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October Rush
By Russell Thornberry
A veteran hunter and smart old buck go head to head in Alberta. September 2010 in western central Alberta was a monsoon, and farmers were picking their oats, barley and alfalfa in October, a month later than usual. This created an interesting but dicey bowhunting dilemma. Bucks were still feeding in the remaining unharvested crops, which were shrin... READ MORE
Rifles Rule
By Bob Humphrey
While they don’t get much attention, rifles still rule the world of whitetail hunting. I don’t think outdoor television provides a very realistic representation of contemporary deer hunting. It’s not because they portray situations the average guy will seldom, if ever, experience, although there’s a certain element of that. ... READ MORE
Scrape Magic
By Fred Eichler
No strategy works 100 percent of the time, but scrape hunting works often enough. It seems everyone has an opinion about hunting over scrapes. Having guided many archery and rifle hunters for deer, and personally harvested whitetails in 14 states, I have one, too. Mine is pretty basic, but it works. Just keep in mind that opinions are like noses, h... READ MORE
The Two-Man Push
By David Hart
You don’t need a crowd to move deer. What happened to old fashioned deer drives? What was once a long standing tradition in deer camps all over the country is slowly fading into the annals of whitetail history. It could be a result of higher deer populations, or it could be a gradual change in deer hunting culture. Whatever the reason, big, o... READ MORE
Shooting Long Distance
By Bob Robb
Whitetail hunting isn’t always a short-range game. Growing up a mule deer hunter out West, I was weaned on the importance of being able to make the first shot count at a deer three or four football fields away. We always tried to get closer, but sometimes it just wasn’t in the cards. Most shots at whitetails are less than 200 yards, bu... READ MORE
High Mercury Whitetails
By Darron McDougal
Sweat, bugs and extra effort aside, you can take big bucks when the weather is hot. Sweat poured from my face. The thermometer read 85 degrees Fahrenheit, and the mosquitoes just wouldn’t relent. Of all the places I could be in such conditions, I found myself trudging along the border of a standing cornfield. My destination was a hang-on stan... READ MORE
Calling All Bucks
By Tracy Breen
What you say and when you say it are crucial to successful calling. Most of you have tried deer calls, and I’m sure if we conducted a poll, your opinions would be mixed. Some deer hunters swear by grunt tubes, cans and snort-wheeze calls and use them every year. It’s not uncommon to see a hunter pull into the local coffee shop with a bi... READ MORE
Shoot the Gap
By P.J. Reilly
How often does a buck show up at exactly 20, 30 or 40 yards? In a perfect world, all bucks would carry BTR racks. They’d never see, hear or smell us, and they’d all show up in daylight and stop broadside in clear shooting lanes at exactly 20, 30 or 40 yards. Unfortunately, this isn’t a perfect world, and bucks, especially mature o... READ MORE
Food Plots and Antlers
By David Hart
There are plenty of reasons to plant food plots, but keep your expectations realistic. A decade ago, food plots were little more than a place to hang a treestand and bring deer into the open. These days, food plots have become not only a hunting tool, but management tool. Hunters use them to provide high-quality forage that, in theory, helps bucks ... READ MORE
Eliminate Hand Torque
By P.J. Reilly
A good bow shot starts with a proper foundation at the grip. When building a house, the most important part of the project is making sure the foundation is level and straight. If the foundation is off, everything you put on top also is going to be askew, and that can lead to a lifetime of problems. The way you grip your bow is the foundation of a g... READ MORE
The Smell of Success
By Bob Humphrey
Use a whitetail buck’s No. 1 sense against him. Light was fading quickly and I was ready to close the book on another afternoon when I caught sight of movement in the stream bottom. Hefting my trusty Nikon 10x42s, I saw a big doe following a trail that paralleled the stream. Her trail would take her past me, well out of bow range. She paused ... READ MORE
ATVs: Gas or Electric?
By Bob Humphrey
Which is right for you depends on how you use it. As more people try to reduce their consumption of fossil fuels, electric and hybrid automobiles are becoming available and more popular. The same is somewhat true off the road, although electric ATVs, or EVs, have actually been available to the masses for quite awhile. While earlier versions of elec... READ MORE
Field of Greens
By Joe Blake
When it comes to brassicas, if you plant them, deer will come. There it was again, the deep, amorous grunt of a whitetail. The morning had not lightened enough to show me the buck I knew was close, but the eastern sky was becoming alive with color, so I tightened the grip on my 60-pound longbow and waited impatiently. I knew where the buck was head... READ MORE
Can you Beat a Deer’s Nose?
By David Hart
We spend millions on scent-blocking products. Do they work? I felt like the odd man out. After eight of us pulled on camouflage and slipped into our boots each morning, I stepped outside to enjoy the brisk Illinois air before being shuttled to my morning bow stand. Six others stayed in the outfitter’s scent-free room and spritzed themselves w... READ MORE
Ghost Deer
By Bob Humphrey
Albinos and piebalds are rare, but should they be protected? I entered the woods and was slipping along at a somewhat casual pace, scouting more than hunting, when a deer broke from cover in front of me. Cursing myself for being too casual, I stopped to survey the area. My intent was to find a likely ambush spot, then go back for the climber I&rsqu... READ MORE