John u are a huge inspiration to hunters. Michigan hunter. This is why I love your videos. It’s hard for me to relate to other state hunters. Michigan is special. U speak the truth about Michigan hunting. I feel good about harvesting a basket buck on public land here. I love Michigan and the awesome terrain it offers. Love your videos John!
Thank you and yes a basket 85 to 110 inch buck here (in pressured areas only) is a 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 year old buck (I took a 105 incher that was 5 1/2) to mount and be very proud of.
Ahhhh yes, Michigan deer hunting. People have no clue what it’s like here. Your video depicts exactly what most of us are faced with every season. Great video John. Glad you were able to recover your buck. 👍🏻
My son Joe lived out of his car for 2 months in January and February and stayed in his works parking lot. Was definitely smaller than that mansion on stilts.
John, deep down inside YOU KNEW that Broadhead would fly different. The Godfather, The Preacher…Has big enough BALL’S to come on here and admit he didn’t practice what he instilled in all of his biggest fans. Long, Long time fan and I hear you in my mind when ever I don’t practice what you preach. And, I always know it’s because I was lazy or too “busy”. Thanks for all you do, from ALL of us bowhunters. 👊
Takes a real man to admit to the public you made two critical errors. That is an absolute stud for Michigan and for that area. The pressure them deer get is unbelievable. Hope it made them other guys a little jealous. Just a little. Well done
John, I really appreciate your videos and honesty. Your knowledge on hunting whitetails is remarkable. I always look forward to your new videos popping up.
Great content as always John and congrats on the 3 really nice bucks this season! Thanks for being open and honest about things that didn’t go as planned, in hopes that it prevents the rest of us from making them too. Mistakes happen to all of us, but only some have the decency to admit them and learn from them.
Love your videos John. You are very relatable. I hunt NY in a highly pressured area and I go through the very same struggles as yourself. Thanks for the transparency and sharing all your years of knowledge with us. Absolutely my favorite place to get quality information.
Great video John! I’m a Michigan public land bow hunter as well… I really tried to mimic your scent control regimen this season and it worked wonders…. Opening night I had a group of does come 20 yards down wind of me and bed down. Thanks for all your help!
That's exactly why I did this video, to keep others from making the same mistake. Years ago my son Chris smuggled (Europeans hate purebred dogs coming to America because breeders here are not so good at keeping bloodlines pure) 2 purebred Bavarian bloodhounds home from Germany and used them as deer tracking dogs and they would have found that buck in minutes. In the deer hunting related tests we did with those dogs, they could not detect us in trees when wearing properly cared for, stored and used ScentLok clothing, but always detected us on the exact same tests when we wore any other garments and I have a ton of high end hunting clothing. Oh and when we wore regular hunting clothing, we also sprayed ourselves down with many different brands of supposed scent free sprays which are a joke. Dogs are awesome at knowing what you can get away with when hunting to disregard the wind direction and not getting winded and that's why I scouf at ScentLok naysayers because they have no clue what they are talking about. I just wished we had filmed it but it was way before we had camera's.
Really appreciate your honesty, John! Alot of people would not want to admit a mistake, but thats how we sometime learn, (the hard way) so you are really teaching here! I shoot Muzzy 4 blades, they shoot about 4" left of my field points, but I have good arrow flight! I have my Mathews sighted in for the Broadheads and always have it set up for hunting. I always enjoy your your videos, and thanks for sharing this hunt!
Thank you for another awesome video John! And congratulations on an awesome hunting season! I really enjoy the white board drawing at the end, it really shows and ties everything your saying together!!
I love your videos.I am shocked you of all people did not shoot the new broad head before going out,you know everything shoots different even with ammo and black powders.At least you found it and learned a little more.If I ever quit learning about these wonderful bucks I will quit hunting them but I know that will never happen,very very interesting and smart animal.
I've written about and mentioned it in many seminars to ALWAYS shoot your heads before hunting, I just never thought the same weight and cut diameter fixed blade head would change flight by adding a single blade. My bad.
Unfortunately that’s the way it goes sometimes. It’s hard to be perfect and everyone makes mistakes. If you haven’t lost a deer or made a bad shot you haven’t been hunting enough. Just gotta kick yourself in the pants and take notes and move on. That’s the beauty of hunting tho the perfectly imperfect chase of game. Thanks for the content John happy to see ya back at it!
I really enjoyed the video . You always see videos of well known guys with their big deer and never videos that show mistakes . I had kind of the same scenario this yr in IN as well . I shot a 150 class 11 pt and i made a stupid mistake by shooting a strong quartering to me shot . The deer was close and i rushed the shot because i thought he was about to cut my entry boot track . I hit him far back , l gave him 10 hrs thinking i got liver . That led to all noght tracking and picking up from the track next morning . I lost blood at a small square block of timber and a huge cornfield . I looked the small block over nothing . So i thought he went into standing corn or cross the road into property i had no access. I gave up and the next day at lunch i drove by and seen buzzards and parked and watched buzzards for an hr . Low and behold i found him in a thick covered ditch across the standing corn . Deer went 1 1/2 . The bad is if i would have recovered him that very next morning i could of saved the meat . So now i have a dachshund puppy 👍🏻
Refreshing to hear your honesty. I lost an eight pointer years ago to a high shot. It was MAYBE half the size of yours, but it likely made me feel as bad as you did after your shot. I guess I'm in good company. Did you write an article about hunting out of a tree saddle back in the early eighties? I made a saddle after reading a magazine article that looked a lot like one I saw in one of your videos. I just found it by with my old hunting gear and by the looks of it I'm lucky to be alive! You have inspired me to buy a saddle and get even more mobile this year. Keep up the good work.
I feel your pain! I have 40 acres to hunt and only around 9 of it is wooded. I usually shoot a decent buck every couple of years but the neighbor likes to hunt right on top of me. The kid has hundreds of acres to hunt but chooses to hunt the property line and his box blind is less that 80 yards from one of my spots (his grandpas property so it is what it is). He built that box blind opening week of rifle season last year :( He is in a great spot now and he got two of the 2 1/2 year old's I was watching.
My camera speaks for itself. 8 different big bucks during daylight hours in the the closet game area to Grand Rapids. They are so smart they know when to move and when to stay put. I’m working on my access for this year.
Hi John I really enjoy your videos And have learned a lot I would like to make a suggestion could you do a three part series on hunting the three hunting zones of Michigan the southern lower northern lower and the UP those different areas of Michigan would apply to a lot of areas of the country I would love to see you Hunt the UP and show us what we can learn in the big North Woods public land areas thank you
I hunted northern Michigan in big woods for years and really don't like big woods hunting because there are few destination areas and deer can bed about anywhere. Very difficult to hunt unless you have a defined area of oaks or a pinch point of transition cover.
Thanks for the video John, thats real life hunting. I’ve made all those mistakes and a pile more. Airing out your fails shows considerable integrity and makes you more relatable. I know you don’t pay attention to the wind, but the bucks using that bed probably do. Based on how that point sits out in the cornfield, I’d guess they’d feel comfortable bedding there on any wind except a straight north. They’d probably prefer something out of the south I would guess as a predator is unlikely to come at them through the cornfields.
Very observant thought process and I totally agree that where they were bedded with the corn standing, no way anything could get close to them without them easily making the cover to exit securely.
John, I enjoy ground hunting. Will the investment of a complete scentlok suit and being very particular and detailed oriented with keeping everything scent free as possible still pay off in your opinion? I hunt public and have 2 ridge top setups that I've found a couple muture bucks I wanna go after. I scouted late winter and seen lots of fall sign and bedding in the ridges. I'm positioning myself on the very outter edge of a step drop off. East wind is needed to even get into this area. Wondering if the i do all the scent free steps and a complete scentlok set will help me hunt on different winds from the ground. I got long winded on this hope you're still with me. Lol God Speed
Nice buck John, 3.5 or 4.5 yr old you think? Hang on to that spot. Great bedding spot for mature bucks in the future. Also on bean years. It gives cover for a older buck to spot human intrusion from a ways away and he can escape before they would reach him. Thats a spot i search for year after year. Its obvious to me its used ever year probably by the best buck on the land. It sounds well beat into the ground and looks big.
That pressure helps keep deer on that place tho. Love pressure around my place...gives me alot of deer. And when corn is up, deer just hangout in the corn. Southern missouri is just as bad with pressure. I think the best thing we can learn from john is just keep pressure off your spots and let neighbors put the deer on your place. Also, no disrespect, but he doesn't know 100%... if hes the one that killed that deer... title should be "found that deer I shot at".... with that said... John's still awesome and I learned alot from him!
John, ever consider using a crossbow? I've switched, never increased the range very much, out to 30 yards, much more accurate, confidence booster. It's an advantage as we get older.
He doesn't like crossbows .he has said that on videos in the past. He thinks they should be illegal to use. I use one here in Wisconsin and my compound. I have a neck injury but I can still draw about 50lb .doctor told I'm just doing more damage but I still like hunting a little bit with it
@@tannerlamb6501 Always loved the guy, I used to be that way, would love crossbows to be illegal, but they're not & the neighbors are using them. Got to give him respect.
@@michaelfryeii8466 I wish they were illegal as well, more big bucks would survive. Crossbows are an advantage, accurate, less movement, increased range, I need all the advantages legally available.
@@underdogoutdoors It all depends on your objective. If the kill is your main objective, then by all means, use whatever weapon you want. For me, I'll never use a crossbow because I'm a bowhunter, first and foremost. If I get to the point where I can't draw my bow, I'll just be done.
Wisconsin does have some really bad areas of public, but not like many other states do. To give you an idea, my son Chris took 1 book buck in Michigan in his lifetime and he made 4 one week trips to Wisconsin and took 3.
@@johneberhart4062 very true. One reason I commented is that my wife is a dr and thinks medically that if objects pass completely through its harder to save a life. Thats why I have been testing 2 vs 3 vs 4 blade heads. I have serious buck fever. Even if it is a doe lol! Love your channel and the honesty.
John, huge fan. I deleted all my liberal media a couple years ago but hung onto my UA-cam platform to still share my stuff with family and friends. I can’t say I know you personally, but well enough to state this. I truly can’t see you making the mistake of intentionally changing from a 3 blade to 4 blade head without practicing. Is there more to the story? LOL
I can see maybe accidentally shooting a 4 blade and not realizing it until it’s too late.. but I don’t see John Eberhart shooting a broadhead he hadn’t practiced with!!!
Really a rookie mistake. I don’t know any serious hunter who doesn’t check their broadheads on target. Switch heads, almost certainly switch point of impact. Was a nice buck.
You're correct, that was a rookie mistake and I've preached shooting your heads first, for 50 years and then turn around and don't do it myself. If that was meant to be a knock, it was well deserved.
I've watched several of your videos and have heard you talk about pressure but wow! I live in nw Missouri and growing up everyone I knew rifle hunted and alot of younger guys bowhunted.. Today I don't know nearly as many that still do. Don't get me wrong there are still hunters but It seems like the younger generations at least around here are not really interested.
Michigan is not a stand alone in the pressure category as many states to our east and farther down south are tough as well. Not as bad, but some are very close and I have all the statistics in all 3 of my books so this is reality.
I'm thinking about putting hunting kill articles back up on my Facebook page as I've written articles about every good buck I've taken since the mid 70's. Thoughts about reading an article?
That cool you can admit that you didn’t actually shoot the broadhead first. You always should and I’m sure you no that. But sometimes we just want to hunt. And you skip steps. But a lot of guys would tell a bull crap story. This is just real info to learn from. Always has been!
@@johneberhart4062 Much of what is out there in the industry is purely entertainment - the kill shot, the suspense of a big buck rolling into view, etc. To be frank, I personally have no desire to be an armchair, virtual big buck hunter. I appreciate the insightful TRAINING your videos provide all of us. You are a true friend and mentor of many people you will never meet!
@@HotRodReverend I agree but those same TV personalities like to prop themselves up as great hunters when in reality half of the bowhunters in the country could do what they do on the same property. What really cracked me up was the Drury's when they had the challenge hunts and they were critiquing the hunters in the challenge when most of them were better hunters than either of the Drury's.
They don't understand it man! The deer I have are literally scared all the time there's never a moment when they're calm they're always alert like something just spooked them, always jerky. And a deer that's constantly looking for something out of place, That senses any hint of danger at all we'll be out of there
Another season for me in the books without a harvest, sometimes here in MI, you just don’t see the caliber of deer that are worth taking, and I’m not going hungry so there’s no need to shoot anything for meat just to fill a tag, I let the does live for breeding and the young bucks live to grow another year (hopefully).. and I’m cool with it, I don’t need to impress anyone or prove anything, I just love the hunt itself..
Killing a doe won't hurt the deer population it will actually help with the buck activity. Killing doe reduces the doe to buck ratio and induces better run activity as he bucks will be more competitive for the does in the area. A good ratio is usually abut 5:1 so 5 does to 1 buck ideal is about 3:1. It means the buck ( mature included ) have to be more aggressive to pass on their genes and will fight more and be more responsive to the sounds of other deer making rattling and grunting more productive.
That apartment is like 20 ft off the ground, that took heavy equipment to build that's insane and ridiculous. I'm all for comfort when hunting but c'mon really? Someone's over compensating.
its always funny to me when these guys that say the areas they hunt get pressure. They have no idea what pressure is. Just this weekend in SE PA in a 200 ish acer section of public I saw 10 other BOW hunters actively hunting. I was in a couple hours before light with no other car parked and noticed all those hunters while walking out around noon. I wonder how you would do in an actually pressured area.
Good point and I have about 20 more that are mountable, but unless it's over 150, I doubt I will. Sounds like the line in Coming to America where Arsenio hall asked the clerk to at the money wiring location to have the King (James Earl Jones) wire him $250,000 and then asked if she thought that was too much and she replied, why not ask for a cool million?
Up state NY on the dynamic funnel in front of my house were it once was a paradise of movement now literally 16 ladder stands on the funnel run because everyone owns a parcel we're noone used to hunt it before now they hunt it like gangbusters and the other sad news is because of hunting pressure all the turkeys are gone in my area Sad X at Ridgemont High man
Don't you just love it? And then you get to watch the TV guys hunt on managed for big bucks farms with ZERO competition and want everyone to think they are good hunters when 50% of the bowhunters in the country could do as well if not better on the same ground. The adverse is definitely not true where they could hunt a pressured area and kill the best bucks on the property, no way!!
@@johneberhart4062 hay John I appreciate what your bringing here to us and feel the pain of the sadness of what hunting is all about lately, my Dad had me in the woods since 4, with a longbow he made for me, self bow he taught me old school ways and I have been traditional bow hunting now for 54 years and I taken some beauty's over my career of hunting and I'm a fanatic toxopholite hunter , who can never get enough of my shooting , scouting, stump shooting and figuring we're my possible next big boy could be, and I never take the traditional bow out of my hand, because I earned Mt accuracy, but I also envied your hunting abilities since I first seen you in articles 30 years ago and you taught me a ton, because back then is when I bought a greens tree saddle and still using that bad boy today, your schooling taught me the ins and out of that, best way in the world to hunt trees and safest , no if ands or buts, plus I love natural ground blinds, and have been using the niff -t seat for ever too and still today, because mobility there is no better with it for turning droping down to one knee, swiveling, or just leaning forward. But thank you John for bringing us real hunting shows , with free roaming tactics that we will never surrender too, because I will never hunt a food plot, a bait pile or out of a box blind, the list goes on, if someone wants to do this I guess have at it, thanks John keep it coming then and congratulations on your many Pope and young Harvest no doubt you have been blessed amen
@@outdoorsman9384 Thanks you very much and we are definitely on the same page on most things concerning what bowhunting should be about. However, "fanatic toxopholite hunter", dude, that is a new phrase for me as I've never heard it before and don't know what toxopholite means.
It is kind of sad, they could pass up the young ones and then they could hold out for 4 year old, and if they all did so they would have a quality hunt. Most years.
Too many hunters as they all think the next door neighbor will kill it if they don't. You get that in heavily hunted areas much more than in lightly hunted areas.
Nice 8pt. Always sucks if you can’t recover but hey it happens. Want to mention Ohio has more hunting pressure then Michigan if you go by land mass per hunter. Ohio has 29,000,000 acres and 310,000 deer hunters, whereas Michigan has 62,000,000 acres (that’s with upper peninsula) and 616,000 deer hunters. Our nonresident tags n licenses are cheap. We get all these out of state people. Sucks. I see a lot of hunters from Michigan, Pennsylvania, WV, SC, an NY on our public lands. If you want to shoot a mature buck on Ohio public land, you better do it before Nov 1. From Nov 1 to Dec 15 there’s lots and lots of pressure.
320,000 of those 610,000 total deer hunters in Michigan are bow hunters and we are a 2 buck state and the Upper peninsula takes up about 1/3 of our land mass and nobody hunts up there during bow season. Ohio does have a lot of bowhunters, but Ohio has better soil, is a 1 buck state and the entire land mass of Ohio gets hunted. Ohio is a tough state though and statistically it is much more difficult than Mo., Ks., Ia., Ne., ND., Wi., Il., In., Ok. and a few other states.
@@johneberhart4062 I’m actually not sure how many bow hunters we have. I do know finding free permission properties is like finding hens teeth. Everything is owner hunted or leased as 90% of the land mass is privately owned. The going rates are as high as $100 an acre to lease. Crazy. These guys managing are definitely raising giants but most of these giants are killed over bait. 🙄 I believe you on the soil having a lot to do with bigger deer tho. More nutrition equals bigger deer. This year was hard on the public hill country deer tho as we had very little acorns. They’ve been on a green briar diet since early November
Yes and in Ohio we are in the top 10 for least amount of public land. Also our nonresident tags are dirt cheap compared to other states . Not to mention we are in a central location for all the eastern guys why would they pay 200 to 500 dollars more for a tag to go to illinois or anywhere in midwest when they can come here. I have seen public land pressure just continue to get worse here in ohio!
Wow hard to not get discouraged. We have that here too but it is not that bad or as blatant disrespecting neighbors. For the most part here box gun and crossbow blinds are owners or folks who lease long term.
I used to get discouraged, but as time went on and I began to understand how mature deer react to pressure and how , when and where they move during daylight in pressured areas, I began to embrace it because I couldn't change it. It's all about having the determination and work ethic to do what you need to do to sometimes get it done.
@@johneberhart4062 appreciate your perspective I’ll be looking at some of my situations differently and with a more optimistic outlook thanks and good hunting
As a tracker I'm glad you are admitting to your mistake and taking responsibility. However this video is disgusting makes me sick. You have almost 20,000 subs why not instead of making excuses and beating around. Why not just come out right at the beginning and explain what you did wrong? You as a bow hunter should know your equipment inside and out. Switch broadheads? Don't hunt with em till you broadhead tune... Again glad your owning it but seems to me your trying to play it off.....
There really nothing like the challenge of shooting deer over a feeder with a crossbow in a heated box blind...in a corn field....100 yards from your house.. with cell cams..
U should get your facts right before u run your mouth maybe talk to the neighbors about what goes on and if u gut shoot a deer I make sure I find it and by the way u shouldn't use your broad head as an excuse nobody has hunted in those blinds in 5 yrs and every deer was legal and the owner gave permission to hunt so many yards in front of that blind so gut shot john check before accusing anybody of anything fact check if u want to talk ethics u should practice them find your deer
John u are a huge inspiration to hunters. Michigan hunter. This is why I love your videos. It’s hard for me to relate to other state hunters. Michigan is special. U speak the truth about Michigan hunting. I feel good about harvesting a basket buck on public land here. I love Michigan and the awesome terrain it offers. Love your videos John!
Thank you and yes a basket 85 to 110 inch buck here (in pressured areas only) is a 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 year old buck (I took a 105 incher that was 5 1/2) to mount and be very proud of.
@@johneberhart4062 I like you sir because you are straight forward and honest. Even your mistakes- you will share for others to learn with you.
Your honesty is refreshing and great to hear. This happens to all of us eventually (don't need to tell you that) but no one ever talks about it.
Ahhhh yes, Michigan deer hunting. People have no clue what it’s like here. Your video depicts exactly what most of us are faced with every season. Great video John. Glad you were able to recover your buck. 👍🏻
Thanks Donald
" I know people who live in smaller houses" 😂 You are awesome .Keep it up
My son Joe lived out of his car for 2 months in January and February and stayed in his works parking lot. Was definitely smaller than that mansion on stilts.
John, deep down inside YOU KNEW that Broadhead would fly different. The Godfather, The Preacher…Has big enough BALL’S to come on here and admit he didn’t practice what he instilled in all of his biggest fans. Long, Long time fan and I hear you in my mind when ever I don’t practice what you preach. And, I always know it’s because I was lazy or too “busy”. Thanks for all you do, from ALL of us bowhunters. 👊
Takes a real man to admit to the public you made two critical errors. That is an absolute stud for Michigan and for that area. The pressure them deer get is unbelievable. Hope it made them other guys a little jealous. Just a little. Well done
John, I really appreciate your videos and honesty. Your knowledge on hunting whitetails is remarkable. I always look forward to your new videos popping up.
Great content as always John and congrats on the 3 really nice bucks this season! Thanks for being open and honest about things that didn’t go as planned, in hopes that it prevents the rest of us from making them too. Mistakes happen to all of us, but only some have the decency to admit them and learn from them.
Thank you
I appreciate the class and honestly. John is a legend. Much respect
Love your videos John. You are very relatable. I hunt NY in a highly pressured area and I go through the very same struggles as yourself. Thanks for the transparency and sharing all your years of knowledge with us. Absolutely my favorite place to get quality information.
Thanks Paulie and I'm editing my own videos now so they should come a bit more frequently.
Great video John! I’m a Michigan public land bow hunter as well… I really tried to mimic your scent control regimen this season and it worked wonders…. Opening night I had a group of does come 20 yards down wind of me and bed down. Thanks for all your help!
Watched all of your videos. This is my favorite so far. Very interesting and informative. Love your honesty also.
Wow, I'm gonna have to wound more deer! Just kidding of course.
Good lessons here, learning from mistakes. Thanks, John.
That's exactly why I did this video, to keep others from making the same mistake. Years ago my son Chris smuggled (Europeans hate purebred dogs coming to America because breeders here are not so good at keeping bloodlines pure) 2 purebred Bavarian bloodhounds home from Germany and used them as deer tracking dogs and they would have found that buck in minutes. In the deer hunting related tests we did with those dogs, they could not detect us in trees when wearing properly cared for, stored and used ScentLok clothing, but always detected us on the exact same tests when we wore any other garments and I have a ton of high end hunting clothing. Oh and when we wore regular hunting clothing, we also sprayed ourselves down with many different brands of supposed scent free sprays which are a joke. Dogs are awesome at knowing what you can get away with when hunting to disregard the wind direction and not getting winded and that's why I scouf at ScentLok naysayers because they have no clue what they are talking about. I just wished we had filmed it but it was way before we had camera's.
Really appreciate your honesty, John! Alot of people would not want to admit a mistake, but thats how we sometime learn, (the hard way) so you are really teaching here!
I shoot Muzzy 4 blades, they shoot about 4" left of my field points, but I have good arrow flight! I have my Mathews sighted in for the Broadheads and always have it set up for hunting.
I always enjoy your your videos, and thanks for sharing this hunt!
Great videos. This is one of the very very few REAL hunting channels there is
That is a very nice compliment, thank you.
Thank you for another awesome video John! And congratulations on an awesome hunting season! I really enjoy the white board drawing at the end, it really shows and ties everything your saying together!!
Thanks Troy
I love your videos.I am shocked you of all people did not shoot the new broad head before going out,you know everything shoots different even with ammo and black powders.At least you found it and learned a little more.If I ever quit learning about these wonderful bucks I will quit hunting them but I know that will never happen,very very interesting and smart animal.
I've written about and mentioned it in many seminars to ALWAYS shoot your heads before hunting, I just never thought the same weight and cut diameter fixed blade head would change flight by adding a single blade. My bad.
Totally respect your honesty!! If you screw up own it, learn from it and move on!
Thanks for sharing. I've pulled some boneheaded moves too. Nice to know it even happens to the best hunters.
Takes a lot to be as accomplished as john is and admit when you make mistakes and learn from it. I gained a lot more respect for you mr eberhart.
Mistakes are the best teachers as long as we learn from them.
Wow, that is heavily hunted. Your buck was beautiful. Bummer that you didn't find him, sometimes that happens.
Great video.
Unfortunately that’s the way it goes sometimes. It’s hard to be perfect and everyone makes mistakes. If you haven’t lost a deer or made a bad shot you haven’t been hunting enough. Just gotta kick yourself in the pants and take notes and move on. That’s the beauty of hunting tho the perfectly imperfect chase of game. Thanks for the content John happy to see ya back at it!
Thanks Chris and your 100% correct, if you've never had one get away, you haven't been doing it very long.
I really enjoyed the video . You always see videos of well known guys with their big deer and never videos that show mistakes . I had kind of the same scenario this yr in IN as well . I shot a 150 class 11 pt and i made a stupid mistake by shooting a strong quartering to me shot . The deer was close and i rushed the shot because i thought he was about to cut my entry boot track . I hit him far back , l gave him 10 hrs thinking i got liver . That led to all noght tracking and picking up from the track next morning . I lost blood at a small square block of timber and a huge cornfield . I looked the small block over nothing . So i thought he went into standing corn or cross the road into property i had no access. I gave up and the next day at lunch i drove by and seen buzzards and parked and watched buzzards for an hr . Low and behold i found him in a thick covered ditch across the standing corn . Deer went 1 1/2 . The bad is if i would have recovered him that very next morning i could of saved the meat . So now i have a dachshund puppy 👍🏻
At least you fixed the issue.
Refreshing to hear your honesty. I lost an eight pointer years ago to a high shot. It was MAYBE half the size of yours, but it likely made me feel as bad as you did after your shot. I guess I'm in good company.
Did you write an article about hunting out of a tree saddle back in the early eighties? I made a saddle after reading a magazine article that looked a lot like one I saw in one of your videos. I just found it by with my old hunting gear and by the looks of it I'm lucky to be alive! You have inspired me to buy a saddle and get even more mobile this year.
Keep up the good work.
Living in SW Michigan I know this all too well lol ,blinds absolutely everywhere ! Awesome video as always John!!
Thanks
I feel your pain! I have 40 acres to hunt and only around 9 of it is wooded. I usually shoot a decent buck every couple of years but the neighbor likes to hunt right on top of me. The kid has hundreds of acres to hunt but chooses to hunt the property line and his box blind is less that 80 yards from one of my spots (his grandpas property so it is what it is). He built that box blind opening week of rifle season last year :( He is in a great spot now and he got two of the 2 1/2 year old's I was watching.
It’s amazing how one blade can change the flight so much, really enjoy the saddle tips and they helped me get my nicest buck last year
That is awesome Gus, and glad to hear your best buck was from a saddle.
My camera speaks for itself. 8 different big bucks during daylight hours in the the closet game area to Grand Rapids. They are so smart they know when to move and when to stay put. I’m working on my access for this year.
That is a lot of good bucks in a small area.
Hi John I really enjoy your videos
And have learned a lot I would like to make a suggestion could you do a three part series on hunting the three hunting zones of Michigan the southern lower northern lower and the UP those different areas of Michigan would apply to a lot of areas of the country I would love to see you Hunt the UP and show us what we can learn in the big North Woods public land areas thank you
I hunted northern Michigan in big woods for years and really don't like big woods hunting because there are few destination areas and deer can bed about anywhere. Very difficult to hunt unless you have a defined area of oaks or a pinch point of transition cover.
I totally remember this property from the 2021 workshop!
Yep, we were there.
Thanks for the video John, thats real life hunting. I’ve made all those mistakes and a pile more. Airing out your fails shows considerable integrity and makes you more relatable. I know you don’t pay attention to the wind, but the bucks using that bed probably do. Based on how that point sits out in the cornfield, I’d guess they’d feel comfortable bedding there on any wind except a straight north. They’d probably prefer something out of the south I would guess as a predator is unlikely to come at them through the cornfields.
Very observant thought process and I totally agree that where they were bedded with the corn standing, no way anything could get close to them without them easily making the cover to exit securely.
Thank you for telling us the truth
John, I enjoy ground hunting. Will the investment of a complete scentlok suit and being very particular and detailed oriented with keeping everything scent free as possible still pay off in your opinion? I hunt public and have 2 ridge top setups that I've found a couple muture bucks I wanna go after. I scouted late winter and seen lots of fall sign and bedding in the ridges. I'm positioning myself on the very outter edge of a step drop off. East wind is needed to even get into this area. Wondering if the i do all the scent free steps and a complete scentlok set will help me hunt on different winds from the ground. I got long winded on this hope you're still with me. Lol God Speed
i double lunged one years ago, never found him but found him a month later in a thick briar patch 20 yards from where i stopped looking for days!
Value your videos John keep up the good work!
Nice buck John, 3.5 or 4.5 yr old you think? Hang on to that spot. Great bedding spot for mature bucks in the future. Also on bean years. It gives cover for a older buck to spot human intrusion from a ways away and he can escape before they would reach him. Thats a spot i search for year after year. Its obvious to me its used ever year probably by the best buck on the land. It sounds well beat into the ground and looks big.
Thanks for sharing
Great content
It's not the bow; it's the Indian!
Great video
That pressure helps keep deer on that place tho. Love pressure around my place...gives me alot of deer. And when corn is up, deer just hangout in the corn. Southern missouri is just as bad with pressure. I think the best thing we can learn from john is just keep pressure off your spots and let neighbors put the deer on your place. Also, no disrespect, but he doesn't know 100%... if hes the one that killed that deer... title should be "found that deer I shot at".... with that said... John's still awesome and I learned alot from him!
And I thought we had it rough here in Illinois..I would hate hunting with box blinds and hunters everywhere..
John, ever consider using a crossbow? I've switched, never increased the range very much, out to 30 yards, much more accurate, confidence booster. It's an advantage as we get older.
He doesn't like crossbows .he has said that on videos in the past. He thinks they should be illegal to use. I use one here in Wisconsin and my compound. I have a neck injury but I can still draw about 50lb .doctor told I'm just doing more damage but I still like hunting a little bit with it
John is a legendary archery hunter so I doubt it lol
@@tannerlamb6501 Always loved the guy, I used to be that way, would love crossbows to be illegal, but they're not & the neighbors are using them. Got to give him respect.
@@michaelfryeii8466 I wish they were illegal as well, more big bucks would survive. Crossbows are an advantage, accurate, less movement, increased range, I need all the advantages legally available.
@@underdogoutdoors It all depends on your objective. If the kill is your main objective, then by all means, use whatever weapon you want. For me, I'll never use a crossbow because I'm a bowhunter, first and foremost. If I get to the point where I can't draw my bow, I'll just be done.
Where I hunt in Wisconsin is the same way. Many hunters and they all have the "brown it's down mentality".
Wisconsin does have some really bad areas of public, but not like many other states do. To give you an idea, my son Chris took 1 book buck in Michigan in his lifetime and he made 4 one week trips to Wisconsin and took 3.
Great video John. Thanks for sharing your experience so we can all learn from it. Keep up the great work!
Thanks Dan
Did you measure that buck ? He's solid for sure
Nice lesson on broadheads. I truly think I might switch to 2 blade fixed. Seems to fly close to field point
That was a rare problem with such a small cut fixed head.
@@johneberhart4062 very true. One reason I commented is that my wife is a dr and thinks medically that if objects pass completely through its harder to save a life. Thats why I have been testing 2 vs 3 vs 4 blade heads. I have serious buck fever. Even if it is a doe lol! Love your channel and the honesty.
@@travissmith-wz5nc My sons shoot 2 blade heads and I may this year as well.
John, huge fan. I deleted all my liberal media a couple years ago but hung onto my UA-cam platform to still share my stuff with family and friends. I can’t say I know you personally, but well enough to state this. I truly can’t see you making the mistake of intentionally changing from a 3 blade to 4 blade head without practicing. Is there more to the story? LOL
I can see maybe accidentally shooting a 4 blade and not realizing it until it’s too late.. but I don’t see John Eberhart shooting a broadhead he hadn’t practiced with!!!
Thats fricking condos, not box blinds!!! Wow!!!
Really a rookie mistake. I don’t know any serious hunter who doesn’t check their broadheads on target. Switch heads, almost certainly switch point of impact. Was a nice buck.
You're correct, that was a rookie mistake and I've preached shooting your heads first, for 50 years and then turn around and don't do it myself. If that was meant to be a knock, it was well deserved.
It sucks. It sucks for you it sucks for the deer. But you are not the first an won't be the last. It happens we just try to not let it.
I've watched several of your videos and have heard you talk about pressure but wow!
I live in nw Missouri and growing up everyone I knew rifle hunted and alot of younger guys bowhunted.. Today I don't know nearly as many that still do. Don't get me wrong there are still hunters but It seems like the younger generations at least around here are not really interested.
Michigan is not a stand alone in the pressure category as many states to our east and farther down south are tough as well. Not as bad, but some are very close and I have all the statistics in all 3 of my books so this is reality.
Ab man what a bummer. Is there anybody that will track with a dog down that way?
I enjoy the hunting stories
I'm thinking about putting hunting kill articles back up on my Facebook page as I've written articles about every good buck I've taken since the mid 70's. Thoughts about reading an article?
@@johneberhart4062 that would actually be really cool. I would definitely read them
That cool you can admit that you didn’t actually shoot the broadhead first. You always should and I’m sure you no that. But sometimes we just want to hunt. And you skip steps. But a lot of guys would tell a bull crap story. This is just real info to learn from. Always has been!
Great info and detailed explanation from one of the best in the whitetail world. Than you John!
There are a lot of really awesome bowhunters, I just like to share what I have learned over the years.
Not on TV of course!
@@johneberhart4062 Much of what is out there in the industry is purely entertainment - the kill shot, the suspense of a big buck rolling into view, etc. To be frank, I personally have no desire to be an armchair, virtual big buck hunter. I appreciate the insightful TRAINING your videos provide all of us. You are a true friend and mentor of many people you will never meet!
@@HotRodReverend I agree but those same TV personalities like to prop themselves up as great hunters when in reality half of the bowhunters in the country could do what they do on the same property. What really cracked me up was the Drury's when they had the challenge hunts and they were critiquing the hunters in the challenge when most of them were better hunters than either of the Drury's.
They don't understand it man! The deer I have are literally scared all the time there's never a moment when they're calm they're always alert like something just spooked them, always jerky. And a deer that's constantly looking for something out of place, That senses any hint of danger at all we'll be out of there
Another season for me in the books without a harvest, sometimes here in MI, you just don’t see the caliber of deer that are worth taking, and I’m not going hungry so there’s no need to shoot anything for meat just to fill a tag, I let the does live for breeding and the young bucks live to grow another year (hopefully).. and I’m cool with it, I don’t need to impress anyone or prove anything, I just love the hunt itself..
Killing a doe won't hurt the deer population it will actually help with the buck activity. Killing doe reduces the doe to buck ratio and induces better run activity as he bucks will be more competitive for the does in the area. A good ratio is usually abut 5:1 so 5 does to 1 buck ideal is about 3:1. It means the buck ( mature included ) have to be more aggressive to pass on their genes and will fight more and be more responsive to the sounds of other deer making rattling and grunting more productive.
John, I'd venture to say that you bumped him at that Cattail transition and then he J-hooked and died in the swale...
That is a good possibility
Great video! But u should go for 70 mounts before going all to skull mounts! End it on a good number!👍
John has over 75 mounts but only 68 of them are in jay's
That apartment is like 20 ft off the ground, that took heavy equipment to build that's insane and ridiculous. I'm all for comfort when hunting but c'mon really? Someone's over compensating.
You could rent those blinds as air b and b here in montana for 200 a night
And yet year after year the Michigan DNR claim the hunter numbers are down. My A$$
its always funny to me when these guys that say the areas they hunt get pressure. They have no idea what pressure is. Just this weekend in SE PA in a 200 ish acer section of public I saw 10 other BOW hunters actively hunting. I was in a couple hours before light with no other car parked and noticed all those hunters while walking out around noon. I wonder how you would do in an actually pressured area.
So if the farmer didn't find your buck we would have never seen this video? Good to know.
happens to the best of us! makes ya sick to your stomach!
68 mounts? 70 sounds so much more than 68! What’s 2 more?? Hahaha
Good point and I have about 20 more that are mountable, but unless it's over 150, I doubt I will. Sounds like the line in Coming to America where Arsenio hall asked the clerk to at the money wiring location to have the King (James Earl Jones) wire him $250,000 and then asked if she thought that was too much and she replied, why not ask for a cool million?
Up state NY on the dynamic funnel in front of my house were it once was a paradise of movement now literally 16 ladder stands on the funnel run because everyone owns a parcel we're noone used to hunt it before now they hunt it like gangbusters and the other sad news is because of hunting pressure all the turkeys are gone in my area Sad X at Ridgemont High man
Don't you just love it? And then you get to watch the TV guys hunt on managed for big bucks farms with ZERO competition and want everyone to think they are good hunters when 50% of the bowhunters in the country could do as well if not better on the same ground. The adverse is definitely not true where they could hunt a pressured area and kill the best bucks on the property, no way!!
@@johneberhart4062 hay John I appreciate what your bringing here to us and feel the pain of the sadness of what hunting is all about lately, my Dad had me in the woods since 4, with a longbow he made for me, self bow he taught me old school ways and I have been traditional bow hunting now for 54 years and I taken some beauty's over my career of hunting and I'm a fanatic toxopholite hunter , who can never get enough of my shooting , scouting, stump shooting and figuring we're my possible next big boy could be, and I never take the traditional bow out of my hand, because I earned Mt accuracy, but I also envied your hunting abilities since I first seen you in articles 30 years ago and you taught me a ton, because back then is when I bought a greens tree saddle and still using that bad boy today, your schooling taught me the ins and out of that, best way in the world to hunt trees and safest , no if ands or buts, plus I love natural ground blinds, and have been using the niff -t seat for ever too and still today, because mobility there is no better with it for turning droping down to one knee, swiveling, or just leaning forward. But thank you John for bringing us real hunting shows , with free roaming tactics that we will never surrender too, because I will never hunt a food plot, a bait pile or out of a box blind, the list goes on, if someone wants to do this I guess have at it, thanks John keep it coming then and congratulations on your many Pope and young Harvest no doubt you have been blessed amen
@@outdoorsman9384 Thanks you very much and we are definitely on the same page on most things concerning what bowhunting should be about. However, "fanatic toxopholite hunter", dude, that is a new phrase for me as I've never heard it before and don't know what toxopholite means.
It is kind of sad, they could pass up the young ones and then they could hold out for 4 year old, and if they all did so they would have a quality hunt. Most years.
Too many hunters as they all think the next door neighbor will kill it if they don't. You get that in heavily hunted areas much more than in lightly hunted areas.
Nice 8pt. Always sucks if you can’t recover but hey it happens. Want to mention Ohio has more hunting pressure then Michigan if you go by land mass per hunter. Ohio has 29,000,000 acres and 310,000 deer hunters, whereas Michigan has 62,000,000 acres (that’s with upper peninsula) and 616,000 deer hunters. Our nonresident tags n licenses are cheap. We get all these out of state people. Sucks. I see a lot of hunters from Michigan, Pennsylvania, WV, SC, an NY on our public lands. If you want to shoot a mature buck on Ohio public land, you better do it before Nov 1. From Nov 1 to Dec 15 there’s lots and lots of pressure.
320,000 of those 610,000 total deer hunters in Michigan are bow hunters and we are a 2 buck state and the Upper peninsula takes up about 1/3 of our land mass and nobody hunts up there during bow season. Ohio does have a lot of bowhunters, but Ohio has better soil, is a 1 buck state and the entire land mass of Ohio gets hunted. Ohio is a tough state though and statistically it is much more difficult than Mo., Ks., Ia., Ne., ND., Wi., Il., In., Ok. and a few other states.
@@johneberhart4062 I’m actually not sure how many bow hunters we have. I do know finding free permission properties is like finding hens teeth. Everything is owner hunted or leased as 90% of the land mass is privately owned. The going rates are as high as $100 an acre to lease. Crazy. These guys managing are definitely raising giants but most of these giants are killed over bait. 🙄 I believe you on the soil having a lot to do with bigger deer tho. More nutrition equals bigger deer. This year was hard on the public hill country deer tho as we had very little acorns. They’ve been on a green briar diet since early November
Yes and in Ohio we are in the top 10 for least amount of public land. Also our nonresident tags are dirt cheap compared to other states . Not to mention we are in a central location for all the eastern guys why would they pay 200 to 500 dollars more for a tag to go to illinois or anywhere in midwest when they can come here. I have seen public land pressure just continue to get worse here in ohio!
@@richieriley8467 it sure seems like it
Anyways love the content John long time follower glad you have started a UA-cam page !
👍
Typical michigan hunting scenario. I deal with the same thing, they even try to bait my stand for me!! 🤦♂️
The ole classic blame the broad head for a bad shot trick. Nice try John
Wow hard to not get discouraged. We have that here too but it is not that bad or as blatant disrespecting neighbors. For the most part here box gun and crossbow blinds are owners or folks who lease long term.
I used to get discouraged, but as time went on and I began to understand how mature deer react to pressure and how , when and where they move during daylight in pressured areas, I began to embrace it because I couldn't change it. It's all about having the determination and work ethic to do what you need to do to sometimes get it done.
@@johneberhart4062 appreciate your perspective I’ll be looking at some of my situations differently and with a more optimistic outlook thanks and good hunting
As a tracker I'm glad you are admitting to your mistake and taking responsibility. However this video is disgusting makes me sick. You have almost 20,000 subs why not instead of making excuses and beating around. Why not just come out right at the beginning and explain what you did wrong? You as a bow hunter should know your equipment inside and out. Switch broadheads? Don't hunt with em till you broadhead tune... Again glad your owning it but seems to me your trying to play it off.....
That is embarrassing lol u know better 4 blade won't even be close to that 3 blade. Atleast ya have closer.
There really nothing like the challenge of shooting deer over a feeder with a crossbow in a heated box blind...in a corn field....100 yards from your house.. with cell cams..
90% of the land in Ohio is privately owned. That’s all you have is bait piles with cell cams and guys hunting in heated blinds with a crossbow. 😂
Amen to that, takes a lot of skill to do that, NOT!!!!
@@johneberhart4062 😂
U should get your facts right before u run your mouth maybe talk to the neighbors about what goes on and if u gut shoot a deer I make sure I find it and by the way u shouldn't use your broad head as an excuse nobody has hunted in those blinds in 5 yrs and every deer was legal and the owner gave permission to hunt so many yards in front of that blind so gut shot john check before accusing anybody of anything fact check if u want to talk ethics u should practice them find your deer
lies