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The Deer in the River
By Mike Handley
Ask not for whom the buck swims. It swims for thee. Makayla Hay was shaking. She’d like to think — or for others to think — that she was merely cold; that it was more shiver than shake. But it was Nov. 2 in central Texas, about 44 degrees, and on its way up to 72. The real reason her synapses were sparking was lying out in the tal... READ MORE
No. 1501
By Gita M. Smith
After pining for time to go hunting, this Ohio man was only too happy to end his season the first time he climbed into a stand. First, Harry Boyd misplaced his truck keys. He searched for hours, systematically going through every pocket of every piece of clothing he owned. He pillaged the laundry, both clean and dirty. He tore the house up, sank hi... READ MORE
A 10 on the Sphincter Scale
By Jill J. Easton
When a man’s tectonic plates shift, only a giant whitetail can stop the quake. It was a predicament that, sooner or later, everyone who spends time hunting will face. Jason McKenzie’s brush with it came on Dec. 1, 2012. We’re talking the call of nature. Jason had crawled into his blind before sunup that morning. It was one of thos... READ MORE
Meeting the Lumberjack
By Ed Waite
This Ohio bowhunter gains everything from an impromptu, nothing-to-lose hunt. Justin Pandorf’s 2012 deer season could’ve ended differently. Had his bowstring not snapped, the archer from Manchester, Ohio, would’ve had his compound when an 8-pointer gave him what should’ve been a slam-dunk shot. Had the scope on his back-up c... READ MORE
Saw it Through the Grapevine
By Dale Weddle
Patient Kentuckian finally collects the venison and skull plate to go along with the sheds. Jim Hill of Hebron, Ky., takes shed hunting seriously. Every nook and cranny in his home seems to hold half a deer rack. There’s also the big box in the basement, which is overflowing with discarded bone. You would expect a guy like this to have some i... READ MORE
Rock Star
By Lisa Price
You know that awkward moment when you realize, hey, those ARE antlers? This guy does. Although Jerry Watt is a self-professed “man cave kind of guy,” that doesn’t mean he leaves the rest of the house — or the chores — to the missus. He’s also the kind of guy who’ll cut short a deer hunt in order to help his... READ MORE
Where Calendar Trumps Thermometer
By Lisa Price
Whether hunter or hunted, if you live in the sauna known as southwestern Georgia, you’re going to break a sweat. Deer hunters in the Midwest complain loudly whenever the temperature climbs into the 60s in November. Farther north, they’d consider it justification for staying indoors and watching hunters on television whispering into the ... READ MORE
Deer Dementia?
By Rob Meade
Even smart, nocturnal bucks can forget everything they’ve learned. As a timber buyer in the logging industry, Chad McCoy of Peebles, Ohio, spends a lot of time in the woods. Even when he’s not working, he’s often still looking at trees from a deer stand. In the fall of 2010, while appraising property in Adams County, he came acros... READ MORE
The Perfect Garnish for Backstrap
By Dale Weddle
Bluegrass doctor makes up for lost time in a span of five minutes. Patrick Williams would’ve been happy just to be far removed from a waiting room full of patients. He’d have been ecstatic if he’d also managed to carry home some meat for the larder. On Nov. 11, 2012, the physician from Prospect, Ky., experienced quite another mood... READ MORE
Weak Knees
By Mike Handley
Louisiana northpaw learns the advantages of being a switch-shooter. Jason Archer’s 2013 hunt in Concordia Parish could’ve been a DIRECTV commercial. When you look at your watch and realize a few hours remain in the day, you go hunting. When you go hunting in hog-infested woods, you might expect to shoot a pig. When you choose where to g... READ MORE
Say Cheese!
By Terry Rathman
Justin Newsome’s trail cam setup was like a free photo booth without a curtain. The buck Justin Newsome smoked last September was drawn to a trail camera like a moth to a bug zapper. Justin, a 34-year-old power plant employee who decided Butler, Mo., is a greener pasture than his native Florida, lives about 16 miles from the Kansas state line... READ MORE
The Way to a Buck’s Heart …
By Dale Weddle
Here’s why the raccoons in three Kentucky counties look more like hairy beach balls. “I probably feed deer more than anybody you could imagine,” Jason Stanford laughed. “How much do you feed a year, on average?” I asked, sort of casually. “Probably about 30,000 pounds of corn, at least,” he replied. “... READ MORE
Who Said There’s No Roller Coaster in Kentucky?
By Dale Weddle
When daylight’s burning, there’s no better place for a deer hunter to lick his wounds than from a treestand. The giant whitetail came barreling out of nowhere, running along the edge of the soybean field with its head lowered to battering-ram level, though more interested in smelling the ground than goring Aaron Flanagan. Aaron, caught ... READ MORE
When it’s Okay to be Late for Work
By Darren Schrock
Being called a fair-weather hunter isn’t all bad. Opening day of Indiana’s 2013 firearms season was one of the most memorable days of my life, but not for the reason you’d think. My oldest daughter was married that day, and the entire extended family was in town to join us in celebration. I have to admit, though, that the wedding ... READ MORE
Fearing the Worst
By Lisa Price
Kentucky buck is presumed dead for 11 months before it actually dies. When the 13-pointer stopped mugging for Ashley Bugg’s trail camera in January 2012, the hunter from Corydon, Ky., assumed the deer he’d been watching for two seasons was dead. “In the last photograph I had of the buck, it looked to be in bad shape,” Ashley... READ MORE