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Habitat Podcast

Habitat Podcast

By: Jared Van Hees
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Summary
 The Habitat Podcast is a podcast for land and wildlife habitat managers, and for hunters who learn and utilize different types of habitat in their hunting strategy. We interview hunters and habitat managers from across the country, picking their brain to learn their success's and failures. We are different in the fact that we are not the experts. This podcast is for us and the listeners to learn a thing or two, from the experts we analyze.Copyright 2022 Habitat Podcast LLC | All Rights Reserved
Episodes
  • 410: How He Built 70 Acres That Kept a 160-Inch Buck Coming Back with Corey Franceus

    410: How He Built 70 Acres That Kept a 160-Inch Buck Coming Back with Corey Franceus
    Nov 6 2026
    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 – info@habitatpodcast.comHabitat Podcast YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmAUuvU9t25FOSstoFiaNdgEmail us: info@habitatpodcast.comhabitat management / deer habitat / food plots / hinge cut / food plot Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    54 mins
  • DCD: He Bought A Field Full Of Weeds - Now Mature Bucks Walk Right Where He Wants with Jake Hofer

    DCD: He Bought A Field Full Of Weeds - Now Mature Bucks Walk Right Where He Wants with Jake Hofer
    Nov 5 2026
    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 – info@habitatpodcast.comHabitat Podcast YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmAUuvU9t25FOSstoFiaNdgEmail us: info@habitatpodcast.comhabitat management / deer habitat / food plots / hinge cut / food plot Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    36 mins
  • 409: Should You Keep Hunting a Buck After You Bump Him? with Brett Smith

    409: Should You Keep Hunting a Buck After You Bump Him? with Brett Smith
    Oct 30 2026
    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 – info@habitatpodcast.comHabitat Podcast YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmAUuvU9t25FOSstoFiaNdgEmail us: info@habitatpodcast.comhabitat management / deer habitat / food plots / hinge cut / food plot Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    56 mins
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