NextBuk Outdoors partners, Jarrod Erdody and Lee Gatzke

Owners Jarrod Erdody and Lee Gatzke

Years ago as the hunting video industry began to establish, seeing deer killed on film was a thrill. Pioneers in the industry established themselves as professional hunters. Today, these “professional hunters”, as they’re called, essentially go from outfitted hunt to outfitted hunt, and kill deer after deer from places they’ve never scouted in trees someone else prepared for them. Is this really hunting as we know it? Is this the perspective we’d like our children to be raised with?

Enter NextBuk Outdoors. We’re a group of guys that became tired of these cookie-cutter, sponsor-whoring, ego-driven “professional” hunting videos that teach nothing. Watching today’s videos of mature bucks getting whacked often forms the misconception that the only way to kill a trophy is to buy some land, plant a food plot, buy the latest high-tech camouflage and bow, setup a trail camera, and just wait for Mr. Big to show up. The reality is that the average guy spends 95% of his hunting season on land within 25 miles of his home, most of which is either public or is in small private tracts and almost all of which is heavily pressured.

The dozens of Pope and Young bucks that the NextBuk team has killed came without the aid of outfitters or large, expansive leases. Many are from public land and certainly from high-pressure areas. How is this possible? How can the average guy that hunts from home and hasn’t got the money to go on big, fancy outfitted hunts every year achieve consistent success in his home area? We’ll tell you this… you won’t find the answers in today’s hunting videos.

We learned long ago that consistent success on big bucks in high-pressure areas is achievable by hard work. We start by scouting more than we hunt and by getting to know the animals intimately. Animals and their habits vary with different regions of the country; so we decided to create tactical hunting videos that focus on how to hunt mature bucks in specific types of terrain… the kind that 90% of us average hunters spend 90% of our season hunting. We feature guys that have had consistent success in those various types of terrain. It’s taken several years, but NextBuk Outdoors can now proudly boast of 3 successful hunting video releases. “Hunting Marsh Bucks“, “Hill Country Bucks“, and Farm Country Bucks provide detailed approaches to hunting those types of terrain for trophy whitetails from an unbiased, experienced perspective.

On any given day of the year, odds are good you will find one or all of the NextBuk team doing something related to our addiction to big, mature whitetails, those bucks that just get in your head and keep you up at night. We don’t do this for a living, but it’s not a hobby. It’s our way of life…A life addicted to finding that next buck and based on the following:

Rule #1 – There is no magic pixie dust when it comes to consistently hanging big bucks on your wall.

Gimmicks and gadgets can get you that buck every now and then. Scents, calls, decoys, camouflage, bows, gear, etc. all may or may not have their place, and it’s important to know when they may give you an edge, but the consistent success comes only through hard work, scouting, knowledge, persistence, and focus.

Rule #2 – Hunt where big bucks live.

No one can shoot a slob if he/she isn’t hunting where a big buck lives. If we aren’t hunting a slob, we’re hunting for the next place we can find that slob. These days, great land is hard to come by, and most often it comes at a price. Occasionally, we offer leases and hunts to help offset our costs. If you already have a great place, cherish it (and give us a call!).

Rule #3 – Scout more than you hunt

Scout. Scout. Hunt. That’s what we like to say. The guys that do it year after year do this. We’re not interested in what a big buck is doing next week (until next week), and we don’t care about what he did last week. We focus on what that big buck is doing NOW. Scouting is the only way to recognize that, and when you do recognize it, you must be able to act immediately. There is no “let this spot cool off and we’ll come back later”. By then it’s too late.

Rule #4 – Be silent. Be mobile.

Proper scouting tactics require a hunter be ready to hang a stand and hunt at a moment’s notice. High pressure areas of today often require us to hunt immediately adjacent to and often in big buck bedding areas so that we intercept daylight movement. Our setups must be silent and have the ability to shift locations quickly at a moment’s notice.

4 thoughts on “About NextBuk Outdoors

  1. Dan Donahue says:

    I see you are affiliated with Buck Fever Synthetics. You are on their pro staff. Been trying to order some of their product but their phone numbers don’t seem to work, and I am reluctant to order through their website, no email connection available. Are they still in business and if so is there a phone number available? I have used the synthetic urine and have had good results with it. Thanks Dan Donahue Saugus, Ma.

  2. Hi Dan, sorry to hear this. They’re still in business but can be tough to reach at times! Try this number: 248-953-0678 (Kyle).

  3. Jay says:

    Just wondering if you guys are coming out with a new DVD anytime soon? Also, do you guys still stay in contact with Andrae D’ Aquisto?

    1. Jarrod Erdody says:

      Hi Jay, thanks for the note! We have a couple different future releases in mind that we’re working towards. Other priorities in life have slowed my ability to release them but we’ll continue trying to get more stuff that helps guys as we’re able. Make sure you sign up for our mailing list if you aren’t already and I’ll communicate announcements and more info there. And, yes, we do still stay in contact with Andrae. He let some whoppers pass this past fall!

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