
Single-cam bows. Mechanical broadheads. In-line muzzleloaders. Go back 20 years, and you can realize all of the amazing improvements we’ve seen infiltrate our deer hunting world.
I’ve been beyond blessed to have seen this community grow and mature during the past two decades during more than 20 years working at the same media company. I’ve also learned a few things:
1994: I learned that rewards usually require great risks.
1995: I learned the awesome wonders of Southern deer hunting.
1996: I learned that 63 deerless hours in a Maine tree stand is akin to a prison sentence.
1997: I learned that southern Texas is a deer hunting planet all its own.
1998: I learned that a Boston-raised anti-hunter could learn to love bowhunting … and a guy who is addicted to it.
1999: I learned what it’s like to shoot a fully mature whitetail. At 8 yards. While sitting on the ground, turkey-hunting style.
2000: I learned that any legal deer in bow range is still better than an empty freezer.
2001: I learned to better appreciate my American freedoms.
2002: I learned that the best deer hunters are those who really have to work for a living. I’m talking carpenters, electricians, plumbers, drywallers and factory workers.
2003: I learned that even company presidents can be wrong, and the Internet was not going to be remembered as the “CB radio of the 1990s.”
2004: I learned that it’s perfectly OK to take a whiff of Hoppe’s #9 to get in the mood for gun season.
2005: I learned what it was like to be completely petrified while hunting with a TV cameraman.
2006: I learned how the most valuable lessons can be learned while sitting in a cold October rain.
2007: I learned that few folks want to hear a blow-by-blow deer hunting story … unless they’re the one telling it.
2008: I learned that trophy hunting to impress someone else is beyond stupid.
2009: I learned that it’s always best to record the noon football game and watch it at night — after the hunt.
2010: I learned that the greater someone boasts in a deer hunting chat room, the more likely they are completely full of it.
2011: I learned that allocating numeric scores to whitetail racks was probably the worst idea ever.
2012: I learned that heaven just might look exactly like Wyoming.
2013: I learned there’s no greater joy in the outdoors than watching your child bag their first deer.
2014: I learned that I need to get out there and learn some more.
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Maximize Your Deer Season Planning
From Deer & Deer Hunting Magazine, the 2016 Whitetails Wall Calendar features the work of deer researchers Wayne Laroche and Charlie Alsheimer, who reveal the 2016 whitetail rut prediction, based on years of lunar cycle research. Utilize this deer moon phase calendar to find out which days the deer will be seeking and chasing so you can time the rut for the best time to hunt.