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BuckMag Features
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The Need for Speed
By Jeff Murray
Are bowhunters giving up accuracy to get more speed? Fast computers. Speedy couriers. Express mail. Quickie lube jobs. Instant pudding. Seems whatever is fastest, we like it the “mostest.” America’s love affair with speed isn’t limited to everyday consumer goods. It spills over to leisure sports, and that certainly includes ... READ MORE
In the Pines
By Tom Fegely
Hot or cold, you often can find whitetails looking for food and shelter in the evergreens. For many years, members of our deer camp would depart for their stands in the predawn darkness with this promise: “See you in the pines at noon.” There, a spring bubbled from mossy rocks, forming a clear, shallow pool, which provided water for tea... READ MORE
Dream On
By Steve Bartylla
What hunter hasn’t spent hours dreaming of taking a truly world-class buck? Most of us have a fire burning in our souls for a pure hunting experience. That is, for the joy of communing with nature and matching wits with any whitetail, large or small. But despite the passion for the hunt, I believe we all dream of taking an unbelievable buck. ... READ MORE
Against All Odds
By Keith Bailey
After 11 long, cold days in an Alberta deer stand, this life member finally got a shot. Whether I’m heading to South Texas, Iowa, Mexico or, in this case, the beautiful North Country of Smokey Lake, Alberta, packing always starts the excitement for any of my hunting trips. The flight up North is filled with hunters looking to bag that trophy ... READ MORE
Snap Decisions
By Kathy Etling
How a Minnesota hunter uses cameras to take heavily pressured bucks.
Almost any other archer whose trail camera had snapped the photo of a gorgeous 13-point whitetail probably would have been tempted to head out after the animal immediately. Dan Urbas, however, stared at the buck’s 140-class rack, estimated his age at 3 1/2 years, and chose ... READ MORE
Swamp Savvy
By Joe Blake
Because trophy bucks absolutely love the solitude and security of a swamp.
It hadn’t rained at all, but the foggy afternoon mist hung so thick around me that water clung to every branch, every blade of grass and every inch of this bowhunter’s body!
The thick stand of poplars took on a surreal look as every nook and cranny faded into t... READ MORE
This One’s For You, Steve
By Blaine Tiringer
By 7 a.m. on Nov. 14, 2005, I was heading to our hunting ranch near Spiritwood, Saskatchewan. On the way, I decided to check on a field where I had seen some nice bucks. Sure enough, there were fresh tracks from the early-morning snow. I spotted a doe on a hill a half-mile away, so I went to check her out. Then, there he was! With my naked eye, I c... READ MORE
To Shoot or Not to Shoot?
By David Hart
A 6-pointer jumped up from a clump of briers barely 5 yards from my feet. I was in the middle of a walk to push deer from their bedding areas to a couple of friends sitting on the edge of a field a quarter-mile away. I had my .270 cradled in my arms, ready for a split-second opportunity, and the buck tried to make a break to my left, away from my w... READ MORE
No Brakes
By Tom Kule
Nov. 7, 2006, was my first day back East after a successful 10-day BLM land elk hunt in Idaho. It was also the first of a 15-day on-call work block. The good thing about being on call is that I can hunt when I want, as long as I’m ready to head to work with little notice. I live to bowhunt the rut, which typically starts in Ohio around Nov. 8... READ MORE
Be a Doe Master
By Bob Humphrey
I heard them before I saw them — hasty footsteps rattling on the dry leaves like hail stones pinging off a tin roof. Three deer broke cover at 250 yards and raced across the open bog. A quick check through the binoculars showed none sported antlers. It didn’t matter, though. This was the second-to-last day of a month-long season, and I ... READ MORE
The 10% Rule
By Tracy Breen
Most deer hunters harvest wall-worthy bucks only occasionally. Even then, it’s most often a case of being in the right place at the right time. A few hunters, however, seem to have discovered the secret to the big-buck program. At most, they make up 10 percent of the hunters in the woods. That 10 percent harvests about 90 percent of the Troph... READ MORE
Hindsight is 177 4/8
By Greg Gates
For the last 18 years, my passion has been hunting deer in northwest Kansas’ Rooks County. And with access to about 8,000 acres of state-owned and managed hunting lands, plus about 2,000 acres of private property, I have plenty of choices.
For the previous 10 years, my hunting partner, Bob Martin, and I had set up camp in the public hunting ... READ MORE
Diet Shifts
By Bob Humphrey
I thought my first attempt at a food plot was a dismal failure. It was late October, the deer had barely touched the crop, and I was beginning to think I’d wasted my time and money. I had, after all, committed the cardinal sin of not testing and treating the soil. Maybe that was it. But the plants came up just the same — big, leafy fron... READ MORE
Just Do It
By Kathy Etling
For far too long, we’ve listened to our guys plan all the exciting adventures and book all the hunts. We go — often with their friends or work buddies — because we want to hunt, too. But how many ladies have ever considered turning the tables to plan their own out-of-state — or maybe even home state — hunts?
In an era... READ MORE
Evesdropper
By Mike Handley
The rusted barbed-wire fence was as good a stopping point as any, and it was closer than the road. I dragged the buck right up to the bottom strand, let go of it and leaned my bow against an adolescent oak. In one burst of uncharacteristic effort, I’d covered 40 yards. Thank god it was all downhill. As I stood there sucking in air like a Hoov... READ MORE
A Buck for Grandpa
By Danny Senic
The 1976 Virginia firearms season was soon to open and, for the first time, Grandpa wasn’t going hunting with us. He was dying of black lung disease. Grandpa had worked in the coal mines for years, but now they were working on him. Grandpa had been an avid hunter for as long as I could remember. He had taken 39 deer, several of them nice buck... READ MORE
How To Approach Downed Game
By Russell Thornberry
In spite of what you might see on hunting shows, there are some very serious dos and don’ts when it comes to approaching a deer, or any wild animal, that you presume to be dead.
The first rule is to approach the deer from downwind. If it is still alive and it smells you, it will panic and try to get on its feet to flee. Approach the animal q... READ MORE
Everybody Loves a Nut
By Tom Fegely
The arrival of fall brings some welcome entrées for residents of the deer woods. That’s when acorns, beechnuts and other mast, hard and soft, mature and eventually drop to the ground, providing a nutritious change of diet for deer about to enter their energy-intensive rut. The availability of acorns in particular changes both feeding a... READ MORE
King of the Hill
By Tim King
Last September, my wife changed my computer screensaver to read, “Tim, you are awesome and I hope you score big on your hunt this year! Love you, SK.” So when the alarm buzzed at 4:30 a.m. on the cool, crisp morning of Oct. 28, 2005, I was confident in her message.
Rising early to fill my backpack and pack a lunch is just one of the ta... READ MORE
Tricks of the Trade
By Dale R. Larson
There’s nothing magical about being a successful whitetail bowhunter. Like everything else in life, there is no shortcut to success. The individual who applies himself will be the most successful. Learning the tricks of the trade is a process that never ends. Just when you think you know everything, you will discover something new.
The first... READ MORE