Habitat Podcast

Habitat Podcast #410 - In today's episode of The Habitat Podcast, we are back in the studio with Cory Franceus and Andy Hutchens! We discuss:-Cory explains why the work he starts in June pays off on an October bowhunt.-Hutchy parks his e-bike 20 yards from the tree and kills his Ohio buck on his fourth sit there.-Hutchy credits untouched sanctuaries and narrow food plots for holding bucks on a 500-acre farm.-The crew compares a 188-inch buck’s rack and body size with a smaller-racked deer from the same farm.-Cory recalls finding 130 dead deer with his neighbors across 450 acres during the 2025 EHD outbreak.-Cory recounts a box-blind scent bust, a low miss and a spruce branch that catches his bow cam.-Cory backs out overnight and finds his 160-inch bow buck 12 feet from where he stopped tracking.-Cory uses timber work, switchgrass screens and conifers to keep deer within a jump of cover.-Cory cuts an east-border trail to reach a fresh stand without crossing the center of his 70 acres.-Jared explains why he values first-time sits and how the crew plans to walk each other’s farms in 2027. And So Much More! Chapters:0:00 The Work Behind an October Buck1:19 Hutchy’s Southern Ohio Buck5:05 Why the 500-Acre Ohio Farm Holds Bucks9:57 Buck Age, Body Size and Antler Score18:19 Cory’s 70 Acres After EHD20:07 A Scent Bust and Two Misses22:45 The Fourth Encounter and Overnight Recovery35:07 Building Cover That Keeps Bucks Around37:01 The East-Border Trail and a First-Time Sit42:29 Eight Years of Habitat Work on 70 Acres48:23 Evening Thermals and the Crew’s 2027 Plans50:45 What Cory Did From June to October Shop the New Native Seed Collection from Vitalize Seed here: https://vitalizeseed.com/collections/vitalize-native-product-line Use Code HABITAT26 and Get Your Plot Blaster Here: https://plotblaster.com/ PATREON - Patreon - Habitat Podcast Brand new HP Patreon for those who want to support the Habitat Podcast. Good luck this Fall and if you have a question yourself, just email us @ info@habitatpodcast.com--------------------------------------------------------------------------Patreon - Habitat PodcastLatitude Outdoors - Saddle Hunting: https://bit.ly/hplatitudeStealth Strips - Stealth Outdoors: Use code Habitat10 at checkout https://bit.ly/stealthstripsHPMidwest Lifestyle Properties - https://bit.ly/3OeFhrmVitalize Seed Food Plot Seed - https://bit.ly/vitalizeseedDown Burst Seeders - https://bit.ly/downburstseeders 10% code: HP10Morse Nursery - http://bit.ly/MorseTrees 10% off w/code: HABITAT10Packer Maxx - http://bit.ly/PACKERMAXX $25 off with code: HPC25First Lite - https://bit.ly/3EDbG6PLAND PLAN Property Consultations – HP Land Plans: LAND PLANSLeave us a review for a FREE DECAL - https://apple.co/2uhoqOOMorse Nursery Tree Dealer Pricing – [email protected] Podcast YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmAUuvU9t25FOSstoFiaNdgEmail us: [email protected] management / deer habitat / food plots / hinge cut / food plot Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Habitat Podcast Deer Camp Detour - In today’s episode of The Habitat Podcast, Andy Hutchens has Jake Hofer in camp! We discuss:-Jake explains why he hasn’t made an aggressive move yet on a buck he passed four times last fall.-He says the next three weeks come down to his gut, not Instagram’s “can’t kill them from the couch.”-He breaks down how a missing hard frost keeps Illinois creek-bottom cover and browse holding longer.-He argues that every deer season is different, but it rhymes, and that you only have to be right once.-He shares cell-camera apps with trusted buddies to read deer behavior beyond his own farms.-He shows how five years turned a weedy, fallow ag field into oaks, switchgrass and food plots.-He describes a backhoe water hole that hit a spring and became a magnet for deer on his farm.-He holds his tag on mature bucks he could have killed on every front because the plan is working.-He hand-plants shrub rims on knolls instead of WRP-style rows that deer only use along the edges.-He photographs every sit to build historical data and warns hunters not to lower their standards. And So Much More! Chapters:0:00 How A Weedy Ag Field Became A Deer Farm1:11 Jake Hofer In Camp And His Season So Far5:06 Scrapes, Cameras And Following Your Gut8:05 Three Weeks Of Hunting At Home11:40 No Hard Frost And What It Does To Habitat13:35 Brassicas, Standing Crops And Being Right Once17:22 Deer Camp Culture And Sharing Camera Apps18:57 Five Years Of Trees, Water Holes And Culverts24:10 Planting For How Deer Actually Use A Field25:39 Tree Stands, Saddles And Blinds28:22 Photograph Every Sit And Don’t Lower Your Standards31:16 Rapid Fire: Pizza, Chili And Teddy Roosevelt Shop the New Native Seed Collection from Vitalize Seed here: https://vitalizeseed.com/collections/vitalize-native-product-line Use Code HABITAT26 and Get Your Plot Blaster Here: https://plotblaster.com/ PATREON - Patreon - Habitat Podcast Brand new HP Patreon for those who want to support the Habitat Podcast. Good luck this Fall and if you have a question yourself, just email us @ info@habitatpodcast.com--------------------------------------------------------------------------Patreon - Habitat PodcastLatitude Outdoors - Saddle Hunting: https://bit.ly/hplatitudeStealth Strips - Stealth Outdoors: Use code Habitat10 at checkout https://bit.ly/stealthstripsHPMidwest Lifestyle Properties - https://bit.ly/3OeFhrmVitalize Seed Food Plot Seed - https://bit.ly/vitalizeseedDown Burst Seeders - https://bit.ly/downburstseeders 10% code: HP10Morse Nursery - http://bit.ly/MorseTrees 10% off w/code: HABITAT10Packer Maxx - http://bit.ly/PACKERMAXX $25 off with code: HPC25First Lite - https://bit.ly/3EDbG6PLAND PLAN Property Consultations – HP Land Plans: LAND PLANSLeave us a review for a FREE DECAL - https://apple.co/2uhoqOOMorse Nursery Tree Dealer Pricing – [email protected] Podcast YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmAUuvU9t25FOSstoFiaNdgEmail us: [email protected] management / deer habitat / food plots / hinge cut / food plot Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Habitat Podcast #409 - In today's episode of The Habitat Podcast, we are back in the studio with Brett Smith! We discuss:-Brett explains why he scouts aggressively during the rut instead of waiting for a buck to come to him.-He recalls bumping the same buck four days in a row and weighs the pressure difference in Michigan.-He targets leeward ridges and the top third of draws where cover, wind and fresh sign come together.-He walks the road between public-land parking areas to enter overlooked cover without going miles deep.-He uses concentrated rubs near bedding to plan morning sits instead of trusting every fresh rub line.-He J-hooks into a setup to keep his scent and boot tracks away from approaching bucks and does.-He shakes dry oak branches and follows with a grunt to mimic a buck working a scrape near bedding.-He picks an average tree in the right location over a perfect tree farther away from the action.-He explains how he uses rising morning thermals and evening drainages to manage his scent.-He shares why he stopped scoring and posting bucks and wants hunting to mean more than a number. And So Much More! Chapters:0:00 How Many Times Can You Bump a Buck?1:16 Meet Brett Smith and His Approach to Land Management6:15 Scouting a Lease Before the First Rut Sit12:36 Public Land and Overlooked Roadside Access16:41 Leeward Ridges and the Top Third of Draws20:08 Entry Routes, Ground Scent and Rubs Near Bedding24:57 All-Day Sits, Taking Breaks and Mobile Setups29:48 Rattling vs Shaking Branches and Grunting37:06 When to Move and How Often You Can Bump a Buck39:49 Water Access, Wind and Morning Thermals44:57 Why Brett Stopped Scoring and Posting Bucks47:59 Rapid Fire: Gear, Cover, Food Plots and Broadheads Shop the New Native Seed Collection from Vitalize Seed here: https://vitalizeseed.com/collections/vitalize-native-product-line Use Code HABITAT26 and Get Your Plot Blaster Here: https://plotblaster.com/ PATREON - Patreon - Habitat Podcast Brand new HP Patreon for those who want to support the Habitat Podcast. Good luck this Fall and if you have a question yourself, just email us @ info@habitatpodcast.com--------------------------------------------------------------------------Patreon - Habitat PodcastLatitude Outdoors - Saddle Hunting: https://bit.ly/hplatitudeStealth Strips - Stealth Outdoors: Use code Habitat10 at checkout https://bit.ly/stealthstripsHPMidwest Lifestyle Properties - https://bit.ly/3OeFhrmVitalize Seed Food Plot Seed - https://bit.ly/vitalizeseedDown Burst Seeders - https://bit.ly/downburstseeders 10% code: HP10Morse Nursery - http://bit.ly/MorseTrees 10% off w/code: HABITAT10Packer Maxx - http://bit.ly/PACKERMAXX $25 off with code: HPC25First Lite - https://bit.ly/3EDbG6PLAND PLAN Property Consultations – HP Land Plans: LAND PLANSLeave us a review for a FREE DECAL - https://apple.co/2uhoqOOMorse Nursery Tree Dealer Pricing – [email protected] Podcast YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmAUuvU9t25FOSstoFiaNdgEmail us: [email protected] management / deer habitat / food plots / hinge cut / food plot Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Habitat Podcast #408 - In today’s episode of The Habitat Podcast, we are back in the studio with Art’om Rank! We discuss:-Art’om splits one overgrown cedar thicket on his 8.5 acres into three separate bedding areas.-Trail cameras show bucks moving cedar to cedar as the wind shifts, and he sets up in the gaps between.-He studies forestry at Glenville State and gets a key to the college farm so he can hunt before class.-He splits an acre food plot into five zones of sorghum or miscanthus so a buck has to walk in to check it.-That divided plot puts a buck he calls Mr. Clean at 18 yards, exactly the way he drew it up.-He plants one or two Chinese chestnuts near where he wants to kill a buck, then backtracks him on camera.-A buck’s core bed tells him the cover type, so autumn olive bedding points him to every autumn olive patch.-A noon trail cam photo of a target buck means he hunts that evening, opposite the way the buck is facing.-An old oak limb with no scrape under it works as a “doorbell” every deer touches coming onto his parcel.-Clover seeded on his access trails pulls deer into brassicas wrapped by an overgrown apple orchard. And So Much More! Chapters:0:00 Three Cedar Thickets on 8.5 Acres: Meet Art’om Rank1:17 Deer Camp, Gavin’s Referral and a Fresh Set of Eyes5:43 Splitting One Cedar Thicket Into Three Bedding Areas8:23 Southwest Michigan, Forestry School and a Key to the College Farm14:49 Mountain Bucks, Public Land and the Buck With 13 Beds19:45 No Bait: Splitting a Food Plot Into Five Zones24:27 Chestnut Trees and Backtracking a Buck to His Bed28:44 Noon Trail Cam Photos, Doorbell Branches and Mock Scrapes36:44 The Cold Front Weekend Plan and Out-of-State Tags43:46 Cutting Trails With a Walk-Behind Brush Cutter48:20 Acorns in the Regrowth and Clover Access Trails54:59 Drawing Up the Food Plot and Never Forcing a Bad Wind1:01:44 Tagged Outdoors, the Buck Pole and Rapid Fire Shop the New Native Seed Collection from Vitalize Seed here: https://vitalizeseed.com/collections/vitalize-native-product-line Use Code HABITAT26 and Get Your Plot Blaster Here: https://plotblaster.com/ PATREON - Patreon - Habitat Podcast Brand new HP Patreon for those who want to support the Habitat Podcast. Good luck this Fall and if you have a question yourself, just email us @ info@habitatpodcast.com--------------------------------------------------------------------------Patreon - Habitat PodcastLatitude Outdoors - Saddle Hunting: https://bit.ly/hplatitudeStealth Strips - Stealth Outdoors: Use code Habitat10 at checkout https://bit.ly/stealthstripsHPMidwest Lifestyle Properties - https://bit.ly/3OeFhrmVitalize Seed Food Plot Seed - https://bit.ly/vitalizeseedDown Burst Seeders - https://bit.ly/downburstseeders 10% code: HP10Morse Nursery - http://bit.ly/MorseTrees 10% off w/code: HABITAT10Packer Maxx - http://bit.ly/PACKERMAXX $25 off with code: HPC25First Lite - https://bit.ly/3EDbG6PLAND PLAN Property Consultations – HP Land Plans: LAND PLANSLeave us a review for a FREE DECAL - https://apple.co/2uhoqOOMorse Nursery Tree Dealer Pricing – [email protected] Podcast YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmAUuvU9t25FOSstoFiaNdgEmail us: [email protected] management / deer habitat / food plots / hinge cut / food plot Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Habitat Podcast #407 - In today's episode of The Habitat Podcast, we are back in the studio with Mike Hlavaty! We discuss: -Mike hunts a coal strip mine in Muskingum County alone at age 10, long before youth seasons or hunter safety. -He and his brothers build ladder stands out of electrical conduit, hammering the steps flat and painting them. -Mike crossbow-shoots a buck in the head the night before Ohio's gun opener, and it runs him over in the dark. -He escapes by ramming the buck's head into a TV antenna tower, then waits it out from his stand for hours. -An antler opens his neck up behind his ear, he's in the ER until 6 a.m., then goes back out and shoots a doe. -Mike buys land with tillable ground so the farm rent pays 100 percent of his real estate taxes. -A reappraisal tripled some of his property values, and he calls a tax on owning land a sin. -U.S. Fish and Wildlife's partner program designs his wetland units, built on clay-core "mushroom" berms. -His excavator bids nearly 50 percent under the other contractor and saves Mike a bunch on the build. -In the spring his wetlands hold 500 to 1,000 pintails at a time, plus hundreds of swans. And So Much More! Chapters: 0:00 A Buck Attack, a Floodplain and Ducks: Meet Mike Hlavaty 1:26 Mike's Ohio Lodge and His 2021 Land Plan 3:29 Hunting Alone at 10 and Homemade Conduit Tree Stands 8:50 The Buck Attack: An Arrow to the Head and a TV Tower Escape 18:08 Four Parcels in a Floodplain 19:45 Buying Land That Pays Its Own Taxes 24:28 Clay Berms and a Blown-Out Ditch 26:24 Building Wetlands With U.S. Fish and Wildlife 32:03 Tile Drains, the Newest Parcel and the Spring Migration 34:47 What to Plant Before You Flood 38:08 Deer and Ducks on the Same Ground 39:53 Jared's Wrap: The Internet Crash and the Cold Front Shop the New Native Seed Collection from Vitalize Seed here: https://vitalizeseed.com/collections/vitalize-native-product-line  Use Code HABITAT26 and Get Your Plot Blaster Here: https://plotblaster.com/  PATREON - Patreon - Habitat Podcast Brand new HP Patreon for those who want to support the Habitat Podcast. Good luck this Fall and if you have a question yourself, just email us @ [email protected]  -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Patreon - Habitat Podcast Latitude Outdoors - Saddle Hunting: https://bit.ly/hplatitude  Stealth Strips - Stealth Outdoors: Use code Habitat10 at checkout https://bit.ly/stealthstripsHP  Midwest Lifestyle Properties - https://bit.ly/3OeFhrm  Vitalize Seed Food Plot Seed - https://bit.ly/vitalizeseed  Down Burst Seeders - https://bit.ly/downburstseeders  10% code: HP10 Morse Nursery - http://bit.ly/MorseTrees  10% off w/code: HABITAT10 Packer Maxx - http://bit.ly/PACKERMAXX  $25 off with code: HPC25 First Lite - https://bit.ly/3EDbG6P  LAND PLAN Property Consultations – HP Land Plans: LAND PLANS Leave us a review for a FREE DECAL - https://apple.co/2uhoqOO  Morse Nursery Tree Dealer Pricing – [email protected]  Habitat Podcast YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmAUuvU9t25FOSstoFiaNdg  Email us: [email protected]  habitat management / deer habitat / food plots / hinge cut / food plot Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices