Kari and Billy sing “Whitetail Ridge,” a song about deer hunting.

A new country music song written about deer and deer hunting is gaining a tremendous amount of popularity and airplay.

“Whitetail Ridge” is a song about hunting, hard work and good, old-fashioned country values. Performed by the duo Kari and Billy, the song was officially introduced to the hunting world through BOWTECH Archery earlier this year at the ATA Show in Louisville.

Kari Nelson has toured with John Rich and Big & Rich and has also played with artists such as Gretchen Wilson, Steel Magnolia, Trace Adkins and Joanna Smith. She has appeared in several music videos with John Rich and Big & Rich as well as a commercial that aired during the 2011 college football season on ESPN’s College GameDay. Kari also performed fiddle and backup vocals for John Rich on the Celebrity Apprentice Finale in May 2011.

Billy Arnold was born in Florida but raised in Alabama. He grew up hunting, fishing, and playing sports, and developed a true love for the outdoors. Billy also grew up listening to country music. “My mom always had the radio on…I’d hear songs from Conway Twitty and Alabama to Randy Travis and Merle Haggard. I always loved music, but I was so shy I never dreamed I’d be a part of it someday.”

To hear the song and see the official video, click on the following link:

D&DH Editor Dan Schmidt in a Heater Body Suit.

I remember the day quite clearly. It was early September 1996. Bart Landsverk, my friend and coworker at the time, showed up at my desk with a huge box.

“Here you go, Danno,” he said. “This will keep you warm on that Maine trip you’re taking in November.”

Scott Matheson is the teacher in charge of a bunch of unruly students.

I must admit I was skeptical when I opened the box. Inside was a huge, rolled up camo suit. It looked like an uber-quilted sleeping bag. Long story short: Bart was right. I took that thing to Maine, hunted 10 days in sub-zero weather and stayed toasty warm on dark-to-dark hunts every day. I was sold, and have used it every year since.

The idea is pretty simple: Lock in your body heat while you’re on stand, and you can wear fewer layers — and best of all, stay warm all day long — even in sub-zero temperatures.

Kelly Schneider instructs us on how the commercial will unfold.

Fast forward to 2013. It was quite an honor when Heater Body Suit owner Tom Schneider invited Brad Rucks and I to be included in his new national TV advertisement. The video shoot was coordinated and being produced by Blaine Anthony, and it was held at the Kiel High School in Wisconsin. Anthony is the producer and host of the popular TV show Bear Whisperer on Animal Planet.

The commercial, which will air later this year on hunting networks, re-creates a clasScott Matheson is the teacher in charge of a bunch of unruly students. Scott Matheson is the teacher in charge of a bunch of unruly students students (us) learning about the new odor-reducing technology included in the new Heater Body Suits.

New for 2013, Heater Body Suit unveils its O3 Series, which kils odors within the suit via a built-in ozone generator. The process of ionization destroys odors — no masking or covering them up. Even better, this suit is built from 300-gram 3M Thinsulate Ultra Insulation. That’s some serious material for keeping a hunter warm in seriously cold temperatures.

Buddy Groom appeared in 70 games for 5-straight seasons. Can he tolerate Rucks as a classmate?

Also in the “class” were ex-Major League Baseball players Matt Duff (St. Louis Cardinals) and Buddy Groom (Baltimore Orioles, Oakland A’s, etc.). Groom is host of the new Buckventures TV show.

Major League Bowhunter is cohosted by former Atlanta Braves superstar Chipper Jones. The show invites all hunters, both experienced and beginner to learn something from every encounter each week that will help them be more successful their next hunt.

Jeff Danker, Duff and Jones believe that there is always something that can be learned from every experience in the field, both good and bad, and their passion and success for harvesting big bucks was what formed a special friendship.

Father and daughter in the same class? Tom Schneider gets ready to sail a paper airplane.

Also appearing in the ad were Tom Schneider and his daughter, Kelly, from Heater Body Suit; Don Pollauf “The World’s Biggest Bowhunter” from Bowhunting Addiction on The Pursuit Channel, Mike Pelletier of Hardcore Pursuit on Sportman Channel, and Brad and I from Deer & Deer Hunting on NBC Sports.

These camo-clad students can barely fit into their desks!

While hunting in cold weather can be challenging, yesterday’s shoot was a total treat. We not only learned some creative filming and editing tips from Anthony, we got to spend some time getting know a whole crew of guys and gals who want nothing more than to share their love of deer and deer hunting with all of the hard-working, fun-loving folks out there who watch outdoors programming.

The finish commercial will begin airing in July on outdoor networks.

This giant 37 point nontypical buck was found by shed hunters in Missouri.

This incredible whitetail buck photo has been circulating across the Internet today. Here is the text that accompanied the forwarded message:

Had to share this photo with you.  The guy pictured below found this with
his buddy shed hunting at Busch Wildlife a few weeks ago.  I work with him.
It was in the thick area behind the high school not far off the highway.
Conservation Department took it since it is intact and found on
conservation ground.  By the rules, that is a dead deer and not a shed.
Scored 280 and had 37 points.

There’s no reason not to believe the story. The rack certainly appears to match those measurements, plus the skull is weathered enough to be from a long-dead buck. Whatever the case, we will bring you updates when they become available.

Mike Strandlund, editor of Bowhunting World Magazine, died suddenly yesterday while on vacation. He was 56.

It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing today of our industry friend Mike Strandlund, longtime editor of Bowhunting World Magazine.

Mike died suddenly while on vacation. Details are still unknown publicly, but we have been told that it was an accident. We are so very saddened and feel the deepest of sympathies for Mike’s family back home in Minnesota.

I first met Mike in the mid-1990s when I was just an upstart in this industry. Ten years my senior, he was always quick to acknowledge my presence at industry events. A simple nod and a wink were his way of saying, “you’re among friends, kid.”

From where I sit, I learned that was his trademark over the years. He wasn’t the extrovert that came running over to pat you on the back or scream, “Hey, pal!” across a room. He was a wise veteran. An even-keeled bowhunter who had a game face fitting of a Major League closer.

No, he was a guy who knew how to compete yet be professionally friendly at the same time.

Last fall, I had the pleasure of sharing a hunting camp with him once again. We were in Buffalo County, Wisconsin, and I had the good fortune of shooting a buck that weekend. As we all sat around the camp living room watching the footage of my hunt, Mike could tell that shooting a 2-1/2 year old 8-pointer still meant as much to me as shooting a 160-class wallhanger.

“That’s neat,” Mike said. “Your excitement is genuine. We need more of that in this industry.”

With all due respect, Mike, you were wrong that day. We need a whole lot more guys like you. We’re going to miss you.

MORE ON MIKE: (courtesy of Grand View Media)

Mike began shooting a bow at age 12, hunting with it at age 16. Thus began a lifelong passion and career that took this bowhunter and journalist on adventures all over the world.

Mike began writing for outdoor magazines in his mid-teens. Growing up in Minnesota and Wisconsin, he earned his journalism degree from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 1980, financing his education by freelance writing and trapping. He spent five years as a newspaper editor in Wisconsin, then five years as a writer for the National Rifle Association’s American Hunter magazine. His responsibilities grew to editing and managing the production of books and other publications for the NRA’s Hunter Services Division.

He joined Bowhunting World and Archery Business magazines, owned by Ehlert Publishing, in 1990. He was named editor of the titles in 1993 and promoted to editorial director in 2002. When Grand View Media bought the titles in 2004, Mike continued in his role. In 2009, Grand View Outdoors promoted Mike to editorial director.

In recognition for his literary excellence in advancing the sport of bowhunting, Mike was inducted into the Bowhunters Hall of Fame in 2003. His clear, insightful articles about his experiences have informed, influenced, and entertained multitudes of readers.

Mike’s survivors include his wife, Nancy, children Brad and Sara, parents Zonnie and Jean and sister Kim, Grand View Media colleagues, and many friends and hunting companions through the years. His passing leaves a true void. We will miss him greatly.

Bowhunter & Journalist

Mike enjoyed both modern and traditional archery and pursued game across North America and Africa. He embraced not just bowhunting, but the entire hunting experience, everything to planning and practicing for a hunt, to adjusting his equipment and form in pursuit of “the perfect shot,” to just observing the environment and animal behaviors while sitting on stand or in a blind. According to his profile with the Bowhunters Hall of Fame, he counted “whitetails, elk, wooden recurves, tight groups, September sunsets and November daybreaks” among his favorite things.

As passionate as he was about hunting, Mike was equally passionate about his role as a journalist and communicator. Raising the standard of outdoor reporting and providing well-researched, useful information while engaging the reader was a priority. He wanted the contents of every issue of Bowhunting World to matter to everyone who turned its pages.

“All the most important things in life—patience and acceptance, beauty and honor, strength and love, physical and mental acuity, challenge and compassion—are all distilled in bowhunting,” Mike told the Bowhunters Hall of Fame. “That’s what makes it so fascinating to do, and to write about.”

“While many people strive their entire lives to ‘stand out’ Mike was an absolute original who regularly shunned the spotlight. A true master of his chosen craft, Mike will forever be revered for his deft ability to raise the level of outdoor journalism, and positively impact the many journalists, friends, and like-minded outdoorsmen lucky enough to have known him.”

—Mark Melotik

“I admire Mike for the skilled hunter and archer he was. I was fortunate to share many hunting camps with him and enjoyed numerous conversations on hunting tactics and technique. What’s more, I admire him as an accomplished journalist and co-worker. Mike steadfastly promoted editorial integrity and fairness, and he sought only quality work from his writers, which not only enhanced our editorial content but helped each writer grow professionally.”

—Lee Hetherington

“Mike could be intimidating to approach, but you were always glad you did. One of the most well- rounded people I have ever met, over the years Mike and I discovered mutual interests in seemingly logical areas of hunting and sports, but also music, motorcycles, and more. He was genuinely a great human being, and I will miss seeing him every day I come to work.”

—Jared Pfeifer

“My time with Mike was shorter than many others in the industry, but I consider myself lucky to have enjoyed numerous adventures with him in the field.  I respected him greatly as a journalist and editor.  He was certainly a gifted wordsmith and brought our passion for the outdoors to life through his words in a way that only he could.  Mike was just one of those rare guys who had that special ability to bring an intelligent unique perspective to topics that separated him from others and earned him the respect of his peers.  We will miss Mike here at Grand View Outdoors and I know he will be missed by his family and many friends in the outdoor industry.”

—Derrick Nawrocki

A piebald whitetail tests the wind.

Some deer pictures are downright fascinating. Like the one here of a piebald buck from Wisconsin.

Although many Whitetail Wisdom readers have sent in photos of bizarre deer, this piebald buck is one of the most unique that we’ve seen in a while here at Deer & Deer Hunting.

White-tailed deer are equipped with natural camouflage. Their reddish-brown summer coats and grayish-brown winter coats enable them to blend into their surroundings. Yet, sprinkled throughout the whitetail population are deer with unique color variations. Here are the reasons why some whitetails have different-colored coats.

On a typical deer, the throat, rump, belly, underside of the tail and inside of the ears are white. Due to genetics, color variations can range from pure white (albinism) to pure black (melanism).

True albinos have white coats, pink eyes and pink noses. Albinos lack an enzyme called tyrosine, which is needed to produce pigment in the skin and coat. The production of pigment is controlled by the pituitary gland in ordinary deer. The condition results from a recessive gene that occurs in less than 1 percent of the population.

The coats of piebald deer exhibit white and brown spotting, although they can be almost entirely white. Unlike true albinos, piebalds generally have brown eyes and black hoofs.

In his book The Deer of North America, Leonard Lee Rue III states that piebald deer are genetically inferior and often the result of uncontrolled deer herds.

“In 1983, I did a series of deer seminars in Illinois,” Rue writes. “In the evening paper, I read that (Illinois) Governor Thompson had just signed a bill that provided full protection to albino deer within the state. What the article failed to explain was just what the new law was protecting. If the law was protecting true albinos, then perhaps it had merit; if it was protecting all of the mutations, then the law was doing the Illinois deer herd a disservice. Mutant deer are definitely inferior, degrading the deer they breed with by passing on harmful recessive genes.”

Lee Lakosky shot a buck he called ‘Gnarls Barkely’ a few years ago. This deer tipped the scales at nearly 300 pounds on the hoof. (Photo: Lee and Tiffany Lakosky of The Crush TV)

There was a day not so long ago when deer hunters across North America were absolutely fascinated with big bucks.

No, not big racks — big bucks. Huge, giant, monstrous creatures. Or, as the old-timers called them, “real slobberknockers.”

Antlers were adored, but they were almost secondary when it came to describing a buck’s status. “What did he weigh?” was often the first question asked of a successful hunter. This infatuation hasn’t died completely. A buck’s hog-dressed weight is still a badge of honor for hunters in the Northeast, Upper Great Lakes and Canada.

From what we can gather, the heaviest whitetail ever shot was killed by a bow-hunter, John Annett of Ontario, in 1977. The deer field dressed 431 pounds on government-certified scales. That would have given it an estimated live weight of more than 540 pounds. However,  reports indicate the buck was butchered before Canadian authorities could inspect it.

Second place seemingly belongs to a 402-pound Minnesota buck killed by Carl Lenander Jr. in 1926.  Conservation officials estimated the live weight at 511 pounds.

This giant buck was shot near Gaspe Quebec in Fall 2005. It field-dressed at 260 pounds, making its live weight well near the 300-pound mark.

Third place would go to a Maine buck killed by Horace R. Hinckley in 1955. Hinckley reportedly spent three days searching for a scale large enough to properly weigh his buck. With a Maine Sealer of Weights witness present, the buck officially tipped the scales at 355 pounds, giving it a live weight of 451 pounds. Hinckley’s buck had a 28-inch neck girth and a 56-inch chest girth.

Fourth place goes to a 321-pound buck killed in Bayfield County, Wisconsin, in 1938. We don’t know the hunter’s name, but the weight was verified. Fifth place would have to go to a buck killed in New York in 1946. That deer officially weighed 291 pounds dressed.

These rankings are open for debate. While researching this topic with my friend Keith McCaffery, a retired deer research biologist, we found several mentions of heavier deer. However, none of those weights were verified. Included in that list are a 1907 Wisconsin buck that allegedly weighed 437 pounds dressed, and a 1924 Wisconsin buck that weighed 386 pounds.

What an awesome Georgia buck. This deer was shot last year during archery season. Click on the photo for a gallery of more Southern giants.

by Dan Schmidt

It seems like everyone else is having fun outside these days … Florida and Alabama readers have been hammering turkeys already. I’m just hearing them in my sleep. That’s what 20 inches of snow on the ground will do to a guy. Ah, at least I’ve been getting the new pup out and about. I want her to chase rabbits, but she wants to chase deer.

Guess she takes after her adopted dad.

This week starts a new slant on this blog. With all due respect to Peter King, I’m going to give the gift that keeps on giving: Shared links to the past week’s best (and worst) in the deer hunting world.

Here goes, in no particular order…

Deer stories of the Week:

• A $16,000 mess-up. Wyoming officials put the smack down on this guy who let his antler lust get in the way of his common sense.

•Smash encounters. A bicyclist takes on a deer. Who wins?

•Hallelujah moment. Study shows no biological support for Sunday hunting bans.

•How to age a mature buck. We talk about it all the time, but just how does one guess the age of a deer that is beyond mature?

•Best of the Best. A closer look at some of the really cool new products unveiled for deer hunters in 2013.

Facebook Comment of the Week:

We thought it would be appropriate to remind all of our deer hunting fans that it is definitely NOT cool to forgo wearing a safety harness while hunting from above. That’s when Deanna Page offered this sobering comment:

“I have two steel rods in my back after falling 12 feet and crushing a vertebrae. I am lucky I can still walk & hunt. Wear a safety harness, because someday you might not be so lucky!”

Thanks for sharing your insights, Deanna. We feel for you and hope that your message hits home with the folks who think they are bulletproof.

Tweets of the Week:
@LakotaGrl01
Beautiful Albino Whitetail photo #Deer… pic.twitter.com/upsFVRqNI8

@FullDrawMedia  Took down a few treestands this weekend. Pulled my son up for the first time. He loved it!

‏@DanSchmidtDeer
The Man Who Eats Roadkill http://shar.es/eGLyj

‏@deerhuntingmag
Check Out These Deer Tattoos! http://shar.es/ecVIq

@SPORTSMANchnl Pig Man takes a break from the hogs & takes a shot at whacking a whitetail! #PigMan, tonight 8 E/P http://bit.ly/UghWp9

Aging deer on the hoof is a popular discussion point today among hunters.

Want to make an educated guess at the age of a giant whitetail buck roaming your hunting grounds? Analyze his physical features using Charles Alsheimer’s four-point system:

1. The rack. A buck’s antlers change significantly with age, especially after the age of 3. Most mature bucks will have more antler mass, non-typical points and larger racks until they pass their prime.

2. The body type. Aging deer on the hoof is a popular discussion point today among hunters. After a buck makes it to 3½ years of age, its head begins to widen and its neck and shoulders become more massive.

3. The tracks. Although track length can play a role in determining the maturity level of a buck, I’ve found that track width is a far better indicator of age because hoof tips break and wear off, especially in country with rocky gravel soils. In most cases, a buck’s hoof widens with age, therefore track width tells me more about age than length. A yearling buck’s hoof is roughly 2 inches wide, about the same as a mature doe. A 2½-year-old buck’s track will be anywhere from 2¼ to 2½ inches wide. With age, a buck’s track will increase slightly as it becomes heavier. Also, as a buck ages, its front hoofs tend to show more of an indent on the back of the hoof’s pad than the hoof’s toe when it walks and makes a track. In addition, after a buck passes 4½ years old, its front hoofs begin to toe out as it walks.

4. The behavior. As a buck ages, it will most certainly become more and more nocturnal, especially in populated areas. Any buck that reaches 4 years of age is the ultimate survivor and knows that nighttime is the best time to move around because it’s quieter and void of human activity.

To Better Manage Your Deer, You Need Trail Cameras: Get Them Here

As snow depths increase, deer become stressed to find enough food to keep them healthy.

Whitetails are built to survive. They can withstand extreme droughts and brutal winters. March is the telltale month, however, that dictates whether the young, old, weak and sick animals survive to see another year. Here are 10 facts about deer in winter that will help you better understand America’s greatest game animal.

1. During winter, more than any other time of year, whitetails are driven by their stomachs. The harsh conditions deer endure at this time of year often cause a negative energy balance — they expend more energy then they consume.

2. Wintering whitetails keep their movements to a minimum, often traveling exclusively between food sources and bedding areas mostly during daylight. By bedding primarily in the evening, deer minimize heat loss by shutting down during the coldest hours.

3. By midwinter, deer gear down to an almost semi-hibernating state, decrease their food intake by about 30 percent, and decrease their activity by at least 50 percent.

4. When severely stressed, they might restrict their activity to less than 80 acres, feed mainly during warmer daytime hours, and refuse to travel more than a few hundred feet from shelter to food.

5. Hemlock, maple, ash, birch, aspen, and various shrubs—which offer comparatively low nutrition—suffice only when available in great variety and abundance, or when consumed with more nourishing foods.

6. Does and fawns that enter winter with maximum fat reserves can withstand a 30 percent weight loss without dying, but adult bucks commonly lose about 25 percent of their peak body weight during the autumn rut.

7. Most deer, especially mature bucks, favor travel routes that provide two things: security cover and a path of least resistance.

8. Deer yards are often stands of mature conifers and cedars that offer shelter from wind. These adaptations aid deer in surviving the almost unbelievably harsh conditions of Northern winters.

9. Southern whitetails eat more woody browse as the abundance of forbs declines in summer. Interestingly, this trend is reversed in Northern habitats where deer consume forbs in summer and depend almost exclusively on browse in winter.

10. Signs that deer densities are too high include well-defined browse lines, small antler sizes for yearlings and even older bucks, low body weights and low levels of palatable foods.

— Dan Schmidt’s Whitetail Wisdom book is now available as a Kindle version. For more information, click here.

Paul Birling was a lifelong design artist.

My heart is heavy this afternoon, as I just heard the news that a friend and former coworker has left us way too soon.

Paul Birling was one of those guys who could just easily sit at his desk all day and you’d never know he was there. He was quiet and unassuming. I didn’t know him outside of work, but I did know that he was a family man who really loved his kids.

I first worked with Paul way back in 2000 when he was assigned to design my book, Whitetail Wisdom. It was his vision that made that book visually what it is today. In fact, it was his idea to use an illustration on the cover: something that hadn’t been dared in years. The sales folks back then said an illustration wouldn’t help sell the book. Paul politely disagreed, contacted his buddy Scott Zoellnick (a renowned wildlife artist), and approached me with the concept.

When Paul Birling came back to me with this cover design, I instantly fell in love with it. He knew how to capture the essence of a book’s content with visual appeal.

I absolutely loved it. It not only reminded me of the good, old days of deer hunting, it literally illustrated dozens of points that I made in the text.

During his tenure here at F+W Media, he designed several other top-notched books and publications, including the famous book by Lee & Tiffany Lakosky: Hunting Mature Bucks the Lakosky Way.

After graduating high school, he attended Madison Area Technical College where he received his degree in Commercial Art Design. Paul was an illustrator and graphic designer his entire career. He was first employed with Liebold and Associates of Neenah, Wis. After that he took a position with Ads Infinitum, Inc. of Appleton. He then started

Paul was also responsible for the layout and design of Lee and Tiffany Lakosky’s recent book.

his own business, Paul Birling Illustrations. Most recently he worked with Krause Publications of Iola (an imprint of F+W Media) until his retirement.

Goodbye, Paul. Your kindness touched many of us.