Strategic Veteran Outdoors

Strategic Veteran Outdoors SVO
Actively living 'the dream' | Veteran |
Outdoor Enthusiast | Bowhunter |
Capturing the pursuit, the grind, and the story

09/18/2025

If you’re chasing whitetails, you’ve got to manage your expectations. Don’t compare your deer to someone else’s in another state or region. Hunt the ground in front of you, accept what it can produce, and take pride in the animals you harvest there.

Whitetail habitat changes everything—deer density, body size, and especially antler growth.

In the North, brutal winters limit nutrition. Bucks burn more calories staying alive than growing headgear.

In the Midwest farm belt, it’s the perfect storm of factors—rich soils, endless crops, timber, and terrain. That’s why it produces some of the heaviest-bodied, biggest-racked whitetails year after year.

In the South, nutrition is hit-or-miss. The long growing season helps, but habitat management and supplemental food often decide whether a buck maxes out early or ever reaches his potential.

In the Appalachians, steep terrain and thin soils hold deer back. Frames and racks stay tighter, unless hunters step in with management plans and introduce change.

And in the swamps and coastal plains, cover is unbeatable, but nutrition is limited. Bucks adapt, survive, and often carry smaller racks even as they age.

That’s why a 3½-year-old buck in Iowa looks nothing like a 3½-year-old in Florida or Maine.

The information is out there. You just have to look for it. There are countless research papers and studies published for you to learn from. Stop blindly following the norms, do your research, and become a more consistent hunter.

09/14/2025

Early season morning hunts, Yes or No???

Early deer season can be a tricky time for morning hunts. You have to have a plan. It's not like peak-rut where you can just wing it and hope luck is on your side. It far more methodical than that.
There are a few solid methods for morning whitetail this time of year, but all of them take planning and precision to be successful.

I want to know who's hunting mornings this time of year, what's your preferred method/tactic,
and what does your success rate look like?

Let's get this conversation going!

09/06/2025

Most of the time, a blown hunt isn’t about pressure, land access, or the gear you carry into the woods.
It comes down to decisions—your decisions.

Ignoring the wind.

Burning out the same stand.

Sitting food when bedding tells the real story.

Forcing hunts on dead days.

We’ve all been there. But if you want consistent success, you’ve got to own those mistakes.
Hunting’s already one of the hardest pursuits out there—don’t make it harder by stacking the deck against yourself.

Learn. Adapt. Hunt smarter.
That’s when the game changes.

09/03/2025

Whitetail Wednesday
Right place - Wrong time

For those in the back that are hard of hearing. Im talking about evening food sources. Not browse plots or feed through locations that deer hit en route to bedding. That's a topic for another video.

Hunting over evening food sources in the morning just isn't right for this time of year. The evening feed is extremely predictable currently, so why risk blowing it out on a morning sit?
Answer- You shouldn't, easy as that.

You have put all that time and energy into seeing how these deer move and when. So, capitalize on it when the timing is right.

That's all I've got for now.

09/03/2025

Understand, adjust, and succeed.

Wind Awareness & Access
Wind is the first thing that can ruin a hunt before it even begins. A bad wind blows your scent straight into bedding or feeding areas, educating deer long before you get a chance to draw your bow. Knowing the wind direction and planning your access egress routes accordingly ensures you slip in and out undetected, keeping deer moving naturally and your set-up productive.

Timing on Morning Hunts
If you are hunting the food/bedding movement. You need to be set up before the deer get to you. Leaving the woods at 9:00am often means walking out just as mature bucks are circling back to bed. Patience pays—staying on stand through late morning increases your odds of catching those cautious bucks slipping back after the early rush has died down. I like to hunt the morning until movement has slowed, and then I'll reposition closer to bedding for more productive mid-day sits.

Deer Movement & Spot Selection
Morning, mid-day, and evening hunts each require different stand locations. Morning spots should be closer to bedding than food. Mid-day hunts shine on travel corridors between bedding or near browse pockets. Evenings are best near food sources, where deer are naturally headed to feed. Matching your stand to the timing of movement keeps you in the game all day.

08/30/2025

Tag those public land bucks.

If you’re chasing trophies—cool. Managing age class on private—cool. This ain’t for y’all.

This is for the hunter who won’t pull the trigger because of fear of ridicule.

Here’s the deal: if you’re hunting bucks to harvest, then do it. Stop passing just because “the masses” say you should. It’s your tag, your choice.

If a spike, scrub, or 100" gets your heart racing—take him.

I know, I know… “let ‘em grow.” But listen—everyone hunts for different reasons. Some chase dreams, some chase the rush. Neither is wrong.

I’m not telling you to take small bucks. I’m saying it doesn’t fkn matter if I do or don’t. My ideology doesn’t dictate your season.

Hunt for you. Harvest for you.
Not for someone else’s approval.

The anticipation that comes with fishing—it stays with you the entire adventure.As you prepare your gear, it’s there. Wh...
02/23/2025

The anticipation that comes with fishing—it stays with you the entire adventure.

As you prepare your gear, it’s there. When you load everything up, doing your second and third run of checks to make sure you haven't forgotten anything, it lingers. During the drive, it tugs at that processing plant of a brain you have, busy figuring out what baits you'll throw and in what order. What type of structure, cover, and current you want to look for. It’s there.

As you pull into the ramp andback the boat down that feeling is still there.

When you fire up that outboard, when you drive from spot to spot. With each and every cast, it’s there. That’s why we have so many last casts as fishermen, I think.

The only time it fades is when you pull the boat into the slip. But as you load up for the trip home, you remember—you’ll be back. And that anticipation starts building all over again.


SVO Community Check-In! 🎯🌲Saddle hunters, I'm curious, so let’s hear it—what’s your go-to saddle setup, and why? Are you...
02/02/2025

SVO Community Check-In! 🎯🌲

Saddle hunters, I'm curious, so let’s hear it—what’s your go-to saddle setup, and why? Are you running minimalist for mobility or fully loaded for all-day comfort? What platform, extras, and sticks are you rocking?

Drop your setups in the comments, and let’s talk gear!

What climbing sticks are you running? And most importantly, why do you trust them? Let's hear all about it in the commen...
01/27/2025

What climbing sticks are you running? And most importantly, why do you trust them? Let's hear all about it in the comments.

The Pursuit Platform is a game-changer for saddle hunting. Its non-metallic design puts it in a league of its own, espec...
01/27/2025

The Pursuit Platform is a game-changer for saddle hunting. Its non-metallic design puts it in a league of its own, especially considering how lightweight it is at just 28 ounces. That’s a huge benefit for hunters looking to minimize their gear weight without sacrificing durability. The 400 lb weight rating is impressive, making it versatile for various hunters, and the fully reversible feature adds flexibility to its use (one of my favorite features). For anyone who values both lightweight and rugged performance, this platform seems like an ideal choice for long days in the field. Plus, its construction material looks like a big advantage in reducing noise and maintaining stealth. I'll be posting the video review before long. I was so blown away by it that I just had to say something...
Happy hunting!

08/23/2024

Opening Day Velvet hunt here in TN! Will give an update once we’re in the stand for the afternoon sweat fest.

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