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RESPOND NOW!!!! Suggestions from any hunter!!!

Public land hunting .

I think when Aaron, Zach and Greg left for their own You Tube show we lost an element that I really enjoyed. The public aspect for those of us that not only can't afford our own deer property or choose to hunt public lands for the challenge it offers. I would like to see that be brought back or at least addressed. Thank you.
 
I think when Aaron, Zach and Greg left for their own You Tube show we lost an element that I really enjoyed. The public aspect for those of us that not only can't afford our own deer property or choose to hunt public lands for the challenge it offers. I would like to see that be brought back or at least addressed. Thank you.

Just my opinion...I continue to watch those three as they have branched off and I am very impressed with how hard they work, how strategic they are and that they do 90% of their hunting on public areas. Hats off to them, they are real pros! BUT, I am not sure I see their "model" as terribly sustainable. (I hope for their sake that it is, they are well deserving of any success that they can get.)

But, just about as soon as they have an episode or two where they show any "lay of the land" or aerial pics...they then have "company" just about right away. Yes, I know it is public and that is just part of the battle, but if any given person highlights an area publicly and then immediately has someone move in on them...there are only going to be so many places to go and still have a reasonable chance to hunt a mature buck that isn't under severe pressure. I totally respect them for the work that they do, but realistically, I think it will be very hard to maintain their success, in terms of televising everything, etc, and I suspect that it would be very hard to duplicate their efforts, with the level of success that they have, for anyone else.
 
I've absolutely loved MW since the beginning - watched every region/main show episode numerous times over the years. That being said, every episode for the past couple years is just regurgitated episodes from the past. The 2017 season felt like it had almost no new information if you've watched for more than a couple years.

I think your addition to the show, Jared/Mike, and the "off the wall" stuff is what people want. The fishing trips, the mushroom hunting, failed turkey hunts, etc. People want to be able to relate & frankly 50+ hunts in a Redneck blind isn't what most people relate to. The hunt for Double G4 was unbelievable - sure the deer was amazing, but so was the hunt. Bill threw every tactic in the book at that deer. He built a crazy/goofy blind, that almost worked. He got aggressive and hunted like 90% of us. I'm sure not trying to tell Bill how to hunt but people have begged him in the 'Ask Winke' section to hunt a new farm, hunt public, or do anything just to give us a different look. Why not give it a try? His farm has been incredibly dry in terms of quality deer so it's a perfect time to try it. I hunt 10-15 miles from him, there are quality deer around, unfortunately they're just not on his farm at this time.

All that being said I think it's great you're looking for ideas/feedback. 90% of our lives we fish for compliments, someone who's looking to truly grow/improve is the person asking for honest/raw feedback.
 
How about diving into the nitty gritty of trail camera tactics. How you use them effectively to help kill a mature deer. Trail cams are a whole lot more useful than just getting a pic of a deer to know he exists...which if I can be totally honest I think is something Bill doesn't quite get. He said last year on the show he had 4 trail cameras out...4...on 1000 acres. That boggles my mind. There is no way he knew all of the deer that even existed on his property much less how to target them effectively. A super mature deer's core area may be 40 acres, 60 acres, less? How do you find and kill deer like that when you have 1 camera per 250 acres? I run probably 1 camera per 50 acres, more than that when I really want to hone in on a deer. And I still miss stuff.
 
How about diving into the nitty gritty of trail camera tactics. How you use them effectively to help kill a mature deer. Trail cams are a whole lot more useful than just getting a pic of a deer to know he exists...which if I can be totally honest I think is something Bill doesn't quite get. He said last year on the show he had 4 trail cameras out...4...on 1000 acres. That boggles my mind. There is no way he knew all of the deer that even existed on his property much less how to target them effectively. A super mature deer's core area may be 40 acres, 60 acres, less? How do you find and kill deer like that when you have 1 camera per 250 acres? I run probably 1 camera per 50 acres, more than that when I really want to hone in on a deer. And I still miss stuff.


I listened to him at the classic, he had a seminar about cams. I don't remember how many, but I'm pretty sure he had more cams out than just 4. His seminar was about using cams and how to identify a deer to hunt and then try to narrow down his main area. It wasn't anything new from his shows if you've watched enough of them. But it was neat to see the aerial maps he used in his presentation and showed where he had cams etc. But yes, I was very surprised how few cams he used for how many acres he can hunt. I thought the same to myself in regards to I am sure there are bucks on his property that he likely wouldn't even know exist. Still, I love watching his stuff and he knows what he's doing better than a big majority of people.

I do agree with Brett Morris as well about the redneck blinds stuff. Very few people can relate to big box blind hunting, and during the season after a couple episodes of him hunting out of it, I know I at least get bored watching that (same with watching Druys hunt out of box blinds).
 
I've absolutely loved MW since the beginning - watched every region/main show episode numerous times over the years. That being said, every episode for the past couple years is just regurgitated episodes from the past. The 2017 season felt like it had almost no new information if you've watched for more than a couple years.

I think your addition to the show, Jared/Mike, and the "off the wall" stuff is what people want. The fishing trips, the mushroom hunting, failed turkey hunts, etc. People want to be able to relate & frankly 50+ hunts in a Redneck blind isn't what most people relate to. The hunt for Double G4 was unbelievable - sure the deer was amazing, but so was the hunt. Bill threw every tactic in the book at that deer. He built a crazy/goofy blind, that almost worked. He got aggressive and hunted like 90% of us. I'm sure not trying to tell Bill how to hunt but people have begged him in the 'Ask Winke' section to hunt a new farm, hunt public, or do anything just to give us a different look. Why not give it a try? His farm has been incredibly dry in terms of quality deer so it's a perfect time to try it. I hunt 10-15 miles from him, there are quality deer around, unfortunately they're just not on his farm at this time.

All that being said I think it's great you're looking for ideas/feedback. 90% of our lives we fish for compliments, someone who's looking to truly grow/improve is the person asking for honest/raw feedback.

Bingo Brett nailed it here. The farm management stuff food plot stuff is great for the people they have it but your hitting a select number of people not the broad audience .
 
On all this!!!!!
Btw..... MW will have PLENTY of guys who hunt public & other guys who hunt crowded small farms. It will be DIVERSE.
Keep in mind on Iowa’s public stuff.... Some pieces of Iowa public are lower pressure if u really know what u looking for. I’ve been on em and hunted em. Iowa’s public is 10x better than private land in MI or PA, etc. so- the relatability aspect is kinda irrelevant. MW will have EVERY situation of hunting, tough to hunt states, small private, bigger, WHATEVER. It will appeal or “relate” to any hunter in the Midwest. Which is a “nice to know” hopefully.

The things that have been “slacking” or guys didn’t like- long long long story short...... FIXED!!!! Trust me!!!!!!! ;).

My role: provide help, listen to y’alls ideas & do anything I can do to provide info, help or a different outlook. I want to be self deprecating vs some of the ego driven nut job (which my whole life- those people drove me nuts!!!). My nicknames are: “Skip Sligh Habitat Guy” from Bill. I prefer these 2 names though: “Skip Sligh, Homeless Guy” or “Skip Sligh little buck guy”. Looking homeless & shooting the OLD bully bucks Might help these to stick even more than I am called this currently. Wanna help & i have read every drop of this multiple times & each week I’ll re-read it & hit this stuff!!! Love it!!! Keep it coming. Fantastic!!!!!
 
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I really enjoy it when shows detail the aspects of different farms. For instance, setting up a 40 acre piece is different than setting up a 150 acre piece. Setting up and hunting a farm with tough access is difficult, but there are some things that can be done. Each and every farm is unique, but across different farms there are similarities that some folks might find extremely beneficial, and others useless. So, you can't please everyone all the time, but you can reach everyone at different times and topics.
 
Alright guys...... dog days of summer but working through this list. I literally screen shot all of this to start working through some. Some harder or longer ones (say A-Z farm rebuilding ) I am doing but those take longer. ;). Hammering out & fire more anytime!!!!!
 
Early season public ground.
Got 5 groups of dudes that are Doing public. So- at least 10 hunters. I think it could be 12 or 14 though. A lot. Small parcels, heavily hunted, u name it. Will be on. I’ll try and apply some stuff to public when I do segments as well. I’m a lil obsessed with habitat so that’s my only disconnect to public. But- I’ve spent 10 years hunting junk public in MI so I can relate. Iowa public is 100000x better than MI public. Really- it’s better than any MI private ground too. By a LONG shot!
 
Got 5 groups of dudes that are Doing public. So- at least 10 hunters. I think it could be 12 or 14 though. A lot. Small parcels, heavily hunted, u name it. Will be on. I’ll try and apply some stuff to public when I do segments as well. I’m a lil obsessed with habitat so that’s my only disconnect to public. But- I’ve spent 10 years hunting junk public in MI so I can relate. Iowa public is 100000x better than MI public. Really- it’s better than any MI private ground too. By a LONG shot!

I guess the reason for the early season public. Is more just early season hunts over something besides food plots. If a guy wants to leave some honey holes alone until later in the season, but still wants to do something in Early Oct to Mid Oct. If I have time my plan is to find some oaks in a spot I know there will be cattle later in the year, but would be open to suggestions to something else.
 
So guys- I screen shot every page/suggestion here so I have them saved on my phone. I am trying to cover everything you guys posted :). And it’s awesome suggestions!!’ On this one.... I’ll get way more in depth on some requests. Long long day that was hot as blazes so this one is “to be continued”. Shout out to all of u with my shirt choice ;).
 
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western hunting. I think Bill is missing a HUGE segment in the market: guys from the midwest that want to go chase elk/muleys/antelope/bear etc. How to do it, where to start, gear, anything. I've done a couple DIY western stuff on public lands and would be willing to spread some knowledge.
 
Hey Skip. MW video has helped me a lot in getting ideas, and your segments are great. No clue if you still want suggestions, but would love to see a segment on trees for deer. Starting seeds (oak, walnut, chestnut, etc.). Planting seedlings and setting up tree tubes. How to stake them, where to plant, and keeping weeds under control. This is a selfish request as I’m doing this all this spring but could help others interested.
Thanks!


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Touchy subject for many, but I would like to see something on the progression/development on hunting more mature bucks and passing 3 and even some 4 year old deer. Like I said, touchy subject but I feel like their audience would benefit from that
 
Caping a deer for taxidermy-how much hide to leave and how to store if when you can't get it to the taxidermist right away
 
Leave plenty they will trim. 6in behind shoulders min . fold skin side together roll up head inside and freeze if not caped out you can freeze whole head and skin but not. Too long couple months ok othereise ears and lips will dry out

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