Popular searches
Scouting
Hunting
Gear
Processing
Cooking
Hunt
Ohio Hunter Arrows Indiana State-Record Buck
On Oct. 2, Stephen “Chuck” Crowell, a 35-year-old walleye fishing guide from Eaton, Ohio, arrowed a giant whitetail in Wayne County, Indiana. He spent months trying to get intel on this deer after a UPS driver showed him a photo of the massive deer. The buck, which scored 266 4/8 inches, is the new...
Read More
Play Now
Hunt
Hunting Reminds Us of Passions, Memories, and, Especially, Death
Whenever we drank coffee at breakfast or beer at dinner, my late friend Tom Heberlein and I liked discussing how and where hunters preferred to die.
Such talk at Old Tamarack—Heberlein's hunting shack near Mellen, Wisconsin—was usually light-hearted. As Professor Heberlein knew too well, death isn’t...
Read More
Play Now
Hunt
Indiana Saddle Hunter Kills 'Bully' Drop-Tine Buck
On October 2, the second day of Indiana’s archery season, Tyler Westell was at his wife Becca’s first ultrasound appointment. They have a baby due in February, and while Tyler was excited to see his baby, he was also anxious to get in a tree.
Becca knows what it’s like being married to a hunter. She...
Read More
Play Now
Featured Gear
Early Season
Hunt
3 Hot Weather Deer Hunting Myths
A lot of state’s bow openers will start in a matter of days. Just because deer season opens doesn't mean the thermostat will drop. Prime velvet destinations or states with September openers might include hot, buggy conditions. While these aren’t ideal deer hunting conditions, that doesn’t mean you...
Read More
Play Now
Hunt
Why Your Early Season Hunting Should Include a Ground Game
Other than the rut, opening day of deer season is one of the most anticipated times of the year. Then, once opening day plans fail, temps stay hot, and deer activity seems non-existent, it becomes one of the most hated. When we don’t immediately notch a tag or shoot that buck that’s been on camera...
Read More
Play Now
Hunt
Why Do So Many Whitetail Hunters Struggle In September?
I’m starting to believe that the reason whitetail hunters leave so many tags unfilled every season is that we expect hunting to be easy, but it almost never is. There is a fuzzy but important delineation between the reality in which we actually hunt and our notion of how a hunt is going to go.
This...
Read More
Play Now
Hunt
3 Biggest Mistakes Whitetail Hunters Make in the Early Season
Other than those states with early velvet seasons, most of us are on the cusp of opening day. The sins of last season are all but absolved, and every new season presents a blank slate.
Unfortunately, it only takes a few bonehead mistakes, misplaced stands, or wary does to kill those early season...
Read More
Play Now
Scout
3 Overlooked Food Sources for Early-Season Whitetails
Find the feed tree. Pin down bed-to-feed patterns. Strike early and sit that field edge to ambush your target buck before the pressure heats up. These are all great tactics that can help you arrow an early season buck, or doe for that matter, but what if that bumper crop from last year dried up...
Read More
Play Now
The Rut
Hunt
One TV-Hunter Tactic Whitetail Hunters Might Want To Reconsider
Way back when the original Hunger Games movie came out, I was working as an Associate Editor for the largest bowhunting magazine on the market. I didn’t have kids yet, so it came as a surprise to me when one of the reps for a major bow brand told me they had shut down their flagship line to produce...
Read More
Play Now
Hunt
The Rut is Just Getting Started…Down South
The Traditional first week of November rut was foreign to me until I actually hunted the Midwest. As a resident Mississippian, that hallowed week looks a lot like the month of October. Unless we get a cold front, temps might even reach the mid-80s. For me and my southern counterparts, New Year’s Day...
Read More
Play Now
Hunt
How to Grind Out the Rut
At its core, deer hunting is a numbers game. Stay at it long enough and you’re bound to have an encounter. During the rut, buck movement increases, and so do your odds. But a few slow sits, missed opportunities, or unseasonably warm days can mess with your head.
If you’re not careful, you’ll...
Read More
Play Now
Hunt
The Statistical Approach to Rut Hunting
The path to cracking the code on a mature whitetail buck is a convoluted, ever-changing riddle. It’s the cat-and-mouse puzzle that stokes our fires and keeps bruiser whitetails on our minds year-round. We can study moon phases, changing food sources, barometric pressure, alternating feed-to-bed...
Read More
Play Now
Hunt
How to Still-Hunt During the Rut
When you think about the rut, still-hunting probably doesn’t pop into your head. All-day sits, setting up downwind of doe bedding, or hanging in a funnel usually top the list of rut-hunting tactics. If you’ve done your homework and put the time in, you’ll probably have a decent shot at shooting a...
Read More
Play Now
Hunt
Deer Decoys Done Right During the Rut
According to my wife, I’m a late bloomer with a lot of things. She’s not wrong, but one that she doesn’t care about but which bothers me a lot, is that I’m just starting to really incorporate decoys into my deer hunting strategy. I’ve spent so much time hunting public land and other pressured places...
Read More
Play Now
Late Season
Hunt
3 Reasons to Hunt the Late Season
For many reasons, the rut can be the best and most exciting time to kill a buck. Even sage bucks let down their guards this time of year, and there’s always a chance that one could run through your setup. As hopeful as rut hunting might seem, those same chance encounters can make it unpredictable...
Read More
Play Now
Scout
The Ideal Conditions for Late-Season Deer Hunts
It was the last day of muzzleloader season in Michigan and it was time.
A cold front pushed through, the rain faded, and temperatures were nearly 30 degrees lower than they were just 24 hours prior. Best of all, my target buck was caught on trail cam during daylight the night before. Conditions were...
Read More
Play Now
Hunt
How to Kill a Late-Season Buck From the Ground
Having a good ground game is as important to a whitetail hunter as being able to kill deer from a tree. Versatility is your friend, and there are times of the year—like the late season—where one style can offer up an advantage over the other. If you’re looking to arrow a buzzer-beater buck, your...
Read More
Play Now
Hunt
How Neil Dougherty Kills Big Late-Season Bucks
Most hunters live for the rut and invest the bulk of their vacation days in this unpredictable yet exciting time of year in the whitetail woods. But Neil Dougherty isn’t most hunters.
A wildlife habitat consultant with decades of land management and whitetail success under his belt, Dougherty would...
Read More
Play Now
Hunt
3 Best Late-Season Whitetail Hunting Spots in the Big Woods
I used to think the late season was a very difficult time to kill a nice mountain buck. In Pennsylvania, rifle season kicks off during the first few weeks of December, and although some great bucks get killed every season, few hunters are consistent from year to year. In most states, hunting...
Read More
Play Now