COTW Herd Management Guide / 10 Step Super Guide for Hunter: Call of the Wild 

Thanks my dude! Appreciate it!

Thanks for the kind words!

Do the fallow grind on Te Awaroa! I have 4 great one fallows. They have 5 fur types and 4 antler variations so the combos are cool! Got 4 in under 4000 harvest.

@@JBizHunts I have started it bud but then left it as I didn't feel it was working correctly. your videos explained a few things so easily I'm going to start with it again. My red deer GO must only took 114 kills, then I gave up after that as it wasn't fun getting one so easily. Thank you for the video and the help :)

@@luketaylor92 well thanks for the comment, the views and the like! Much appreciated! Let me know if you need any help or insights on your grind!

Thanks! I am trying to fill the gaps of the content we see from other creators. I had a Reddit post that did well about a hybrid game play style that was neat. I am planning on trying out the electronic caller but using it on animals with no drink zone… like springbok, chamois and mountain goats since you can’t hunt their drink zones to find them.

Thank you for the comment! What are you currently grinding?

Thank you! I’m on console and I can guarantee that the tents and 1 minute trick works… tents, just set a marker on their need zone and make sure you are 250m + away from the zone… the 1 minute trick works, but you should be at least 1 hour into their drink time. If it’s whitetail and you are at 8am which is the start of their drink time and you do 1 minute it isn’t going to work.. I always start my grind/zone searches halfway through the drink time.

@@JBizHunts Good to know you are on console as well so I will persevere with the 1 min trick! Those dam Whitetail are always late so I'm with you there, I normally start between 9-9.30. Your Guides are really good so I subscribed. Happy hunting!

@@JbGreenBombs thanks for the subscribe! Any content you wish that was out there in our community? Always looking for ideas

Around 100 you will start seeing some results, by 200-250 the herd will be getting closer managed. After each rotation I go back to the home menu and then the enter the map and change the time. Going to the home menu seems to signal to the game to make the respawns… so usually the next rotation or the very next one after that if not. It’s usually pretty quick

Easy answer: hunting pressure. 4 kills on the same lake will result in all zones disappearing and have to be rediscovered. If zones are close enough the purple hunting pressure from another zone can stack with their own zone. That’s why it’s recommended to use tripods or hunting blinds as it takes 16+ kills of pressure to delete a zone. So, either use hunting blinds/tripods or do not kill more than 3 at the same lake until you create pressure at another lake to make the purple colour go away.

​@@JBizHunts oh my god thank you i have been looking for this type of reply. u earned a sub ❤

@@manejszi thank you! I’ll make sure I keep putting out some interesting content!

I would honestly start on Layton lakes. They are concentrated to the left side of the map and there are about 65-70 zones depending on your map. Start there by just finding your zones, keeping note of what ones have the bigger max estimate weight bucks

When you shoot down a zone, you pick up your gear and move on to the next zone to manage. If it’s your main shooting zone and they are shot down and you are not getting high level respawns you can shoot the small males and hopefully they come back as larger (even with Herd Management, there is still RNG involved). If you don’t pick up your kill and you go back to the main menu the animals will respawn… it only effects the chance of it respawning as a great one by not claiming the harvest. As an example on my gemsbok grind for a diamond I just killed as many as I could at each lake and didn’t harvest any and spawned my diamond by kill 100 or so. I didn’t care because I had enough cash and xp (I’m level 60) and gemsbok doesn’t have a great one. Hope this helps!

Kill it, it’s going to mess up your grind later as you will continue chasing his max weight estimate respawns

That’s a very short grind! Whitetail averages 1000-1200 grinds, moose 800-1200, fallow 500-1000… (of course there are shorter and longer grinds) but red deer it seems in the community is 2000+ on average….. BUT they pull in the most money which you can buy extra tents so you can set up grinds on other maps and never have to take down your set up.

Yeah, I mainly stopped because I hunt white tail irl and wanted to hunt them, and I wasn’t getting diamonds to spawn on my red deer grind, I’d get 9’s but most the time but they would be below Diamond score or have the troll rack.

@@Hatfieldfarms44 agreed! I like in Canada and we have tons of whitetails. I actually haven’t done a whitetail grind just yet, saving that one for when I get bogged down. Currently trying for my great one moose on Medved. I watched a neat video on fallow ruts and I actually really think they would make for a fantastic IRL hunt.

Yeah, I always have wanted to go out west or to Europe to hunt there animals

You got it, that’s the goal. Once all your secondary zones are shot down to minimum trophy score animals you can then harvest all your stacked animals.

@@JBizHunts so in zones where i have potential diamonds or diamonds that Im stacking do I still shoot mid level males in the stacking zones just as I would in the zones Im not stacking in?

Animals in the zone, if you are herd managing that’s the whole population of moose on Medved. I have a moose guide video as well

@@JBizHunts I watched that too. So if you’re herd managing then you’d go off the indicator? By going off the zones, are you constantly having to re-find where the solo that was in a herd zone went after shooting it?

@@R3C0NF1GUR1NG that’s why said solo zones are almost its own grind because of having to refind them. Herd management is hard but rewarding

@@JBizHunts Thanks man! Appreciate the response! Subbing!

Yes, you can still get great ones and diamonds without herd management, the downside is they may take longer. I could do a non herd management great one guide

LadyLegend has a great video about how she fixed her moose grind. It seems something since the retriever update that this occurs more frequently. So now I just check all my zones every 250+ harvests

You can shoot 2’s if they are in your final 10ish zones (shooter zones). However, I play on console and can’t get off a second shot as quick as some of the RU-vidrs who play on PC, so I actually have a few 2’s in my shooter zones. Especially if you have a fallow herd with more than 2 males. I got my grind down to a diamond every 17 kills and shoot 1 big male per zone (selective shooting) and extreme herd management. I have 4 fallow great ones in 3800 kills. So, to answer your question, it depends on how many kills you can get at each zone and how managed down your herd is.

Yeah I have 6006 kills in on my 3rd fallow go. So I think I need to try something different. I watched your video and it was very good. So when I have zones go down to 2’s then I should leave them alone? Thanks

Yeah I’m on series x myself.

@@nightryder1227 I’m on the series s and bought a special controller that has really helped. It has longer joysticks for more precise shooting and a shorter bumper button that gets off a shot quicker.

@@nightryder1227 yes you should leave them alone… if you add me to Xbox and invite me to MP I can look at your set up and give advice

Depends on the map: Red Deer/Fallow on te Awaroa are 35-40 zones and most other maps 65+… whitetail on Layton are concentrated on the left side of the map and are around 55+ zones… everyone’s map will be different with amount of zones and exact locations but the home ranges would be the same. I would watch ProXCK videos on RU-vid for maps for locations… moose I have 140 zones on Medved (they drink everywhere) there’s 100 on Layton and 200+ on New England. You need most if not all zones for respawn to work reliably…. Even missing a few zones could slow respawns

@@JBizHunts oh wow, thank you. That ProXCK video combined with yours is going to make starting this game so much easier

Are you solo male’s managed (level 5 or lower?)… if the answer is no, I would go shoot them down since you have 12 stacked. If the answer is yes, stacking is actually hurting your current grind as the great one is more likely to spawn off larger kills (diamonds are the largest) so, it’s basically slowing down your herd and your respawns may be smaller which may slow the go from appearing. So, I’d kill then if you are satisfied with your solo’s and just start grinding and shooting the largest male at each zone, reset the time, main menu, then go back and repeat

My solo zones are 5 or lower, still got some 6-8 deers walking around in other zones . Should I shoot them down until they respawn below 5‘s? Or can I shoot my 9‘s down to see what will spawn?

@@hippster7847 you should be rotating on 8-10 zones… so I would shoot down the herd zones you don’t like shooting at (poor visibility, low number of males etc) and then shoot the stacked. Move the tents for pick up tents so that way it’s fast travel, shoot, fast travel, harvest, and repeat. You can probably do all your zones in 15 minutes and increase your kills per hr. That way the 8-10 zones you rotate on you are usually killing level 8-9 for each kill… on my fallow grind I’m usually killing a max weight estimate buck each zone which increases the chances of the big guy showing up. Honestly weight plays a bigger factor than we all know.

Yes it is, it’s more prevalent with some animals compared to others. Like Moose and Red Deer when you are finding zones sometimes have a solo male attached to a herd zone. You wait for the respawn but it won’t come because you actually have to rediscover the need zone. That’s why you start off with 40 zones and by the end of your grind have 45. Another instance is you may shoot too many males in the herd before they have time to respawn and sometimes a male will break off and become a solo. There is a skill that you can put a skill point into that allows you to see how many animals are in a herd when you click on the need zone indicator so you know if it’s solo or not.

When I was spawning a great one every 500 harvests I was spawning a max level ever 12-17 kills. My advice is if you are not down to atleast every 20, you may have some big 3’s in outside zones or as solo’s. I spawned 5 G1 fallow in under 4200 harvests. Also! Pick up all your kills

sweet your exactly right and thanks bro

@@JBizHuntsalso i have this issue where only one of my single male zones keeps spawning a high level 3 or low level 4 and keeps rotating thru those single male zones.

@@joshwalls8174 then you have to stack in your main shooting zones some max level bucks, let’s say 7-10 of them big boys and then go and focus on the big 3’s/4 in your solo and secondary zones

Then I would pick up my tents/tripods and move to the next zone and consider them managed down. I would however, go check on them every 250 harvests to see if any stragglers respawned in those zones. There has to be high level males somewhere, so if “all zones” are low level you need to go look for additional zones or check zones you thought were shot down. Herd management is managing the whole map, not just the 16 zones you start at.

Check out my Whitetail Herd Management guide!

That’s a very good question! I would say herd management is not for everyone and some people with never do it. If you want more diamonds or to even get one, it’s a great tool. For a new player you won’t have the tents or tripods yet to accomplish a great grind (yet). However, you could still go out and find all your zones and do what I call “light” herd management. When finding your zones, shoot the biggest male and keep going. When you find a herd feeding, shoot the biggest male and keep moving. Never shoot females and you can shoot smaller animals if they are rare as an example like an albino or piebald. That way you are preparing for a grind, getting harvest for XP and cash and save your money. I would suggest doing a plains bison grind on Silver Ridge Peaks as a starter. Most of their zones are close enough to an outpost that tents at first are not needed. They are slow and you can kill multiple to get extra cash and xp, and their herds are condensed to the bottom right of the map. You will need a class 9 rifle like the 300, but early game just purchase the hunter power pack and have access to the Tsurugi 308 for all your class 9 needs with no in game cash needed to get going. Also, for 4K you can unlock hunting towers (similar to a tripod) for a 1/3 of the money to relieve hunting pressure early in game.

​@@JBizHuntshello, this reply to this person's comment was very useful, I am trying to grind blacktail deer in Layton Lakes and I need help. Do you have any friends or somebody/some place where I can get help with this. I really want a Diamond Blacktail as my first diamond. Great video, thank you! ❤

@@pikeguy1639 check out my first 10 trophy montage, that max weight blacktail at the start is from my diamond grind! I was able to find 1 troll initial spawn finding zones and grinding 2 diamonds. What would you like to know?

@@JBizHunts I'll check it out right now, thanks dude

I know you left this comment a few months ago but I hope this still helps - I wouldn't recommend herd management to a new player until they are familiar with the games basics and things like trophy scores, classes and correct guns and ammo in general and to the specific species you want to manage. Also until you have already bought all your guns, sights and other things like ATVs, bloodhound etc that improve quality of life. This is because herd management setup is EXPENSIVE, tents are 16k each as are stands, and you will need multiple of both. This money should firstly be spent on getting your basic guns/bows/ammo/QOL stuff first as once you have them you are good to go for the entire time you play (save for adding in new packs in future you might want and whatnot) for any animal not just those you want to manage. You don't want to get into a groove of spending all your money on tents and stands, and ending up with not having the right firepower or being limited to what you can even hunt because of it. I don't recommend that you HM all day every day so you don't want to only end up with one or two good guns available, taking a break and going on some other maps and getting some other species so you don't burn yourself out is important too. It can take actual days to get your map setup to even begin HM, so you don't want to put yourself off of hunting altogether accidentally. I've played the game for I think roughly four years now on and off and am only just picking up HM myself now I have the cash to spare and enough trophies already in my lodge from casual play that I can feel like grinding for better ones is rewarding.

Hey, I’d love to help. It just so happens I started a Layton Lakes Whitetail G1 grind less than a week ago. I’m only 300 Harvests in so far. I’ve found 60 zones and I used ProXCK’s Layton Lakes guide video as a reference to find all my zones. What are your questions?

@@JBizHunts that's it thanks

You are correct, herd management is not for newer players and 256k for 16 tents to start is tough. I’m thinking in making a video about the easiest herd management grind to do to learn and gain cash before starting a great one grind.

Stacking in zones you like and keep shooting the zones you don’t until you eventually get lower bucks/bulls

⁠​⁠@@JBizHuntsby stacking and leaving diamond potential animals how do I know I will ever see those high level ones again? Also what is considered "diamond potential"

Also is a zone considered shot down if i return to it multiple times during drink time and nothing is there or is that just RNG and the deer haven't arrived yet

@@thatjitjusto766 that’s just drink zones in general and has nothing to do with RNG. RNG just dictates what repawns after a kill. Try coming to the drink zone 1 to 1.5 HRs after it starts, do the 1 minute trick or go to another zone and return

@@thatjitjusto766 your animals don’t change unless you harvest them and the same animals will always come back to the same need zone. So, leaving a max level animal to stack you don’t have to worry because when you come back to the need zone the next rotation they will be there.

Is this on a moose grind?

@@JBizHunts whitetail, fallow deer, and moose

@JBizHunts like I'm exhausted of moving tents BACK to my old zones I already shot down. Its stupid

@@blitzhunts3433 I would find all my zones which could be part of the issue (especially solo’s if you shot them and didn’t refind them.) I don’t move my tents if I know there was 3 bucks and the third hasn’t returned yet. I have a rule that I check my population every 250 kills to make sure there are no stragglers.

@JBizHunts it doesn't matter it's completely random and I've found all my zones. I shouldn't have animals waiting to spawn in my old zones hundreds of kills later making my grind more difficult. This is something that literally no one can answer definitely and I give up

No, you shoot main zones and secondary zones at the same time. It’s a way to hopefully move max weight bucks from the secondary zones into your main zones. The only time you are not shooting a main zone is if you are stacking max level males.

@@JBizHunts ok thanks a lot man really helps

Hey, great comment and you are correct, here management videos are designed for people who have played a bit and have a grasp on the game to want to move to a specific gameplay like herd management. I am working on some new content for the new year “beginner video” and a few others. To answer your questions I’ll use my fallow deer grind on Te Awaroa as an example: Everyone’s map will be a little different on the placement of their maps drink zones but all drink zones will be within the animals home range. Most maps will have between 35-40 drink zones for fallow. A drink zone is a 200M area where the same animal or animals will return everyday during their drink time. There are solo drink zones that contain 1 male and herd drink zones that usually have 2 males and 3 females. When you shoot one male the zone stays the same in a herd zone and will respawn a new male to take its place and hence you can rinse and repeat the action. Solo male zones work different. If you shoot a solo male it will delete their zone as there are no more “active” members in the herd keeping the zone alive. Then you will have to refind that respawn at a brand new solo male zone. Thats why I don’t shoot solo zones unless I have enough high level bucks in my main herd zones to hopefully make the respawns of the solo zones smaller. On my grind specifically I was okay with any size 3 males but if it was a solo male at level 4 I was dropping that big boy like a bad habit. I hope that explains enough! Feel free to follow up with any additional comments as I try to engage anyone who has like or engaged with my content! Happy hunting.

It’s honestly not for everyone. I’m actually in the middle of the discussion on the stance. I have a video on initial spawns and love just going out and finding diamonds and rares on my maps and on Multiplayer, but I use HM for great one grinding. There is evidence that points to a correlation in using HM and getting a great one to spawn. I have a career so my 1-2 hours a day of play I would never see a great one in my time without using it and I have 8. Thanks for the comment! Hopefully you watch my non-HM content

@@JBizHunts idc about people doing it I’ve done it it’s just sooo boring I’d rather just go around and kill different species of diamonds

@@EternaldirtXXx agreed! I get more enjoyment from finding new trophies! I even reset my game to a new game (you keep your trophy lodge) but get fresh maps! It’s where I got all my 10 trophies in 6 minute videos were from scouring my solo maps