MDRN Whitetail Ep. #10 - Hunting the Rut With a SYSTEM You Can Trust w/ Joe Miles

Every November, the rut turns into chaos. Deer are running everywhere, cameras stop making sense, and it's easy to bounce from stand to stand on a guess. Joe Miles has a system for that, and he's run it for the last five years.

Joe is the founder of ASIO Gear, the host of the Mission Whitetail podcast, and has been bowhunting whitetails for more than 30 years. In this episode of the MDRN Whitetail podcast, presented by Hawke Optics, Joe breaks down how he stopped chasing bedding, food, and fresh sign during the rut and started hunting true funnels instead. He defines what a real funnel is (and what it isn't), shows how to find one on a map and on foot, and explains how to dissect the trail system to pick the one tree that covers it all. He also gets into why stand placement matters so much, and why the hardest part of the whole system is staying in the tree.

Topics covered:

- What a true funnel is: a geographical or man-made feature that dictates whitetail travel, and why "dictate" is the key word - Real examples, from a duck pond fence in flat South Carolina ground to a giant bluff in Kentucky - Funnel vs. pinch point, and why proximity to bedding and food doesn't matter to Joe during the rut - How to dissect a trail system with a buddy and find where all the trails come closest together - Tightening a funnel with brush, hinge cutting, and mock scrapes - Hard-sided vs. soft-sided funnels, and what Joe is willing to give up when the setup isn't perfect - Hunting a new property on a one-week trip and getting stands hung for every wind before leaving - Access during the rut: why Joe won't let imperfect access keep him out of the funnel - Why Joe orients his stand to see both ways down the funnel, and the thermals that decide when he goes in and out - The "flier buck" in Kansas and the one trail Joe was willing to give up - Pre-rut scrape lines vs. the pivot to funnels once mature bucks start searching - Trail cameras, calling, and what the cameras don't tell you - The mental grind of all-day sits, and what Joe tells himself to stay put - What to do when day seven ends and the buck never shows - What's new from ASIO Gear: the Stealth jacket and pants, and the redesigned backpack

Follow along on social! IG - @modernwhitetail YouTube - @WHTLDEER Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! -Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ -OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt -Painted Arrow: bit.ly/PaintedArrow -Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/