Taxidermists are like referees. When they do their job well, you hardly notice them. But when the job is done poorly, it commands attention in a bad way. In many cases, exceptional taxidermy contains details that the average person won’t pick up on. I reached out to some taxidermists to ask what...

As I wrapped up a long weekend in northern Wisconsin, I decided to take advantage of a late-season rainstorm to look around an 80-acre parcel of public land. The deer activity where I’d been focusing my efforts had been pretty slow, so I figured I was missing something. After sneaking up a long...

I missed the first buck I ever shot at. It was a nice 10-point dogging a doe at 50 yards. I had my dad’s 308, and I was trembling beyond control. When I finally touched off the trigger, the shot sailed over the buck’s back. The two deer ran, and it took me two years before I got a chance at another...