We can thank YouTube for this week’s blog idea. We had just posted a “How Old Do You Think This Buck Is?” video short featuring an Illinois farmland 10-pointer. The prime specimen is 5-1/2 years old and sports an awesome 150-class set of antlers. It’s just one of those fun things we do from time […]
Stunning new findings from a nonpartisan citizen group indicate gray wolves are roaming nearly two-thirds of a state that was once considered marginal home range for North America’s apex predator. In data released today, Wisconsin Citizen Wolf Count documents wolf sightings in 45 of the state’s 72 counties. Of these sightings, sets of data have […]
Zombie deer are sweeping the nation! No, they’re not. Well, not like you have been led to believe. By now you’ve seen videos of so-called zombie deer. The videos are nearly always the same: person observes a deer walking in circles, stumbling about, and showing little to no fear of humans. And, you have probably […]
Tracking wounded deer requires practice, patience and knowledge of whitetail behavior. Once you have down, however, it can be one of the most satisfying parts of the hunt. Preparation is also key, and that’s why I have a fanny pack that’s dedicated solely to tracking deer and field-dressing them. Flashlights (yes, plural) are the most […]
Despite below-zero temperatures for most of the past two weeks, this winter is shaping up to be a nonfactor for white-tailed deer. And, while it’s true below-zero temps force deer to conserve energy, the lack of snow depth has made this winter’s first month a walk on the beach for deer across cold-country. As of […]
It might look painful, but what you’re seeing in this photo is not rare in the whitetail world. And, no, the buck not as endowed as one might think. Conversely, he is suffering from what researchers call a scotia hernia. The enlarged appearance of his scrotum might cause difficulty in his daily activities, but at […]
The buck of your dreams is in your sights. His symmetrical 12-point rack is tall and wide. Later that night back at camp, when trying to quantify just how big that buck was, you stutter, “He was a Booner!” Here’s a fun fact for you: If the man who invented that scoring system was given […]
Do you agree or disagree with the following rules for gut-shot deer? What would you add? Allow me to preface this conversation by saying this blog post is written mostly for bowhunters — compound, recurve and crossbow — but the general tenants apply to all deer hunters. Who am I to provide these rules? Nobody, […]
It takes guts to give up everything you know to start over. But it takes something else — vision, imagination, creativity, inventiveness, among other things — to kickstart an industry. That’s exactly what the founders of this magazine had … in spades. The first issue of Deer & Deer Hunting appeared 49 years ago, but […]
So, it appears Minnesota will join the modern deer hunting world by allowing crossbow usage in its general archery season. First blush is “good for them” for realizing we are all in this together and that crossbow hunting is just another way to keep people interested in enjoying outdoors recreation while at the same time […]