Tips & Tactics

Tag Team For Turkeys

Tag Team For Turkeys

By Ken Piper

When I first started editing hunting articles, one of the first stories I had the pleasure of working on was about a father and son who teamed up to take a stubborn old gobbler on the last day of the West Virginia turkey season. Both had hunted the bird independently over the course of the season, but work and school had kept them from hunting to... READ MORE

Sunshine Can Make You Cry

Sunshine Can Make You Cry

By Ken Piper

With turkey season just around the corner or already started in some states, deer hunters can look to their spring brethren for some tips.  It's not a coincidence that most turkey guns today come already coated in camouflage.  And turkey chasers who use blued shotguns almost always cover their guns with camo tape or the special gun socks ... READ MORE

A Clean Rifle is a Good Rifle

A Clean Rifle is a Good Rifle

By Ken Piper

Most deer hunters know how important it is to thoroughly clean their guns following rough weather, multiple shots, or just at the end of a long season.  Copper fouling and powder residue will cause even the best guns to shoot poorly, and rust can ruin it for good. What many hunters don't know, however, is that it is critical to clean a bran... READ MORE

Have Twice the Fun and Success

Have Twice the Fun and Success

By Ken Piper

Hunting is always more enjoyable with a friend, but it can also be more productive.  Let's face it, unless there is some heavy rut activity, there are times during the hunting season when everyone struggles to even see a deer. It's always a good idea to occupy a stand during the first few hours of the morning and the last few of the evening... READ MORE

Timing is Everything

Timing is Everything

By Ken Piper

Most hunters try to have multiple stand locations ready for deer season, but we all have our favorite -- that one stand that looks the most promising and the one we're sure will produce a monster buck. We take special care with that stand and have everything just right for opening day. Once everything is ready and it's time to hunt comes the mos... READ MORE

Don't Miss High

Don't Miss High

By Ken Piper

Ninety percent of the shots missed at deer are high. If you shoot at a deer and he just stands there looking at you, chances are good that the shot went high. When you get excited about taking the shot, you're more likely to jerk the trigger, and that makes the shot go high. When I aim at a deer with a bow, I aim at the lower one-third of my tar... READ MORE

Look for the Eyes

Look for the Eyes

By Ken Piper

If you can see a deer's eye, the deer can see you, and that's an important tip to remember. When a deer is close, you cannot afford to move if he can see you. It's the movement that attracts a deer's attention. Unfortunately, you have to move in order to draw a bow or swing a gun. I wait until the deer turns his head so I can't see his eye, or I... READ MORE

Treestand Strategy

Treestand Strategy

By Ken Piper

When you set up a treestand, play the prevailing winds, but also pay attention to the sun. If it's a morning stand, you don't want the stand to face the rising sun. It might be possible to set up on a trail or food source so you're never looking into the sun -- morning or afternoon. Some stand locations work best in the morning and others are bette... READ MORE

Know Your Property

Know Your Property

By Ken Piper

Once you learn the food sources and have an aerial photo of your hunting spot, then it's time to walk the property.  Treat your hunting property like it's your house.  You want to know every inch of it.  While walking, look for the various food sources that you've studied and learned to identify. If food is available, look for dee... READ MORE

Buck Hideouts Come in Small Packages

Buck Hideouts Come in Small Packages

By Ken Piper

Most hunters expect to find deer in the more remote places where they hunt, but bucks -- and pressured deer in general -- have a knack for finding small hidey-holes where hunters don't look. Small patches of woods, windbreaks and fence rows make great deer hideouts.  The deer can see and hear danger coming from far away, and often these loc... READ MORE

Don't Quit for Lunch

Don't Quit for Lunch

By Ken Piper

By now most deer hunters have heard or read that noon can be a good time to hunt, especially during the rut, but not many realize just how good the lunch hour can be. Bowhunters, especially, are famous for hunting only the first and last few hours of daylight. According to research from the late Charles Alsheimer and Wayne Laroche, however, deer... READ MORE

Put A Little Christmas Spirit In Your Hunting

Put A Little Christmas Spirit In Your Hunting

By Ken Piper

Whether hunting from a treestand or the ground, it seems you can always use at least a little more cover. Real cuttings work, but it's hard to keep them in place and even harder to make them fit right where you need them. And if you've priced fake greenery at the local craft store, you know that's not an affordable option, either. Here's somethi... READ MORE

Tuning Broadheads Is Key To Good Arrow Flight

Tuning Broadheads Is Key To Good Arrow Flight

By Ken Piper

Most bowhunters today realize the importance of tuning their bows and testing their broadhead flight before hunting. Just because one broadhead flies well doesn't mean that you are done tuning, however. Three different broadheads from the same package often will fly differently on your arrows. Install your broadheads and give each one the spin test... READ MORE

Go With Layers, But Don't Overdo It

Go With Layers, But Don't Overdo It

By Ken Piper

This is the time of year when weather starts to really get nasty on deer hunters. Most know to dress in layers, but there are some important considerations to keep in mind when trying to keep out the cold. Your feet are one of the hardest body parts to keep warm, and if you put on too many socks (layers) you'll really suffer. Your feet need at leas... READ MORE

Concealment As Needed

Concealment As Needed

By Patrick Dunning

I recently relocated my cell camera and established a fresh feed site on a property I have permission to hunt and received photos that night of some decent bucks and one three-year-old in particular that has my attention right now.  I need a north or north, northwest wind to hunt this buck, maybe getting away with wind out of the south, and... READ MORE

The Rut Is Here -- Get Back To The Main Trails

The Rut Is Here -- Get Back To The Main Trails

By Ken Piper

The peak of the rut is here, or will come soon just about everywhere hunters pursue whitetails. It's an exciting time to be in the woods, but we sometimes tend to complicate it more than necessary. Scents and lures can work during this vulnerable time for the bucks, but you still need to be in the right place. Now is a great time to head back to th... READ MORE

If You Have To Ask, The Answer is "NO!"

If You Have To Ask, The Answer is "NO!"

By Ken Piper

We've all heard horror stories of wounded deer, and bowhunters in particular are prone to be the subject of these sad tales. The real statistics show that wounded deer are far less common than stories indicate, but a common theme of many of these stories is that the shooter took an "iffy" shot -- maybe the distance was a little too far or maybe the... READ MORE

Close Your Eyes To See The Light

Close Your Eyes To See The Light

By Ken Piper

Here's a tip to use when setting up a bow or gun for hunting. When drawing a bow to set a kisser button and/or peep sight, close your eyes before you draw. The same holds when setting up a scope on a gun or when testing stock length -- close your eyes and pull up the gun. It's amazing how many compensations you make when your eyes are open -- and y... READ MORE

Big Bucks Can Hide in Small Places

Big Bucks Can Hide in Small Places

By Ken Piper

Most hunters tend to look for big bucks in the most remote, nasty and impenetrable places -- and it's certainly true that your odds of taking a bigger buck are better in places other hunters refuse to enter. There are some very successful deer hunters, however, who take record-book bucks using a different tactic with the same principle. Look for sm... READ MORE

Rangefinders: A Hunter's Best Friend

Rangefinders: A Hunter's Best Friend

By Ken Piper

In recent years, the proliferation of the laser rangefinder has given hunters a tremendous tool to hunt more responsibly and increase their success. Laser rangefinders give hunters previously unheard-of ability to accurately measure distance to ranges of a half mile or more.  This allows all hunters, whether they shoot rifle, bow or muzzlel... READ MORE

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Copyright 2020 by Buckmasters, Ltd