A BUCK WITH WEIRD, MEDUSA ANTLERS | FRESH VENISON (EPISODE 575 TRANSCRIPT)

This is the video transcript. To watch the video for this episode click here.

SHAWN: (Whispering) Danny, dude. Going into the food plot. Oh my gosh. Danny.

DANNY: (Whispering) That’s Medusa. Did you get it on camera?

SHAWN: (Whispering) Yes.

DANNY: (Whispering) (Inaudible)

SHAWN: (Whispering) I’m still filming it.

GRANT: Pro Staffer Danny Naugle is a skilled outdoorsman. He hunts and fishes here in southwest Missouri. I’m going to bet Danny’s family eats really well because no matter what season it is, he seems to always bring home a lot of meat.

GRANT: During this past summer, Danny practiced a lot with his Prime bow and during the end of the summer started planting some small food plots.

GRANT: You may recall that at the start of last season, fellow Pro Staffer, Bradley Leuckenhoff tagged a nice doe from a food plot he and Danny had created.

GRANT: That hidey hole food plot was located at the north end of a property Danny and Bradley have permission to hunt. The property is primarily timbered with some large oaks scattered throughout. On the southern end of the property, they had seen a unique deer that Danny calls Medusa.

GRANT: Danny began getting pictures of this deer several years ago.

GRANT: You may notice that these antlers hold velvet much later into the season than normal. They typically get pictures of Medusa to about May and then he seems to vanish until season.

GRANT: There are several large white oaks on the southern end of this property with a fence running through it east to west.

GRANT: One of the metal wires of this fence is missing for a short section and that’s where deer are crossing.

GRANT: Danny placed a trail camera there and got lots of pictures of deer eating acorns in the area and, specifically, crossing the fence at that point.

GRANT: Putting this all together, recently Danny and Bradley hung some Summits near the fence gap and overlooking the white oaks.

GRANT: Recently a strong cold front passed that area and it dropped the daytime temperatures from an average of the 80s to the 60s. When it turns colder, deer tend to seek acorns because they’re full of carbohydrates.

GRANT: The cold front paired with a strong north wind were ideal conditions for Danny and his friend, Shawn, to slip in from the south and hunt the fence gap area.

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DANNY: It’s September 28th here in Missouri. I’ve got a pretty good, little cold front blow through last night. Got a pretty strong north wind tonight – winds up around 12 to 15 miles an hour. We’re getting blown around pretty good. But the acorns are really falling.

DANNY: So, we’ve hung a new set in a lot oaks. Got a lot of white oaks here. We’ve had a lot of doe activity over the (Inaudible) last few days.

DANNY: We’ve got one of our hit list deer that’s used this area over the last couple of years and it doesn’t show up until right here in the fall.

DANNY: The first year, we got a picture of it October 12th. And then last year we got a picture of it September 15th to start the pictures. We haven’t got a picture yet this year, so we’re hoping that maybe tonight’s the night.

GRANT: It wasn’t long into their hunt when they saw a spike munching on acorns.

GRANT: After a few minutes the spike turned and walked right under their stands.

GRANT: Suddenly a doe was walking right toward the fence gap.

GRANT: As she slipped through the fence, Danny prepared for the shot.

DANNY: (Whispering) Still good?

SHAWN: (Whispering) Yeah.

DANNY: (Whispering) Yes or no?

SHAWN: (Whispering) Yeah.

DANNY: (Whispering) I smoked her, didn’t I? Huh? She just crash?

SHAWN: (Whispering) (Inaudible)

DANNY: (Whispering) Well, the plan worked tonight so far. Had a little spike and a doe come up here and feed about 15 yards away. Just put an arrow through her and we just heard her crash on the next ridge over. We’re gonna go ahead and sit tight and see if we can’t tag another one.

GRANT: Knowing his shot was true, Danny wisely remained in the stand to see if any other deer would move through the area.

GRANT: It wasn’t long until he saw more deer feeding on acorns.

DANNY: (Whispering) Oh, yeah, there’s four. She’s right behind the white oak. Behind it, go to the right.

GRANT: While watching these deer, Danny spotted another larger bodied deer coming down the hill.

DANNY: (Whispering) (Inaudible) Going down into the bottom. (Inaudible)

SHAWN: (Whispering) (Inaudible) She stop under the tree? (Inaudible)

SHAWN: (Whispering) Danny. Danny. (Inaudible)

GRANT: It was Medusa.

SHAWN: (Whispering) Going into the food plot. Oh my gosh. Danny.

DANNY: (Whispering) That’s Medusa. Did you get it on camera?

SHAWN: (Whispering) Yes.

DANNY: (Whispering) (Inaudible)

SHAWN: (Whispering) I’m still filming it.

GRANT: Medusa entered the plot which is about 80 yards away from the stand and started feeding.

SHAWN: (Whispering) I’ve still got her on camera.

GRANT: The doe Danny shot had crashed not far from the plot. So, they decided to wait until after dark, slip down and drag the doe out without making a fuss, hoping to not alert Medusa.

DANNY: Going to the oaks tonight paid off. Got some fresh venison for the family. I had a lot of deer activity. The oaks are really dropping acorns. There are a lot of deer in there feeding right now. We had several encounters with some does, fawns, little bucks and this doe that came in gave me a shot about 15 yards.

DANNY: But the most exciting thing of the night is we had an encounter with one of our hit list deer that typically disappears in the summer and reappears in the fall; usually shows up mid-October. Last year it showed up mid-September and this is the first thing we’ve seen of it this year.

DANNY: So, we’re excited to get back out there after it and, hopefully, close the chapter on a deer we call Medusa.

GRANT: I believe a large part of Danny’s success was due to his work scouting and finding those pinch points. While scouting, Danny not only found the pinch point but white oaks loaded with acorns.

GRANT: Finding resources that deer are targeting can be key to punching a tag. In this case, it was white oak acorns. But it may be water where you hunt or a lush food plot.

GRANT: We often share about terrain features creating a pinch point. But pinch points can be manmade also. And in this case, it was an old fence.

GRANT: Unless alerted, deer usually take the path of least resistance. Sure, the deer could have jumped this fence, but it was much easier to use the area where one strand was missing and simply go through it versus expending the energy to go over.

GRANT: It’s important to always find all the pinch points where you hunt, be they manmade or natural.

GRANT: I often think about my friend Matt Gross’ place in New York. Matt’s property had several old stone walls that were built by settlors. And where they built those walls, they often left gaps, I’m assuming for gates. And in some areas, the stones had simply fallen over, making an easy place for deer to cross the fence.

GRANT: I suspect we’ll be sharing another hunt soon from Danny and Bradley. And hopefully, they’ll get their hands on Medusa and we can close that story.

GRANT: This time of year food sources can change rapidly. If you’d like to learn more about our hunting techniques week by week, simply subscribe to this channel.

GRANT: This time of year, food sources for white-tailed deer can change almost daily. For updates from what we’re seeing in the field, check out our social media.

GRANT: The cooler temperatures throughout much of the whitetails’ range make it a great time to get outside and enjoy Creation. But no matter the temperatures, be sure you take time every day to be quiet and listen to what the Creator is saying to you.

GRANT: Thanks for watching GrowingDeer.