820 - Why Mature Bucks Get Up and Move at 10AM | Clay Harper
The Southern Outdoorsmen Hunting PodcastShow Notes
Clay Harper is a DIY traveling hunter who's turned breaking down brand-new ground into a system. He picks a state, a season, and a "theme" long before he ever sets foot on the property, then kills mature bucks on public land across the country. In this one, we get into his early-season playbook: how he reads unfamiliar woods fast, why he hunts the mid-morning window nobody else does, and the mindset shift that's put more bucks on the ground for him than any single tactic.
In this episode:
- Why mature bucks get up and move mid-morning in the early season — and the mineral craving behind it - The "theme of the hunt" framework: deciding what you're hunting before you ever open a map - Overcoming the objection — the sales-mindset question Clay asks himself before every hunt - Reading a brand-new property from the food back to the bed using rub lines - How to speed-scout unfamiliar ground and pick spots that set up in your favor - Why big deer often hold close to access — and you don't have to hike miles deep - Using a decoy and rattling to pull cruising bucks off the ridgetops out West - Why he kills more deer on the ground than out of a treestand
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
NOTE: Not all advertisements run on this show are endorsed by The Southern Outdoorsmen Podcast unless an ad is read by one of the hosts.
Our Sponsors: * Check out MyBookie and use my code SOUTHERNOUTDOORSMEN for a great deal: https://www.mybookie.ag * Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code SOUTHERNOUTDOORSMEN for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
More from The Southern Outdoorsmen Hunting Podcast
Kyle had gone almost 20 years without killing a mature buck with a bow. Then, on Alabama's opening weekend, he jumped one out of his bed at 12 yards in an old cattle catch pen. Instead of leaving, he sat down in the grass, and the buck came back 15 minutes later. With Jacob on his honeymoon, Kyle and Thomas Myers join Andrew to break down that hunt, how to hunt a Black Belt cattle farm, and your questions. In this episode: - Hurricane knocked green acorns to the ground: will deer still eat them? - What can you learn from seeing deer at night? - HOT TAKE: bow shots past 60 yards aren't bowhunting - 20 years of bowhunting without a mature buck, and why - The shooter buck Jacob missed for his wedding - A cold front at the wedding and why Kyle had to go - Slipping into an old catch pen on a high-wind day - Jumping a bedded buck at 12 yards - Overhead cover when you're set up on the ground - Why less gear makes you a better woodsman - Moving through cover: shade, shadows, and stopping every few steps - How a Black Belt cattle farm lays out - Do cattle ruin your deer hunting? - Why bucks on a farm live on 15 to 40 acres - Will a buck come back to a bed you bumped him from? - Hunting pastures like Midwest funnels - The trail camera that missed three giants - When white oaks aren't dropping: mountain chestnut oaks and water oaks
Tim Knight put the rifle down for good in 1985, and he killed most of the bucks on his wall the same way: rattling from a climber with his antlers on the ground. We sat down in Tim's trophy room in Georgia to get into his yo-yo rattling method, why he wants to sound like two small bucks sparring instead of a buck fight, and why his favorite week to rattle comes before the does are ready.
In this listener Q&A, we walk through a day of post-hurricane scouting: six and a half miles of acorns on the ground and only one spot worth hunting, plus the three-reason test that made the call. Then we run through your questions, hot takes, and some Circle marriage advice before Jacob ties the knot.
Asher Kight found a mature buck in his bed in late summer, filmed him from 20 yards, then set up 184 yards away and killed him early season. We get into how Asher finds and targets individual mature bucks in the Arkansas mountains, why he scouts far more than he hunts, and how he plans to kill a target buck in four sits or less. In this episode:
In this listener Q&A, we get into whether your wind actually pushes a buck out of his bed, or whether it's the walking in that does it. Then we run through your questions, hot takes, and hot tips as Alabama's opener closes in.