Over time, that experience has helped us be more comfortable in those environments. We had scouted and hunted those ridges with the bow, but had only seen one doe, says Zangerle. After 20-minutes, the buck walked up the ridge, proper towards the crew that was hidden in a thick patch of canopy on the bottom. Derek Horner is the engagement editor for Outdoor Life where he manages OLs social accounts and email campaigns, and shares our stories with the world. I got excited about this one. Using a boat, you can access public lands or pressured private areas that other folks cant comfortably reach. You occasionally have cold fronts and the turkeys get quiet. The smaller tracts where they spent the last two days were around 500 acres each (which sounds big, but in open country properties of this size hunt much smaller). If a deer is down there, it can smell anything on the ridges above. At the same time, were gaining more options if we pull into an area that is being hunted by somebody else. We came to Alabama and had adverse weather conditions and a lot of hunting pressure. It was a public land deer hunt that most can only dream of. In fact, an awful lot of the gear a hunter could buy wont do much to actually help fill tags. For the tenth cease of The Hunting Publics Deer Tour, Ted Zangerle and Jake Huebschman hit Iowa public land for the early muzzleloader season. They solely had about 10-feet of elevation over the place the buck was bedded with their setup on a small dike, round 200-yards from the bedded buck. This day ranks as one of many prime searching days for your complete crew. This might be the best podcast yet. We learn a lot about turkeys doing that.. 74.4k Followers, 257 Following, 421 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Ted Zangerle (@ted_zangerle) ted_zangerle. He knows he was lucky that the shot ended up working out and the doe died quickly, but it very easily could have ended in a different way. Contact the author here. While Warbritton says a turkey is a turkey, he admits that birds in the South are generally tougher to deal with early in the season. Typically, Zangerle would stop and hunt where hed bumped a group of deer because bucks are often close by, but that evening he decided to push past the doe bedding area and work farther down the ridge to where he could get a shot into the bottom. Combined, we had been hunting about 11 days without a bird. I settled in against a tree trunk. Steep wooded hills rose above me on either side, forming an almost amphitheater-like bowl of mixed hardwoods. Once we started doing that, we ended up having more and more spots to bounce to. As first mild got here and went with out a lot motion, Huebschman settled in and commenced glassing the opposite aspect of the river. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. He would then slip into that spot, set up and hunt it for a few hours. Published Nov 1, 2022 9:56 AM EDT. At the same time, were gaining more options if we pull into an area that is being hunted by somebody else. He would then slip into that spot, set up and hunt it for a few hours. Zangerle had pulled the shot, skimming the underside of the bucks chest. Once we got back to camp that night, we dropped off our equipment and drove around to check some small tracts of public land with a spotlight, just to see if we could locate bucks feeding in the fields, Zangerle says. Their goal on opening day was to head into areas near where they had observed bucks feeding in the agricultural fields, assuming that they would be bedding or traveling through small hedgerows or timber stands. After what felt like an eternity, Zangerle was able to reload, and miraculously, the buck was still within range. The Hunting Public's core mission is to create a community of hunters that can interact and learn together as a group. There were tons of acorns dropping and clear feeding signs near that oak. Subscribe to OL+ for our best feature stories and photography. Episode #7 - While they were scouting that night, Zangerle spotted a nice buck on one of these small tracts of public. Zangerle admits, he and the THP crew typically focus on the larger tracts of public land, but for good reason. Once you find a piece that holds deer, its easier to pattern them in such a smaller area.. It was on these subsequent days, while working against high winds and attempting to cover longer distances, that I realized for myself the value of a motor, something Id long assumed was an unnecessary indulgence. The next few days were increasingly hot. YouTuber since Sep 2017, The Hunting Public showcases the hunting adventures of the group. Turkeys realize that. 421 posts. The sun was setting, and the waters surface was mirror flat, reflecting oranges and purples from above. But you can use that hunting pressure to your advantage. For the third stop of The Hunting Publics Deer Tour, Ted Zangerle set out for Kansas to chase whitetails on public land with his bow. Finding or building the perfect whitetail boat is a worthy pursuit for obvious practical reasons. With Zangerle searching close by, Huebschman acquired in contact with him to get his arms on his packable hip-waders. With each episode they will be discussing a variety of challenges that hunters face, as well as talking gear, tactics, and conservation with occasional guests from the hunting industry. The rewards for this extra work are less pressured deer, higher deer densities, and, sometimes, older bucks. Zangerle and his two cameramen, Keith Robinson and Aaron Warbritton, arrived a few days prior to opening day to scout and find find areas to focus on for their five-day hunt. Zangerle had spent the majority of the summer scouting public land tracts within a few hours of their newly purchased hunting cabin, so heading into opening week, he felt confident he was going to get his eyes on nice bucks they had been patterning. There was a lot of fresh sign, with three big ridges joining and droping into a thick bottom. https://manstuffnews.com/weekend-warriors/video-florida-angler-under-investigation-for-beating-a-shark-with-a-hammer-then-releasing-it, The Best Rimfire Rifles of 2023, Tested and Reviewed, The Best Hiking Shoes for Wide Feet of 2023, Tested and Reviewed, How to Install Surf Footstraps on your Hydrofoil or Kitesurf Board. With a cold front on the way, the crew was looking forward to the 9-day season. I slid across the lakes surface like a skater on ice, the bow of my canoe slicing smoothly through the waves while diamonds sparkled on the water and shimmered off the antlers at my feet. Once they got set up that evening, they saw a couple doe milling around in the bottom. During this years trip to Alabama, Warbritton managed to bag a bird. If I was coming to Alabama, Id probably pick this time frame to hunt. Then we go in with boots on the ground and see if its good turkey habitat. I got excited about this one. We dealt with the hunting pressure, but we stayed persistent and were able to kill a couple of turkeys in a weeks time. They do a good job of maintaining good turkey habitat. The afternoon of the 15th, Zangerle sat right next to one of his trail cameras where they had a nice buck show up in daylight on the afternoon of the 14th. The downside to these options is that they arent great for covering large distances. There was no long and loud hike through crop fields or acorn-filled timber that would send deer running. Plus, these guys are legit, they really know how yo read sign, setup on the deer and have . You might be surprised by what you find. While Parker prefers a minimalist approach to his boat, mounting almost nothing other than his motor, he reiterated to me during our trip the importance of having good lighting for the early morning and late night boat trips through the blinding fog that waterways frequently conjure. Later, with that buck in my boat, I leaned back in my seat as I bobbed gently up and down and thought about just how right Parker was. The buck took off, plowing the ground, and as he went up over the ridge, Zangerle thought he heard a crash. Whether its rain, wind, snow, or bitter temperatures, if you want to consistently fill those whitetail tags youve got to be able to persist through the elements. With a chilly entrance in full impact, the large bucks had been on their toes throughout sunlight hours. But when we go there early in the season, we found that the turkeys were flocked up, henned up and pretty quiet. Dads and Twins - Tips For Raising Twins From a Dad. Over the next few days, Zangerle continued his plan of observation sits, simply trying to get a bead on what the big bucks were doing with the hot weather and minimal wind. Had he decided to dive in and hunt the bottom, it was likely that he would have spooked that buck with how hot it was and the lack of wind, but by following the weather forecast, he was able to make a smart call and set up to observe, which will give him better chances of killing the buck in the weeks to come. For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield. It was inside vary of his muzzleloader, however its unlawful to shoot throughout navigable waterways in Iowa. their Youtube channel and check them out! Thats one thing about Alabama, he said. You simply have to get creative to gain elevation and observe your target areas. While Zangerle didnt have his arms on the buck but, he knew the hit would develop into deadly. They always made a game plan to go in and hunt a certain area on these small tracts so there wasnt as much disruption. David Rainer is an award-winning writer who has covered Alabamas great outdoors for 25 years. This might be the best podcast yet. You didnt have to have a bunch of money or fancy gear. There was a lot of public land and they wanted to cover as much as possible. As he moved by the grass, Huebschman might lastly see his vitals. Opportunities on public land can be few and far between, so when you get them, make them count. Happy Hunting! Although Warbritton says Alabama has plenty of turkey hunters, the state also has a good population of wild turkeys. If you communicate with other folks, you can ensure everybody is having a good experience. A lot of young people use YouTube for entertainment and to learn how to do stuff. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 2018 and still lives in central Pennsylvania. Stay tuned for our next story with Zangerle, he ended up having one heck of an October. Since Zangerle already harvested his muzzleloader buck, he was trying to fill his archery tag whereas Huebschman arrange close by together with his smokepole. Check out this great listen on Audible.com. It was difficult. And that weighs on you, he said. Chris is a new hunter looking to learn as much as he can before next season starts. Ted Zangerle & Logan Wright from the Hunting Public sit down and chat with us. Heading into their scouting, the crew planned to target agricultural fields like soybeans and corn field edges. The Hunting Public Zangerle admits, he and the THP crew typically focus on the larger tracts of public land, but for good reason.