and fingers. * Roughly 300 feet of relief from creek to ridgetop gives a mature buck room to bed safely. * Mature bucks favor cover where they can see 0 to 60 yards, not an impenetrable jungle. * If a spot is hard to get to, that is often exactly where the big buck lives. * How hard you press one spot should depend on how many other options you have. * When you find a new food source, check the downwind side before you hang cameras. * Cameras tell you where a buck isn't, which narrows down where he actually is. * A big track that other deer haven't walked over means a buck was there recently. And So Much More! Follow along on social! IG - @WHTLDEER TikTok - @WHTLDEER YouTube - @WHTLDEER Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! - Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ -OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt -Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠[bit.ly/PaintedArrow](http://bit.ly/PaintedArrow) - Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/

Steve Pinkston has killed three bucks over 200 inches — and never entered a single one in the record books. Owner of Hardcore E-Cycles and a member of the Whitetail Addiction team, Steve has spent over 45 years chasing whitetails with a bow, and since 2011 he's hunted the Ohio rut just twice. Since 2019, he hasn't carried a tag past October 13th — five of those kills came on the first sit, three on opening day. In this episode, presented by Hawke Optics, we break down how Steve fills his buck tag before most hunters ever leave the couch: his early-season playbook, the wind theories he swears by that go against almost everything you've been taught about deer and scent, and the mental shift — from hoping to expecting — that took him from a guy hanging stands on a prayer to a guy who walks into the woods already knowing. Whether you're hunting five acres or five hundred, this conversation will change how you think about opening week. Topics covered: Targeting one specific buck a year — watching him all summer with a spotting scope instead of leaning on trail cameras Reading the early-season food shift as acorns come in, and timing food plots to peak that first week of the season The scent-smoker experiments that led to his light-and-variable-wind theory, and why he stops worrying about wind direction once it goes dead still at last light The "Sticks" buck — j-hooked downwind and still walked into range, thanks to thermals Why tree stand height matters less to him than reading wind and visibility in the moment Weather vs. the moon — why a midday thunderstorm moves the needle more than any moon phase Ohio's changing buck age structure, the impact of technology on hunting pressure, and his take on fair chase The shift from "hoping" to "expecting" success on every sit — and what changed Building Hardcore E-Cycles — how access, scent control, and time of exposure shaped the bikes The buck that got spooked by his e-bike left on a kickstand, and what it taught him about deer and unfamiliar objects A rundown of the Maverick, Ace, and Mountain Tamer e-bikes, and what to look for before buying one Follow along on social! IG - @modernwhitetail YouTube - @WHTLDEER Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! -Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ -OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt -Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow -Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/

Cameron sits down with Tre Kerns to break down their sixth early season trip to North Dakota: two target bucks, tricky winds, and hunting mature deer from the ground at 15 yards. It's an honest recap of what went right and what didn't. One buck ended up on the tailgate, one got away clean, and one shot didn't go the way anyone wants. Along the way they cover the lessons that will carry into the rest of the season and beyond. Presented by Hawke Optics. Topics covered: Why this year's hit list was short and how narrowing it down to a few shooters shaped the trip Trey's bed-to-food setup on a coulee and fence corner, and how to "slice the pizza" so your wind sits just off the deer's approach Building makeshift ground blinds with back cover and shooting lanes so you can draw at close range Why backing out when the wind isn't right beats forcing a hunt, and why glassing can matter more than time on stand Tre's first encounter with "Splits": why grunting to stop an already-alarmed buck backfired The second encounter: a high shoulder hit, the recovery effort, and confirming the buck survived What trail cameras miss, including one photo from a night when 10 deer were in the field, and the same buck in the same corner a year apart Cameron's chase for "Mirror," and how a buck changes where he beds in a long cattail slough depending on the wind Reading a north wind, the "farm country drop-off," a young buck at 5 yards, and a 29-yard double-lung shot on a near-perfectly symmetrical giant-bodied 8-point Cameron's miss in fading light: why seeing your pin against a sunset backdrop is so hard, the case for a sight light, and how the miss helped him slow down for the kill shot How lunch with a stranger named Bob at a gas station turned into 1,500 acres of permission Plans for the rest of the season and the Ohio opener Up next: Friday's early season masterclass with Steve Pinkston. Listen before you hit the woods this weekend. Follow along on social! IG - @modernwhitetail YouTube - @WHTLDEER Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! -Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ -OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt -Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow -Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/

Welcome to the WHTL Podcast, your source for Whitetail Deer Hunting Tactics, Stories & Expert Guests. In this episode, we're back in the studio with Brian Tanner. We Discuss: * Overcast mid-October days can create longer, more productive deer movement windows. * Topography funnels cruising bucks when a setup accounts for wind and thermals. * The Green Mile uses cover and barriers to guide deer across wide-open ground. * A stand only works when access keeps your scent out of a deer's travel route. * Map work helps eliminate low-odds ground before boots ever hit the property. * Boots-on-the-ground scouting confirms the sign and movement maps cannot show. * Rut timing follows photoperiod, while weather changes daily deer activity. * Big bucks may be breeding long before hunters expect the chase to begin. * Cold rain can improve scent conditions and create better movement opportunities. * Great setups come from reading terrain, cover, wind, pressure, and experience. And So Much More! Follow along on social! IG - @WHTLDEER TikTok - @WHTLDEER YouTube - @WHTLDEER Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! - Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ -OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt -Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠[bit.ly/PaintedArrow](http://bit.ly/PaintedArrow) - Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/

Aaron Olsen took 13 years to kill his first buck with a bow. Since then, he's hunted 10 states and filled tags in 7 of them. In this Recovery, Cameron sits down in person with Trey Kearns — on location in North Dakota — to break down the 5 things from last week's conversation that you can actually take into the woods this season: getting mobile, treating private and public land as two different tools, using trail cameras to qualify your theories instead of replacing your scouting, when to trust the map and when to abandon it, and why getting busted on a mature buck isn't the end of the hunt. This is the Recovery — we go back to last week's episode and pull out the details you can apply to your next hunt. 🎧 Haven't heard the full interview yet? Watch/listen here: https://youtu.be/SvhBnAsXHGI Chapters: 00:00 — Intro: missing last week's upload, filling an ND buck tag, first in-person Recovery  01:26 — Aaron's numbers: 13 years to his first buck, 10 states hunted, tags filled in 7 01:45 — Thing 1: Get mobile 07:24 — Thing 2: Private land is defense, public land is offense 13:24 — Using trail cameras to qualify your theories — not replace your scouting 21:12 — E-scouting: a good starting point, dangerous if you fall in love with the map 30:14 — The six-encounter buck: why getting busted isn't the end of the hunt 36:06 — Thing 5: The best hunters are the most adaptable 38:21 — Cameron's full recap — all 5 things, back to back 38:36 — Glass vs. trail cameras: which one would you give up? 40:17 — Closing thoughts Follow along on social! IG - @modernwhitetail YouTube - @WHTLDEER Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! -Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ -OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt -Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow -Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/

Welcome to the WHTL Podcast, your source for Whitetail Deer Hunting Tactics, Stories & Expert Guests. In this episode, we're back in the studio with Adam Hays. We Discuss: Hunt the wind that makes a mature buck feel safe, not the wind that's perfect for you. The best time to hunt a stand is the first time you hunt it, so save it for your best night. Let other hunters pressure deer on bad nights while your kill spot stays untouched. Stack a good wind, weather pattern and moon on the same evening to tip the odds your way. Observation stands 250-300 yards off a kill spot gather intel without burning the stand. A daylight trail camera photo is the one reason to go in before conditions line up. The red moon is about the moon's position overhead or underfoot, not its phase. Mature bucks on a feeding pattern often move less than 100 yards from bed to food. Standing corn is food and cover, so the last field left standing can hold the oldest buck. Deer can duck a shot when they see a lighted nock coming. And So Much More! Follow along on social! IG - @WHTLDEER TikTok - @WHTLDEER YouTube - @WHTLDEER Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/

Aaron Warbritton of The Hunting Public joins the WHTL Podcast to break down the top 5 rules he lives by every season to consistently kill mature bucks — plus how he balances scouting pressure against the information he needs, how he finds the best stand on any property (public or private), and why he thinks trail cameras are one of the most overcomplicated tools in modern whitetail hunting. This episode is a crossover from Aaron's Back 40 series over on the Wired to Hunt feed (MeatEater Network) — check out the rest of that series for more conversations with guests like Bill Winke, Jeff Sturgis, and Adam with Land Legacy. Chapters 0:00 – Cold Open 0:19 – Welcome to the WHTL Podcast (Presented by onX) 1:16 – Meet Aaron Warbritton / Setting Up the Top 5 Rules 1:43 – Rule #1: Have Fun and Enjoy the Process 3:03 – The Story Behind Rule #1 — Letting a Giant Buck Walk 6:33 – Rule #2: Obey the Wind 9:24 – Rule #3: Take Close, High-Odds Shots 10:59 – Hawke Optics 11:11 – Rule #4: Setup Is Everything 13:12 – Rule #5: Adapt to the Conditions 16:11 – Playing the Long Game: Scouting All Season 19:15 – How Much Scouting Pressure Is Too Much? 27:33 – Finding the Best Stand on Any Property 31:03 – How to Access a Pressured Spot 36:00 – Hunting Tough Bottoms and Reading Thermals 39:03 – Why Trail Cameras Are Overcomplicated 46:17 – Where Mature Bucks Bed and Travel 50:16 – Outro & Where to Find More   We'll see you next week — October 1st is getting closer every episode. Catch up on the Whitetail Cribs series and don't miss the Michael Waddell Whitetail Cribs kickoff event in Henry, Illinois on September 18th.   Follow along on social! IG - @WHTLDEER TikTok - @WHTLDEER YouTube - @WHTLDEER   Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them!   -Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ -OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt -Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow -Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/

Aaron Olsen (Next Step Outdoors) took seven years to kill his first deer with a bow, and thirteen years to kill his first buck. Then something changed — in the last five or six seasons he's hunted ten states, filled tags in seven of them, and built a mobile, saddle-based system from scratch. In this episode, Cameron sits down with Aaron to break down: Why getting mobile was the single biggest lever for leveling up as a hunter How private land and public land teach you two completely different lessons — and why he treats them like offense and defense Why private land gives you cleaner, faster feedback, and what public land teaches you that private land never will How annual trail camera data can mislead you if you don't know whether a pattern is buck-specific Aaron's approach to scouting — when to trust the map, and when to abandon it The one system Aaron admits he still hasn't figured out Using trail cameras to qualify an area instead of chasing the app Glass vs. cameras — which one Aaron would give up first The closing lesson: why the best hunters are the most adaptable, not the most skilled This is a conversation about compressing the learning curve — the stuff that took Aaron over a decade to figure out, broken down so you don't have to learn it the same slow way. Find Aaron Olsen: Next Step Outdoors — YouTube & Instagram Instagram: @nextstepoutdoors  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NextStepOutdoors If this episode helped you, the most useful thing you can do is leave a quick rating or review — it's the main way new listeners find the show.

Welcome to the WHTL Podcast, your source for Whitetail Deer Hunting Tactics, Stories & Expert Guests. In this episode, we're back in the studio with K.C. Smith and Tyler Jones. We Discuss: Hunt the calendar first and let the weather be the tiebreaker. The warm-up day on the backside of a cold front can out-hunt the front itself. A stable wind matters more to a deer's comfort than a dropping temperature. Treating the whole season like a five-day hunt sharpens every access decision. Your most imperative hunt is the next one, not the one you kill on. A bright white flashlight and a slow tree read make blind morning hangs work. Pulling one sapling over with paracord is often the difference in a shot. The doe bleat can works because most hunters think it's too kitschy to carry. A buck already with a doe has no reason to answer aggressive calling. Setting your pack on the ground leaves scent that shuts deer down at 50 yards. And So Much More! Follow along on social! IG - @WHTLDEER TikTok - @WHTLDEER YouTube - @WHTLDEER Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/

Don Higgins has been bowhunting for 49 years — and today he hunts fewer hours than at any point in his career. In this Recovery, we go back through the biggest, most usable takeaways from the full conversation: the discovery that changed how he reads wind and bedding forever, the ethics behind walking away from 19 out of 20 hunting tips, the patience it took to sit on a buck for three full seasons, and the mistake that took him over a decade to correct into a precise rule. This is the breakdown episode — the lessons, distilled, so you don't need 49 years to use them. 🎧 Haven't heard the full interview yet? Watch/listen here: https://youtu.be/swyEVnT9jTU MDRN Whitetail — Where woodsmanship and technology collide. Follow for weekly episodes breaking down what actually works, straight from the hunters who figured it out the hard way. Follow along on social! IG - @modernwhitetail YouTube - @WHTLDEER  Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! -Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ -OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt -Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow -Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/

Welcome to the WHTL Podcast, your source for Whitetail Deer Hunting Tactics, Stories & Expert Guests. In this episode, we're back in the studio with Brandon Barlow of The 70 Rule. We Discuss: Up to 80% of daytime deer behavior repeats in the same areas year to year. Cameras over corn and field edges produce deer photos, not repeatable data. Browse damage at nipple height marks the bedding mature bucks actually live in. Mature bucks catch REM sleep in bomb-shelter cover with no vantage point. Deep sleep runs 20 to 45 minutes a day regardless of the season. A buck's range shrinks with age until he burns into one small daytime spot. Fawn spot fade and drop dates back-calculate your property's real rut timing. Buck bedding is most consistent in early October and unravels in the full rut. Fewer than half of your daylight bucks come back the following season. Moon phase has zero measurable impact on daylight deer movement. And So Much More! Want to become a better whitetail hunter? Click the link below and sign up for the Whitetail Master Academy today! https://bit.ly/WhitetailMasterAcademy Follow along on social! IG - @WHTLDEER TikTok - @WHTLDEER YouTube - @WHTLDEER Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/

In this episode of MDRN Whitetail, Don breaks down the principles that actually built a 49-year career chasing giants — not the tips everyone's already heard, but the ones he had to learn the hard way. We get into: The "same time, same place" theory Don first wrote about in 2003 — and how tracking one buck's annual pattern for six straight years led to a first-morning kill Why hunting "the fringes" isn't about staying on the edge of everything — and how a 2-acre patch of cover next to an elderly neighbor's yard produced a 200-inch buck The October morning that broke Don of hunting mornings for over a decade, what he learned following a buck's tracks in the mud at first light, and the one condition that brings him back to a morning stand today Why "time in a tree" isn't the success factor most hunters think it is — and how Don hunts fewer hours now than at any point in 49 years How he handles tips on other people's target bucks, and why he's walked away from two 200-inch deer he could hunt right now Whether you're running public land, a handshake permission property, or your own ground, Don's approach proves the same thing MDRN Whitetail is built on: the principles matter more than the property. 🎙️ Follow Don Higgins: HigginsOutdoors.com | Chasing Giants Podcast Got a topic or guest you want to hear? DM me on Instagram: @mdrnwhitetail Follow along on social! IG - @modernwhitetail  YouTube - @WHTLDEER Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! -Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ -OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt -Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow -Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/

Welcome to the WHTL Podcast, your source for Whitetail Deer Hunting Tactics, Stories & Expert Guests. In this episode, we're back in the studio with Kaleb Greiner. We Discuss: Roughly half of summer bucks relocate before October in pressured country. Cereal grains want to be six inches tall on opening day, not two feet. The best summer camera in ag country sits 20 to 80 yards off a pond. Deer walk through an open gate instead of hopping the fence beside it. A creek drying up can move a buck straight to the nearest pond. White oak acorns pull deer off green fields from September 15th on. Raking leaves off an oak flat and broadcasting rye makes a green carpet. Hunting one buck every sit beats bouncing between farms all season. Mature bucks bed in five-yard waterways in the middle of cut fields. Trading TSI and chainsaw work for permission opens doors money can't. And So Much More! Want to become a better whitetail hunter? Click the link below and sign up for the Whitetail Master Academy today! https://bit.ly/WhitetailMasterAcademy Follow along on social! IG - @WHTLDEER TikTok - @WHTLDEER YouTube - @WHTLDEER Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/

Welcome to MDRN Whitetail — where woodsmanship and technology collide. I'm Cameron Derr, and I didn't learn to deer hunt from a mentor. I learned it from editing YouTube hunting content — first on The Tineman, then as Creative Director at Exodus Outdoor Gear, where I produced Trail Cam Radio (the Exodus Podcast, now WHTL), Whitetail Cribs, and hosted the Deer Gear Podcast. Every guest I edited became an unofficial teacher. Since picking up a bow in 2016, I've killed 10+ bucks — including a couple 150 class Ohio bucks, 160-class Ohio giant, a 140-class North Dakota buck, and a full-velvet mid-160s 9-point — almost entirely by applying what I learned from other people's content. That's the whole premise of this show: the learning curve doesn't have to be as long as everyone says, if you know how to actually pull the "why" out of what you're watching and listening to. Here's how MDRN Whitetail works: Week 1 — a long-form conversation with a guest, opening with the same question every time: by the end of this episode, what should you learn? Week 2 — myself and Tre Kerns break down last week's episode: what mattered, what we've tried, what actually works. This show runs in conjunction with the WHTL Podcast — thank you to Jake. Got a topic or guest you want to hear? DM me on Instagram: @mdrnwhitetail Follow along on social! IG - @modernwhitetail  YouTube - @WHTLDEER Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! -Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ -OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt -Painted Arrow: ⁠⁠bit.ly/PaintedArrow -Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/