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The Fall that Changed It All
By Allen Wall
There’s no amount of experience or luck that will stop a treestand accident. The popping in my back sounded like someone running their fingers down the keys of a piano. The moment my feet touched the ground, my legs collapsed and my butt slammed to the ground. All of the vertebrae in my back compressed with the weight of my head and shoulders... READ MORE
Half a Buck Is Better Than None
By Michael Krause
Even deer hunters get by with a little help from their friends.
For the past 30 years, I’ve been venturing back to my old stomping grounds in Deposit, N.Y., to hunt with my friends from high school. This past season resulted in a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
It happened at about 3 p.m. on the second day of the New York season. It was cold... READ MORE
Madison’s Big Doe
By Jeffery Rishel
As a father of five kids ranging from 8 to 23 years old, I’ve been introducing them to hunting after they turn 6 years old by taking them with me. Now, four of my kids all want to go hunting every year. September 22, 2013, was a special day when my daughter Madison took her first deer. We were in Washtenaw County in Saline, Mich. Our hunt sta... READ MORE
The Brow Tine Buck
By Brandon Carter
The fall of 2012 was one of the toughest whitetail seasons I had ever seen. EHD outbreaks across the Midwest during the drought-plagued summer significantly reduced buck numbers. Weather conditions were not favorable for daytime movement or rut activity, you had to make every encounter count. Of course, luck always plays a part. Anything and everyt... READ MORE
Lucky
By Shawn Stephenson
Thank goodness for dogs that have more sense than their human companions.
I had the great pleasure of hunting in Central Ohio during Halloween week in 2011. It was one of the best hunting experiences in my life, and I was able to call in several deer within bow range. I ended up shooting a nice 8-pointer that weighed over 250 pounds.
Over the nex... READ MORE
The Bow Stalk
By Taylor Maas
Never-quit attitude helps Iowa bowhunter recover his biggest-ever buck. October 11, 2017 started similar to most other fall workdays. After getting to the office that morning, I checked the weather throughout the day, trying to decide if and where I should hunt that evening. The wind that evening allowed me to hunt from a stand I had never tried be... READ MORE
No Limits
By Bonnie Olson King
New hunter overcomes challenges to claim her first buck. The 2015 hunting season turned out to be one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I was 64 at the time and had only taken up hunting in 2012, when I retired from my nursing career due to significant health issues. That fall, I received a crossbow for my birthday, and that was when h... READ MORE
The Brow Tine Buck of 2018
By Michael R. Bath
What’s a broken leg to a man on a buck mission? I first saw this 10-point brute on my trail camera, but it was always in the middle of the night. After seeing the brow tines, which turned out to be 8 and 7 inches, I knew this was my target deer, no matter what. After figuring out where he was living during the daytime, nine hunts later I star... READ MORE
First of Many
By Lyndsey Wesner
I’ve had a lot of firsts in the past eight months, so after I caught my first 20-pound king salmon, shot my first 8-point buck with a bow, took my first doe with a bow, and my first doe with a muzzleloader, naturally I expressed desire to shoot my first turkey.
My husband Rick said, “It's not easy. They have keen eyesight, and the slig... READ MORE
Right Place, Right Time
By James M. Chastain
It was September 2013, just before deer season in Wyandotte County, Kansas, when I set out deer minerals and my game cameras. When October arrived, I set up deer feeders. When I checked my cameras, I was pleased to discover there were a lot of deer using them.
I was most interested in the 10-pointer that consistently appeared on camera. That buck ... READ MORE