2021: MeatEater's Year of the Whitetail

Mark Kenyon Apr 1, 2021

Somewhere between 8 and 10 million folks across the United States hunt whitetail deer. That’s well over three quarters of the nation’s entire hunting population. The whitetail is our nation’s most ubiquitous big game animal, the most highly managed, and arguably the most coveted.

What does this mean? It means that whitetails, whitetail hunting, and whitetail hunters are a big deal.

Far more whitetail nuts like myself are preparing year-round for the next season, compared to any other hunter group across the country. This requires dedication to detail and constant education. I am obsessive about whitetails—and about learning everything I can to make me a better whitetail hunter—and I am committed to sharing all of that knowledge with you. I’m also excited to share that Wired to Hunt and MeatEater are bringing you more whitetail content than ever before. We are calling it “MeatEater’s Year of the Whitetail.”

First, we’re putting more time, resources, and manpower into creating more weekly podcast episodes, more written articles, and a ton more videos—all with the goal of making you a more effective deer hunter.

Second, as many of you know, we recently donated the 64-acre Michigan property featured on our Back 40 series to the National Deer Association. The property will be used as a training ground for new hunters through the NDA’s Field to Fork hunting mentorship program. The Back 40 mission of educating deer hunters will continue for years to come, and I’m excited to continue my involvement with several mentor activities already on the calendar for 2021.

First Lite recently launched a brand-new whitetail camouflage pattern, Specter, which is available now! Specter is a “pursuit-specific” camo designed to utilize scientific insights from studying deer vision. It’s intended to suit the unique elevated positions and distances from which whitetail hunters typically engage their quarry. Specter is available on all of First Lite’s previous whitetail pieces, as well as several new items available for 2021. I had the opportunity to hunt all of last season in Specter and can tell you firsthand this pattern is the real deal.

Along with the launch of Specter, First Lite is debuting its Camo for Conservation Initiative, which will send a portion of all Specter sales directly to the NDA to further their efforts in protecting wild deer populations and habitats. I could not be more excited to be involved with such a worthwhile project.

So, there you have it! A busy whitetail year indeed. Make sure you don’t miss out on any of this great content by subscribing to our dedicated whitetail newsletter, now called “Wired to Hunt Weekly.” The countdown is officially on—six months until deer season. Let’s make this one of the best seasons yet!