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Bruce: Five, four, three, two, one. Welcome to another episode of White Tail . . . Welcome to another episode of White Tail Rendezvous. We’re a community that educates, collaborates, and communicates about the white tail and its industry. Today, we have Jacob Raines, of Walton, Kentucky. He’s a pro staffer and owner of Drop Tine Outdoors. Jacob, say hello.
Jacob: Hey. How’s it going, guys?
Bruce: Jacob, tell us about how you started and why you started Drop Tine Outdoors.
Jacob: I actually started Drop Tine Outdoors because I grew up in the woods. I grew up hunting. That’s what I know. Our motto is, “Live to hunt and hunt to live.” So basically might as well try to spread the word and make a little something out of it, other than memories.
Drop Tine Outdoors was established in 2014. We are very proud to say that we take great care of the animals that we do harvest and make sure we harvest the most mature animals possible. So we do have six members on our team, five men and one woman.
Women hunting is actually getting very big in this industry, and that’s something that we love to get women into. Because a lot of times, you go out and ask people, and primarily it’s mostly men. It’s something that we’d like to grow and get more women into it and definitely children. So that’s just something that we’d like to do.
Bruce: Tell us about who got you started in the white tail hunting.
Jacob: White tail hunting . . . Actually my dad did. I think I went on my first hunt when I was about six years old. I had a little 243 in my hand, growing up. What can I say? That’s one addiction that I can say isn’t so much of a problem. So definitely live in the outdoors. Every chance I get, I’m in the woods, scouting or hunting. When it’s not hunting season, I’m normally on the water fishing. So it’s just a passion of mine, and I love to spread it around and just let everybody know how fun and how educational hunting can be.
Bruce: When you were hunting with your father, what are the five lessons that you learned when you were a young boy, six years old, that’s carried forward to the man you are today?
Jacob: The biggest thing he stressed to me was respect. Respect the animal that you’re harvesting because a lot of times, you see people win an animal or not have a good, clean shot, and they just let that animal lay there and suffer or don’t make much effort to harvest the animal. That’s one thing that is gut-wrenching to me, is when I do shoot an animal, a deer especially. If I can’t find that animal, I will try my hardest to get on that animal and harvest it. That way, we can have dinner that night or have meat in the freezer.
So another one would have to be taking an ethical shot. You see guys shooting through brush and doing all that kind of stuff. It’s really important to me to put an ethical shot on an animal. That way, you know that animal is gonna die without suffering.
Let’s see. That was two. Number three would have to be just spreading the word. Starting me off at a young age makes me, when I have kids, want to start them off at a young age and learn the things that I do and become the hunter that I am today.
Another one that didn’t really start with me when I wa
s little, but something that I do realize now, is, like I said, harvesting the most mature animal that you can, that’s possible, to let the younger generation thrive. Because a lot of times . . . With children, it’s a little different. You want them to get into it. So whatever walks out there, take a shot on it and harvest that animal. But as I’ve gotten older, managing your deer population and making sure you’re killing off the oldest generation really is what strikes me the most and what I thrive to do.
Bruce: You mentioned kids a couple times or youth. What’s your vision for Drop Tine Outdoors in the youth community?
Jacob: We would love . . . This year, we’re gonna try to do a youth gun season hunt. We have a couple farms that would allow this to happen. We’re actually gonna possibly try to get the community around us and take five lucky children out to get them into hunting and let them appreciate the outdoors, because we’re on God’s green earth, and he put it there for a reason. So why not start them young?
I just want to continue the tradition of hunting, as far as getting the younger generation into it, because it’s a dying tradition, it feels like, in the younger generation. I would just want to see this thrive and do as well as what it was when I was little. I think you, as far as me, can see that and appreciate that that’s what we’re after.
Bruce: Why do you think the youth of today aren’t going into the outdoors?
Jacob: Technology. Technology has killed America, time and time again. It’s gonna keep doing it. Kids would rather be sitting inside, playing Xbox or on their computer, on Facebook, doing all that stuff. You don’t even see kids out there playing outside anymore. They’re all inside. I know when I was a little kid, you came home when it got dark. That’s not the case anymore. You come home when dinner is ready.
There was times when I was a little kid that I didn’t eat one or two times a day maybe, because I was too busy outside, having fun, playing in the creek, catching crawdads or going out and finding sheds with dad. It’s just . . . It needs to be revitalized, as far as the younger generation goes.
Bruce: How are you gonna use social networking to help boost getting kids outdoors?
Jacob: I think we’re gonna use social networking to get kids outdoors because Facebook is a really big thing for me. I would just love to see other outdoors teams see us taking youth hunting, and they’re like, “That’s a really good way to promote our page and to get others in the outdoors that normally wouldn’t go out there.” It’s just a big thing for us.
Social media has grown and grown and grown. I know I just said technology is killing America, but it’s actually helping, as far as sponsorships go and all that kind of stuff. I think if you see us including the youth in our hunting videos, that’s just gonna grow nationwide. A little kid catches us on the outdoor channel or what have you. They’re gonna be like, “Dad, can I go hunting? Will you take me hunting and show me the ways?” You know?
Bruce: Makes a lot of sense to me. Let’s talk about an a-ha moment that you
had over the last couple seasons. It’s a time that you just can’t figure something out in the white tail world. Then all of a sudden, bam, there’s the answer. The lightbulb goes on.
Jacob: I’m probably gonna have to reflect back to Tall Times. That’s the buck we named. He’s a 12-pointer, and he’s an elusive giant. Possible boon and crocket here in Boon County, Kentucky. He’s been eluding me for about three years now, and I still haven’t killed him. I got close last year. It was funny because I’ve been hunting him so hard, and I haven’t killed a buck in two years because of this. I wanted to save my deer tag for him and only him.
I’ve passed on some really nice bucks this year. I actually saw him for the first time, up close and personal. He was actually 38 yards away on a dough. We had a six-pointer pushing the dough down the hill, and he came out of nowhere and saw that dough, and he was hot for her, man. It caught me off-guard. You know? You feel like a little kid in a candy store when a monster buck comes up. Your heart starts racing and stuff like that.
I made the mistake of not picking up my range-finder and trying to guess the yardage. I guessed it was 25 yards, and I shot at the animal and missed two inches below him. He ran across the creek and looked right at me. It was almost like he smiled at me. It was kind of gut-wrenching. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep for about four days after that because I had the chance at a buck of a lifetime, and I think I finally figured him out.
He’s only showing up at the same spot, about once a month. I caught him on show-camera. It was pretty funny. Thirty days apart, three times in a row. So I can almost guarantee that I’m gonna put myself on him this year, and he’s going down. It’s funny because it took me three years to pattern this deer. White tail are very smart. They’re very elusive. They don’t get big for being stupid. That’s for sure.
Bruce: Now where does he go the other . . .
Jacob: That’s funny you ask that, Bruce, because I’m not too sure myself. I think he possibly went to a neighboring farm and just bedded down in other areas of other farms. That’s how deer get so big. You see a big, mature buck. He normally is not patternable because he moves so much. It’s very hard to pattern a mature buck that is very elusive like this one. So I’m not too sure where he actually went the other 29 days, but I know he shows up on my farm at least once a month. So I just got to be in the woods about one day of the month, and hopefully we’ll get him.
Bruce: Now, thinking about that buck, he shows he’s coming through your plot of land, your acreage. How big an area are you in?
Jacob: Well, I’m hunting around the land that I have commission on, that we own. It’s 150 acres. But for him to roam, I would say 9000 to 10,000 acres that he can actually roam on, bed down, eat, and push dough. So it’s definitely a big area for a big buck to grow in.
Bruce: Now, talk to me about what kind of crops have grown in the area.
Jacob: A neighboring farm grows alfalfa or hay and all that stuff. They don’t grow it for wildlife, obviously. They do it for strictly hay. But us here, we have some corn fields. My favorite to hunt over is actually a corn field, but we also have some winter oats and soy beans. They really like soy beans when it’s hot out, for some reason.
Bruce: Why is corn your favorite crop to hunt over?
Jacob: I would say corn is my favorite crop to hunt over because deer just absolutely love it where I’m at. Like I said, it’s all in what the deer like. In Iowa, they might like soy beans. In Florida, they might like radishes. It’s just all on what you like, and it’s all about experimenting with different crops and finding out what’s gonna optimize your chance of having success. I’ve had my most success over corn, and that’s what I swear by.
Bruce: Now, what time a year are you hunting the deer over the corn?
Jacob: I like to hunt over corn when it’s really cold out, because I don’t cut my corn until after deer season because we don’t harvest it for grain or anything like that. It’s strictly for wildlife. I just mainly hunt over corn when it’s really cold out, and normally rough is kicking in because they’re gonna want to . . . The muffs are gonna want to push the dough. Where do you find the dough? The corn fields. That’s where I’ve had the most luck, and that’s what I’m gonna stick with.
Bruce: Now, do you set up right on the corn field? Are you in a staging area? Tell us about your setup.
Jacob: I actually don’t sit right on the corn field. I like to sit about 10 yards into the woods. I like hunting about 25 to 30 feet up. That way, a deer is not gonna pinpoint you at 25 or 30 feet up in a tree, unless you’re doing jumping jacks up there. That’s what I like to do. I like to have a little bit of cover. That way, I can move and them not pay a bit of attention to me.
Other times, if I’m hunting a farm that does have corn or soy beans, and I’m hunting out of the ground line. I do like hunting out of the ground line. It’s just a little bit different game you got to play. When I do that, I like to . . . If I want to be real aggressive with the hunt and get up right on top of deer, I’ll put that ground line in a cut corn field, right in the middle of the corn field, and just tie stalks to it. So it looks like it’s just an uncut patch of corn.
Or if I’m hunting on a soy bean field, I like to set up in one of the corners if it’s a square or a rectangle. I like to set up in the corners on a soy bean field because obviously soy bean only grows to about two-foot. So it doesn’t offer very much cover. So to answer your question, I prefer hunting out of a tree stand over corn and soy beans, but I will hunt out of a ground blind in the middle of a corn field if there’s cut corn.
Bruce: What kind of a popup do you use?
Jacob: We use Maristub [SP] ground blinds. I never really had a problem with them. They’re super comfortable. I can fit me, a film guy, and draw back a bow perfectly fine, and I’ll be comfortable at the same time.
As far as tree stands go, I like Ameristep [SP]. I normally use Ameristep hang-ons, but I think we’re gonna try out a new product this year, out into the market. It’s called 360 Tree Stands. It actually provides you a platform to walk all the way around the tree. So if that big buck does come out, I don’t have to shoot around the tree.
Bruce: Let’s spend a couple of minutes talking about filming, the filming of your hunt. How do you make that work?
Jacob: Normally, we’ll say 90% of the time, we’ll have designated film guys. One guy will hunt. One guy will film, one day of the weekend. Then the next day of the weekend, the other guy will hunt, and that guy that hunted the day before will film.
Now, here at Drop Tine Outdoors, we’re not stingy about our hunting time. If we’re in the woods, we’re happy. So if I tag out early in the year, I’m still gonna be a film guy the rest of the year because that’s what we’re about. We’re about getting that hunt on film and making a permanent memory that others can see and enjoy.
So as far as footage, what we look for is . . . If the animal that we’re pursuing is not in good camera view, but the shooter has a shot on it, nine times out of 10, we’re gonna pass on the shot because, as an outdoors team and as a filming team, that is our number one mission, is to get it on film and then kill the animal, because you can’t see it if it’s not on film.
That’s the way the industry is turning right now. Film quality is big. I’d say our biggest problem would have to be low-light situations, when those big monster bucks do show up 10 minutes before nighttime, and you can’t shoot them because there’s not enough camera light.
Bruce: That’s got to be frustrating.
Jacob: It is very frustrating because, like I said . . . Now, when I said nine times out of 10, the reason I said that is because if a monster 12-pointer came out, and there was no camera light left, I would probably shoot him because he’s been eluding me for quite some time now. I’m ready to put an arrow in him.
Bruce: That’s the buck you call Tall Time.
Jacob: Yeah. I would say his brow tines are about nine to 10 inches.
Bruce: Big deer. That’s for sure. What resources do you use outside or inside? The Internet? Books? Magazines? Shows? What do you like to watch or read to get more information about white tails?
Jacob: I’m a big fan of this book that my dad gave me, that was actually written in 1998. It’s called “Advanced Scouting Techniques” by North American Hunting Club. Like I said, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. These hunting techniques have been used for some time now. It’s just nice to see that somebody took the time out to write a book to actually explain how to properly scout a deer. I’ve used this book every year.
I see two different tree scrapes, and I’m like, “That’s weird.” There’s one huge cedar tree that’s all scraped up, and there’s one little cedar tree that’s all scraped up. Well, that’s normally the same buck. The size of the tree that they’re scraping on doesn’t . . . They could be scraping on a little sapling. It could be a world-class deer. It’s just all about what that deer wants to scrape on.
Another . . . I’m actually a subscriber to Deer and Deer Hunting Magazine. I just love reading different stories and reading how people’s techniques vary from person to person.
Bruce: Right. Thank you for sharing that with us. We’re at the point in the show, ladies and gentlemen, that Jacob is going to tell us about Drop Tine Outdoors and any other specific equipment he uses, how to contact him, where he’s located, and social media. So Jacob, take it away.
Jacob: All right. If you guys want to check us out, you can go to our website, www.droptoutdoors.weebly, W-E-E-B-L-Y, .com. You can find us on Facebook. You can either search for Drop Tine Outdoors or go to my personal Facebook page, Jacob Raines. My last name is spelled R-A-I-N-E-S. Go to the “About Me.” It should be right there. We have a YouTube channel. Just search us, Drop Tine Outdoors. We’re also on Instagram. It’s Drop_Time_Outdoors_ if you want to check out some sweet pictures we got up there.
I just want to give a big thank-you to Mel, over at M&M Archery. He is a big supporter and big sponsor of ours. He is the only person that we let work on our bows, and that’s a big thing. I love people being credible. The more and more I go to him, the more and more he amazes me. Yeah, just a big thank-you to him for the nice bow setup we got.
The team is shooting all different types of bows. We’re kind of feeling out what we like and what we don’t like. So our bow brands vary from PSE, Hoyt, and Garden and Diamond. So it’s fair game for whatever you like. We’re just trying to find somebody that we all like, and we can pursue a sponsorship from them.
My personal phone number for sponsors that would be interested in taking us on as a sponsee is 859-640-4200.
Bruce: Jacob Raines, thank you so much for sharing your information, your skill set, your knowledge of white tail deer. I’m wishing you, at Drop Tine Outdoors, a fantastic year. Jacob, again, on behalf of the White Tail Rendezvous community, we say thank you. May all your hunts be great ones.
Jacob: Thank you, Bruce. I really appreciate your time. Hunt strong and hunt long.
Bruce: Yes, sir.