Hello and welcome to Kentucky Afield.

I'm your host, Chad Miles.

Join us as we journey the Commonwealth in search of outdoor adventure.

This week, we're going to jump in the deer stand for an archery deer hunt.

Then we're going to team up with my son, Leo, as he chooses a rifle for the upcoming youth season.

But first, we're headed out to the falls of the Ohio in search of hybrid striped bass.

Well, late summer, early fall.

When it's a little hot to be in a deer stand, and you still want to go fishing.

What I'm doing today is one of the most impressive opportunities for hard fighting fish.

And that is I'm here in Louisville at the lower McAlphin Dam.

Now, a couple of things you need to do before you come out here.

First off, definitely don't come out here in this water without a life jacket.

Secondly, make sure you've made this trip few times before with people who have been out here and done this before, because there's a little research that has to take place before you come out.

I know today we called, got the report.

They're running zero feet of dam on the top, and they're running 1.5ft at the lower.

So I had to make sure that there was enough water to make our way up here, and two, that it was safe to fish.

So we're going to respect the water.

Keep a person driving the boat at all times.

Get up there early, and hopefully that last two hours before dark is going to be gangbusters.

This is a great opportunity to catch some massive white bass, hybrid bass.

You could catch a striper.

Bass species can sometimes be in there.

As all that water comes through the dam it stirs that bait up.

All the fish push up to get that oxygenated water.

And it's a feeding frenzy.

We're not the only people that had this idea today.

It looks like we've got about four boats out there.

So we're going to see if we got room to get in here and see how they're doing, and hopefully catch a fish.

Here we go.

We got a fish on.

And that thing was right in that white water.

I don█t know what it is, but it feels like a pretty good fish.

There we go.

We'll take it.

It's a smaller one but man.

He smoked that bait.

Sure thought he was bigger than that when he hit.

Hybrid bass.

Man, they get about 10 pounds out here.

Or even bigger.

Hopefully we can get a hold of a couple of those.

There we go.

Fish number one.

Here we go.

It feels like a real little one.

Yeah, this might be a white.

What we got here?

No, it's a hybrid.

It's just a small fish.

We haven't found the big ones yet today, but, man, when they're in this current.

There we go.

When they're in this current, they all they all fight pretty good.

But I can tell that wasn't a big fish the second he hit.

Got one right here.

I was watching that guy over there.

He was fighting a fish.

He's still fighting the fish.

And I was like, oh my gosh, I hope I haven't hooked him.

Oh, it's a drum.

Might not be what we wanted, but by golly, it's what we got.

Fun to catch.

Not what we're going for today.

This is a fish.

Looks like another small one.

There we go.

Perfect.

Come right out.

It is a hybrid, but they're just not big.

These are little two pounders, two and a half pounders.

But, man, they're fun to catch.

Another one.

Even smaller.

All about the same size.

Probably all the same year class fish.

Probably about 17in long or so.

Now we need the big ones.

We've got to find the big ones.

I want those six pounders, man that will rip this rod and reel right out your hand if you're not careful.

Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

All right.

Hey, that might be the biggest one so far it's probably four and a half pounds or so.

Such a hard fighting, strong fish.

I'll tell you what, that sun is getting down.

Usually you got about an hour, and hopefully they keep getting bigger.

Here we go.

It's a better fish I think.

No, he's not either.

He's just in that current bout like the rest.

Normally you're not able to just boat flip hybrids.

They're so aggressive.

But this one wasn't quite as big.

Man, they just... They fight to the end.

Here we go.

Another hybrid.

You know, this kind of been the order of the day.

Undersized for what I'm used to catching.

Less flow, but still well worth the time and a lot of fun.

It was just a great opportunity to get out here today and catch these.

One of these days, I'm going to catch one of these ten pounders out here.

They're here.

And there's quite a few of them.

And I can't imagine the way they fight in this current what that's going to be like.

But, you know what?

Who knows?

It might be the next cast, but today is winding down.

That sun is getting low.

If you're an archery hunter, October is one of the best months to be in a deer stand for buck action.

Today, we're hunting this farm we've been at all year.

And the beans have now been cut, so they've been removed.

It's time for us to make our way into the woods.

We'll go into a stand.

The last time I hunted this stand in the evening I had a pretty good buck chase a doe right by me.

I made a couple of “mer mer” noises trying to get that deer to stop.

Paid no attention.

It kept on running.

And that's pretty typical when they're starting that rut phase.

Hopefully tonight I can get in a stand and have some deer come through.

Chasing.

We're going to do some rattling.

Going to do a little grunting.

And hopefully that buck that I seen or a couple other deer that I've seen out here will show up and get in bow range.

We'll see how it goes.

You won't get a deer if you don't get out in the stand.

Bad conditions.

Rain can't stop us.

We're going to try to get out there and make this happen.

Got in really quiet.

Felt really good about that.

The interesting thing is, is that when I was down the field.

It's really windy, and the wind was supposed to be coming directly this way, blowing my scent right across the creek, the way I came in, which would be perfect.

Unfortunately, when I got in here and got set up, you can't always trust the wind that you see on your weather apps.

Because I got in here and got set up.

The wind on this hillside is going this way.

Now, that doesn't necessarily ruin my hunt, but it does let me know that if a mature Buck comes in and it's moving toward the way my wind is blowing.

I want to do my best to try to get a good shot before it gets downwind.

You got a mature deer, unless he's got the doe on his mind, and they're going to probably wind you If you're downwind.

So hopefully any deer that crosses this creek.

I█ll have the wind in my favor.

Right now, It's not moving in the same direction that I was anticipating.

Honestly, I would have chose a different stand.

Had I known it was doing this.

But now I'm here.

I got to make the best of it.

Here comes a deer.

Oh, there█s a buck, there█s a buck right there.

I can't see him now, but I just saw a buck.

It█s a nine or a ten pointer and it's walking down away from me.

Toward the creek.

It█s either going to cross that creek or turn and either come our way the other way.

There he comes.

Here he comes.

Here he comes.

This deer is going to walk right under us.

Merp!

So we█re watching his doe out here in this field.

And this deer is out there messing around and I look back.

And this buck is making its way away from us.

I know it's going to get to the river.

It's going to have a barrier.

So I start grunting, and I grunt 3 or 4 times thinking maybe I can bring that deer this way.

It's dark running down here toward us.

Well, the way this is set up, I get it full draw it.

When the deer stops, it's setting down here.

I can't get a shot because of the angle with my camera guy here.

So the deer█s standing there.

Perfect range.

I can't get a shot.

Can't get a shot, can't get a shot.

Finally, I was able to get a shot off.

Hopefully this will all pull together.

I think that█s- there it is.

There it is.

Right there.

Oh, sweet.

That deer didn't go 130 yards.

Oh, sweet.

Oh, my goodness.

Oh my goodness.

This is not a huge deer.

But I'll tell you what.

Considering how much time I spent on the stand.

And to get this buck with my bow literally the night before gun season, I could not be more excited.

I don't think I put a great shot on this deer.

It literally is on the other side, but the deer was slightly quartering away.

And what?

Whatever happened, it didn't go over 100, 100 and 2030 yards.

And here it is, very wide deer, not very long tines, but I couldn't be.

I could not be more excited, tickled to have this deer buck tag is punched.

What a great season.

I'm so excited.

What a year.

This year, the Kentucky Youth Firearms season for deer has been expanded to nine days.

Now█s the time to get out and hit the range and select a firearm that your youth is most comfortable shooting.

Well, today we're going to have a lot of fun.

This is the day I've been looking forward to for quite some time.

If you watch Kentucky Afield you know, I've got two children.

I have a daughter that's 14.

She did her first deer hunt two years ago and had an absolute blast.

And I have my son, Leo, who is ten.

Now last year, when he asked me to go deer hunting, it was too late to get to the range and get him ready to go.

I've always told him that before he can go deer hunting, he has to get to the range and demonstrate safety and the ability to effectively, humanely put a bullet exactly right where it's supposed to go.

Gun safety.

How important did your dad always tell you gun safety is?

You tell me every day when we're not even hunting.

Four rules of gun safety.

Can you tell me what they are?

Always treated it like it's loaded.

Even if it's not.

It's never not loaded.

It's always loaded right?

Yup, and hand off the trigger unless you you're ready to shoot.

When your face is on the stock and you're ready, that's when the trigger goes up.

Right.

And it stays on safety.

Until then, number three.

Point a gun in a safe direction.

Don't ever point it at anyone.

Anyone or anything that you don't want to shoot.

Guns always in a safe direction.

And number four?

Always wear your eyes and ear protection.

Eye's and ear protection.

So we're going to be wearing that.

Let's get started with a gun that you've shot a thousand times the little 22.

It's really, really small.

We're going to start to target really, really close.

And then we're going to work our way up into a couple of guns.

And you get to make a choice what you want to do with this year.

Sounds fun.

Leo, hop down there and see how close we are.

Looks like we're pretty close.

All right, put your safety on.

Open your bolt up.

This is what we're going to be shooting.

Go ahead and grab one and put it in.

All right.

Hop down there.

Don't shoot it yet.

How's that feel?

Feels good.

All right.

Take it off safety.

Listen, a real soft trigger pull.

I don't want any jerking flinching just right down the barrel.

Make sure you pull this against your shoulder face is on the stock.

Aim and then pull the trigger whenever you're ready.

All right.

That's not bad.

It's not about hitting the bull's eye right now.

Let's just see on your next one how close it is.

Pull it against your shoulder again, face right down on it.

Let's see how it goes again.

Where was that?

Oh, my gosh.

What?

Your bullet holes are touching.

Oh, looks like an eight.

That's really, really good.

One more time.

All right.

Lower.

Yeah, I was a little low, but that's okay.

You want to do one more?

Yep.

Do you put this one in there?

Pretty close to those other three.

We're going to be ready to move on to go ahead.

So those three are really close.

And then this here was a little bit of a jerk, but they're still all really good shots.

We're going to trying to cover these up and we're going to put the scoped 22 rifle up there.

Now, it's a little bit bigger gun.

It's not near as small as the other.

So we'll get it up there and get it fitted for you and see how you do with it.

Sounds good.

All right, now, Leo, this safety's a little different right here.

So when we push this in, we're getting ready to load it.

Load finger away from the trigger.

This is fire.

See where it says "F"?

That's safety.

So the safety is on.

So hop down again.

Find the target with the crosshairs.

Found.

All right, push it on fire.

Now let your finger feel the trigger.

And remember, wait until you're on it fully and then slowly squeeze that trigger.

Wow.

That is literally in the bull's eye.

Beat that.

That's going to be a tough one to beat.

Alright, put it on safe.

Up.

Back.

Now push it forward.

Down.

All right, now on safe.

If you can put another one right there.

This is going to be short.

We're going to be going to the big guns.

Yeah.

Hop up there, find it again.

All right.

Put it on fire.

All right, Leo.

When you feel like you're ready.

Slowly pull the trigger.

There we go, baby.

Nice.

Let's rack it again.

I'll do it for you.

Safety.

All right.

One more.

If you're that close to this, we're going to move on to the next gun.

Try one more time.

Wow.

Hey, that is really, really good.

So what we're going to do now, we're going to go and take this magazine out of here.

Let's walk down and see what we got.

Well, I'll tell you what.

That's really good shooting.

Now you're only shooting 15 yards off a rest.

So we got to make a lot of changes till we get you ready for deer hunting.

But this is a good start, so let's go ahead and cover those dots and then we're going to move the target back to about 30 yards.

We're going to get out a rifle that is the exact same gun.

But a bullet that's big enough to kill a deer with a stock that short enough to fit you.

It's a 243 Winchester.

This is a gun, I've killed several deer with this.

Your sister killed her first deer with this.

It's a very good shooting gun.

It's the exact same trigger.

Everything except for a shorter right here.

And it shoots a little more powerful bullet.

This gun here is great for deer hunting.

What we're going to try first is I want you to get used to the trigger.

We're literally going to load this without a bullet in there.

I want you to find the bullseye with the crosshairs.

Put it on fire, and I want you to squeeze the trigger.

Okay?

No flinch, no jerk.

This is called a dry fire.

All right.

Just a click.

Click.

Put it back on safe.

Listen, this gun is going to be exactly the same.

It's just going to be louder.

But you got your hearing protection on, it's going to be okay.

All right?

Yup.

I want you to not flinch.

Keep it on there and pull the trigger.

Let's see how this goes.

Ready?

All right, slow squeeze on the pull.

Gosh.

A little different, huh?

It's just louder.

You may have felt like it bounced a little more, but let's see where you're at.

Hey, guess what?

You're in the bullseye.

Really?

Pretty crazy, huh?

Yeah.

All right, let's try it again.

That was a good shot I think.

I had it crossed right on that orange.

Oh, my gosh.

Yeah, they're both right there.

I mean, buddy, those are those are on.

Yep.

We're going to shoot one more and then we're going to shoot one off of sticks.

When you're ready.

Wow, Leo, let's walk up there.

I think you're going to like what you see.

Oh.

All right.

We're just going to put one black dot to cover that one, and then we put an orange one right there.

We'll cover those right up.

Look at this.

Now, obviously, we can't take this lead sled to the deer stand.

This is probably what we'll have in a hunting blind.

I just want you to take a real fine aim and you put one in there that close.

You will be ready to go on a deer hunt.

Oh, my gosh.

Look there.

Hey.

Hey, that might only be 30 yards, but that's actually really, really good buddy.

I've got one more gun that I want you to shoot.

It is a less recoil gun.

It's more like the 22, but it weighs a little more.

This is a gun that if you watch TV, they want you to think it's really, really dangerous.

This is an AR-15 and it shoots a round that is a 223.

It's actually in between the 22 and the 243 that you shot.

This gun is a really, really good gun to deer hunt with for a kid or for someone that small statured.

Now this gun, you're not going to be shooting deer at 300 yards, but you're not anyway, right?

We're trying to get ready for 50 yards.

Now on this one, the one thing you got to be cautious with is that this one has a magazine and they can come in high capacity magazines.

But what we've got.

It has to be ten or less the deer hunt.

So let's get one round.

We're going to load it in there.

We're going to let you shoot this one time, see what you think.

Sounds good.

That's fire.

This is safe.

Okay, I'm going to wrap this up and get it ready to go.

All right.

After you're ready, all you need to do is take the safety off and pull the trigger.

OK.

Nice and easy squeeze.

Let it surprise you when it goes off.

Oh, what did you think about that?

It was fun to shoot.

Do you like that gun?

That's a little different, huh?

It's got a good smell to it when it goes off.

You like that smell?

Like I say, a lot of people make you think no good can come from a gun like this, but it actually has very little recoil doesn't it?

Yeah.

Let's go see where you hit.

So this was your 243?

Yeah.

This was your AR round right here.

Both of those are really, really good shots.

Now you got something to think about.

This one here kicks a little bit more, but it's still not much of a kick.

Yeah.

You shot it a little bit better.

This one has less recoil, but the gun's a little heavier.

We're going to get back to the range two or three more times.

Which one do you want to focus on getting ready for deer season?

The Winchester 243 is what I'm going to go with.

I think that's a good choice.

All right, let's go.

Let's go.

Now let's check in and see who else has been out having fun.

And this week's ones that didn't get away.

Here we have Brandon Wininger with the couple of largemouth bass that he caught while fishing at Barren River Lake.

Nice job.

Four year old Bentley Grubb caught his nice largemouth while fishing at Beaver Lake.

Nice job.

Check out these young fellers, Oak and Otto.

They went on their very first dove hunt with their 410.

Check out 19 year old Thomas Lambert with this beautiful buck that he took with his bow and arrow.

This was his first bow kill ever.

Nice job.

Now here's a beautiful largemouth bass that was caught by 12 year old Stone Simpson.

This fish was caught at a farm pond in Crittendon, Kentucky.

15 year old Cole Moberly went crossbow hunting in Clark County and took this beautiful eight point buck.

Dalton tack.

It caught this beautiful smallmouth bass from the banks of the Sandy River in Floyd County.

Nice fish.

Here we have Natalie Taylor with a smallmouth bass that she caught out of green River in Greensburg, Kentucky.

Nice job.

Check out the size of this impressive eight point buck that was taken by Justin Duvall in Clinton County.

Nice buck.

Fall is here and October Is probably one of the best months to be in a deer stand.

I hope you're ready.

And remember, hunting and fishing on private property is a privilege.

Always ask permission and thank the landowner.

Until next week, I'm your host, Chad Miles, and I hope to see you in the woods or on the water.