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Western Whitetails
By Fred Eichler
As whitetails continue to adapt to mule deer country, so must the hunters who pursue them. The monster whitetail had five long, heavy points on each side of his rack. With a trembling hand, I slowly lifted my recurve bow off the hook. Luke Robb, a friend and one of the guides who works for me, was sitting in a stand just above with a camera. He whi... READ MORE
Diversion Tactics
By Joe Blake
A decoy might make the difference in tagging a buck this season. The giant 9-pointer was trudging across the huge Nebraska CRP field, no doubt looking for a willing doe. Although he was more than 100 yards away, his massive rack stood out clearly above the tall grass. I was able to glass the trophy from my perch, 12 feet up a twisted elm, longbow i... READ MORE
Reading Rubs
By Darren Warner
Rubs have been shrugged off as scouting tools, but they can be an important part of the buck equation. To many deer hunters, at least those who don’t play an instrument, buck rubs are like sheet music. They know what they’re looking at and that it contains a lot of information, but they’re not sure about the melody — or, in ... READ MORE
Supersized!
By Mike Handley
Put on your bibs, because here are a couple of ’Bama whitetails that’ll make you drool! Alabama has one of the longest and most generous deer seasons in the country, as well as one of the largest herds. But it isn’t known for bucks that’ll make a discriminating hunter salivate like a dieter watching a KFC Double Down commerc... READ MORE
Do Buck Limits Matter?
By David Hart
If success rates are relatively low, why do we even have buck limits? In 2007, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources changed a long-standing tradition when it reduced the state’s bag limit from a buck a day to three per season. The reason, according to deer studies project leader Chris Cook, was to shift pressure away f... READ MORE
Scoring From Ground Zero
By Darren Warner
You can’t always find a climbable tree in good whitetail habitat. For several long days, I’d faithfully hunted from a permanent ground blind in northern Michigan, and I was beginning to think I was wasting my time. I’d probably overhunted the blind, repeatedly drawn back by my father’s news of spotting a mature buck in the a... READ MORE
What Jinx?
By Mike Handley
Old Kansas Proverb: Sometimes you get the deer’s goat, sometimes he gets yours. Dear Abby: While deer hunting in Kansas last season, I was given the chance to test-drive an Ameristep pop-up blind erected by a guy whose trip was cut short by news of a workplace crisis. The man, from one of those C-cities in Ohio, obviously put a lot of work in... READ MORE
Put a Buck to Bed
By Bob Humphrey
A look at whitetail bedding areas and how they’re important to hunters. My son Ben and I made our way to within 100 yards of our double ladder stand. “We’re gonna have to be as quiet as we can from here on,” I said. He understood why and nodded. We moved slowly and quietly, inching forward only when the wind blew, then crept... READ MORE
Get Up and Go!
By David Hart
You need a Plan B when treestands and food plot vigils aren’t working. When a herd of cows decided to camp out under Gary Smith’s northern Virginia treestand, he had no choice but to get down and move. It was still early in the morning, but instead of hustling to his backup stand, Smith decided to still-hunt his way along a ridge. It tu... READ MORE
The Long Haul
By Joe Blake
The more time you spend in the woods, the better your odds for success. The cold, north wind continued stinging my face, just as it had throughout the day. Intermittent waves of sleet and snow didn’t make things any easier as I continued to scan the Minnesota woodlot. The discomfort caused me to question the wisdom of remaining in the stand, ... READ MORE
How to Get Bow-Close
By Fred Eichler
Advice from this traditional bowhunter can help you be in the right spot. I heard the sound of footfalls on the leaves to the right. I could tell by the cadence it was definitely a deer and not a squirrel, hog or armadillo, and I didn’t dare move my head for fear it would spot me. I listened as it moved closer, my eyes aching from the strain ... READ MORE
Scrape Savvy
By Bob Robb
Is hunting over scrapes really worth your time? I remember when I first encountered a whitetail’s scrape while hunting. I was in Alberta, and the area was torn up like a barnyard. I was pretty dumb back then. It was about the time Nixon was president, and I thought I had found the proverbial pot of gold. I sat at that spot for a week. Except ... READ MORE
5 Keys to Early Season Bucks
By Steve Bartylla
It helps to have a step-by-step plan. I was getting frustrated. I was hunting a northern Alberta zone that had a five-day bow season. Arriving two days early, I figured it would be a simple task to observe some fields, pick a few bigger bucks and set up for the hunt. Sunset on the first day of the season found me racing to the least promising alfal... READ MORE
How to Choose a Bow Sight
By Bob Robb
What you need to know to make the right choice for your bowhunting style. Few things in archery bug me more than crummy equipment. Tops on the list is a cheesy bow sight. A poorly constructed sight is difficult to dial in and can, and will, fail at the moment of truth. Fortunately, there are plenty of great sights out there to choose from. Selectin... READ MORE
The Same Old Rut?
By Bob Humphrey
When it comes to deer hunting, the rut is hardly mundane, routine or predictable. It is said the English language is one of the most difficult to learn. One reason is certain words can have several different meanings. Take the word “rut,” for example. It is used to describe the breeding season of cervids like deer, elk and moose. It als... READ MORE
Take It From Tony
By Dave Henderson
The most respected deer expert you’ve never heard of shares a few words of wisdom. Tony LaPratt is not a deer biologist. He’s not an agronomist. In fact, he never went to college. He doesn’t have a television show, and he’s never written a book or magazine article. You won’t find his instructional DVDs anywhere, either... READ MORE
Test Before You Plot
By David Hart
Why do so many hunters skip a $12 test when it’s a critical part of a successful food plot? You’ve heard it time and time again: Test your soil before you drop the first seed or buy a bag of lime or fertilizer. It’s good advice, but it’s advice many food plotters fail to follow. That’s too bad. A $12 soil test can save... READ MORE
Scouting Basics
By Bob Humphrey
There’s no need to feel lost when stepping onto a property for the first time. The first week of gun season was winding down with little to show for my efforts. After 41⁄2 days of hunting private ground with a friend, we’d both come up empty. The next day would be Saturday, and the weekend warriors would be out in force, so I deci... READ MORE
Fine-Tune Your Frontloader
By Brad Fenson
Modern muzzleloaders are capable of excellent accuracy, but getting them there takes work. I was walking a series of small bluffs during a soft deer push when a big buck broke from cover. My buddy yelled to give me the heads up that a deer might be headed my way. I rushed ahead to a clearing with hopes a buck would appear. As if on cue, the tall-ra... READ MORE
When Good Stands Go Bad
By Bob Robb
Even the most careful hunters can pollute a stand if they use it too much. Ah, the vigor and intelligence of youth! When I started hunting whitetails, I ran through the woods thinking I knew everything. Truth is, I didn’t know much at all. After a few seasons, I remember asking myself, “How come the old guy in camp always gets a buck, a... READ MORE