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Interview With Jim Newcomb
Interviewer: Jim Newcomb:Radio host Shellshocked Outdoors
Guest: John Stallone: Author of The Whitetail Blueprint, Professional Hunter/Guide and Marketing Director for The Hunting Channel
Introduction and Opening Questions:
1. Can you tell us a little bit about what your organization and what
you do? Well we have been running this program at THC called Hunting University (not to be confused with the TV show), to help educate hunters in how to become more successful. We set it up in way that there was something for everyone, no matter if you been hunting for 30 years or 3. This program brought about our ASK the PROS section of THC where members can ask any hunting question and have it answered by the leader in the industry. It is these questions that we got day after day for 6 years which led us to developing The Hunter’s Blueprint series of Books. And these books are the first of their kind really, I have read close to 100 different hunting books, by hunters that were more successful then me, and although these authors were great hunters they lacked two import elements 1) they did not know how to teach, and 2) there wasn’t a game plan for the reader to adapt into his/her hunting skill set.
2. Tell us a little more about your book. Well as I said we developed, using all the knowledge from my experiences and those of my peers, plus all the questions we received over a 6 year and put it into series of books to help people incorporate a game plan that has an almost fool proof system to seeing, and harvesting more game. The whitetail Blueprint is the first in the series and we have actually put it out there with a 60 day money back guarantee. If this book doesn’t teach you something, if it doesn’t help you up your game, we will give you your money back simple as that. No questions asked…
3. What information do you plan to pass on to our listeners today? . I want to talk about tree stand placement and choosing the right set up.
Main Body Questions:
1. What can I do, as a novice hunter, to eliminate errors while in
the stand? Give me 3 to 4 rules to live by.
I think the number one mistake I made as a novice hunter was not saving my money to buy a really good stand, I rushed it and bought what I could afford at the time. This may sound silly but listen to my reason before you dismiss this answer. For me being comfortable has a direct link as to how patient, how long and how still I can sit. Hunting is every bit a battle with yourself as it is with the game you are seeking, and if you are uncomfortable you will not be able to play the mind games you need to play to stay motivated in the stand. This also holds true for most equipment I ran out and bought the first bow i could afford, It wasnt untill 2003 when I bought My first Mathews “the LX” that i realized how much of a differnt quality gear made
That being said, my next tip is stick with your spot. Most novices second guess themselves too quickly, if you put the work in and have done your research on the spot you hung your stand, give it time to produce. Trust your instincts don’t keep second guessing yourself and stand hop form stand to stand. This is only going to cause you more frustration and create more disturbances in the woods.
My last tip Practice from the stand! Too many of us myself included practice all year standing on the ground 20 yards in front of a target and never shoot from a stand until Mr. Big walks under it in NOV and we wiff it right over his back. I will tell you a story a couple of years ago I was in Illinois first week of NOV as I did every year, now I spend my Nov in South Dakota with High Prairie Outfitters the hunting is better and the deer are just as good, anyway I had gotten drawn for elk and to make this long story short I spent all preseason shooting from the ground in every which way but from a treestand to get ready for my elk hunt, so my first hunt after the elk was in a tree and guess what I missed a 180” deer @ 19yds all because I traind my body a certain way. Moral of the story is you cant expect yourself to remember to count your steps when that big deer steps out you have to make it second nature, so practice for your hunt put yourself into positions that mimic what you may encounter.
2. Can you describe to me in great detail what your ideal set up is?
From terrain, stand set up, temperature, weather and moon phase,
etc…? Well I always set up stands that give me the most options, meaning I look for a spot that has more then one buck producing feature. As an example my stand set up in south Dakota is in on the fringe of a bedding area, it is sitting guarding 3 trails used by does mostly that travel to a crp field in one direction a cattle tank in another and a third is the trail leading out of the bedding cover. I am in a finger of trees that creates a natural funnel for the animals and offers me 40 yrd shot in all directions. You get the picture? I am stacking the odds in my favor by not putting all my eggs into one basket, im not rely on just traffic to a food source or tjust to water or bed, it not just a traveling corridor. I talk bout this extensively in the book
3. What keys signs do you look for when finding a spot to hunt?
Please put these signs in order of importance from least to most
important. Well it really depends on the season this is also something we talk about in the book in great detail but: in Oct I look for faint trails leading into deep cover, I look for sign post scrapes and rubs along these faint trails.
4. What do you look for in a tree to hang your tree-stand? Describe
for me a perfect tree? Well the perfect tree for me is one that’s gona get me in the right spot with the right shot angle. But I like to have good cover, I really like confers or ever green trees because they offer great cover , they offer some scent concealment because the pitch is so fragrant, and lastly they are often the straightest trees around this goes back the first thing we talked about if a tree is not straight more then likely you wont be comfortable and there is a safety issue there as well, no buck is worth losing your life. If you cant find a safe tree put up a ground blind nice and early in the season and let those bucks get used to it being there.
5. What do you look for in a perfect ground blind set up? and what would you do to set up your ground blind?
Ground blinds are all about getting them up early as I just said. If you have a good spot with a good vantage point, my trick is in late spring I will create a gorund blind with dead fall etc and make a structure that will resemble my pop up in size and shape. That way the deer get used to its presence and then like 2 weeks before the day that I will hunt I usually got set up my blind and brush it in with the deadfall and branches from my natural blind I built earlier in the year. If you are affair your blind will get stolen just slip in there a day or two before your hunt to set it up, you should still have success just be mindful of your scent.
6. What is your favorite way to hunt, ground or stand?
Well by nature I prefer spot and stalk I like being proactive and I’m not very patient so this is my favorite style of hunting. I do like ground blinds because when set up properly they offer good scent concealment and you can get away with more movement plus here it is again they are more comfortable. Howvever, I like the option that gives me the most chance a success and for the most part on whitetail that is a treestand
Conclusion and Call to Action Questions:
1. Where can our listeners find out more about your book? You can go to http://www.thewhitetailblueprint.com/
2. What freebies can you offer to our listeners today? Well right now on top of the money back guarantee we are offering a 4month free subscription to the hunting channel when you buy The whitetail Blueprint
4. What special offer can you make for our listeners? Also we will send you a copy of The Secrets of hunting western Game
5. As we wrap things up, what should our listeners be doing for the
next 30 days? 90 Days? Or 1 year to become more successful
hunters? Well for starters pick up The Whitetail Blueprint. Learn your game figure out what the deer do all year long in yur neck of the woods, study their movements and behavior this is the single most important thing to being successful
6. What final words of wisdom would you like to pass on to everyone
who is listening in to this call? Be a student, everyday try to learn and adapt something new. Id says that is the key to my success