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Entries for October 2014
Much to be Said for Autopilot
By Mike Handley | July 20, 2014
Don't you just love it when the "pretty good" buck you thought you shot winds up being a giant? That's a rhetorical question, of course, since most deer hunters are far more apt to experience the opposite.
Dustin Shaffer, however, could answer that question.
When a buck charged out of a honeysuckle patch last season with ears back, looking to kic... READ MORE
New World Record Velvet Buck by Crossbow
By Mike Handley | July 13, 2014
Opening day of bow season in Louisiana, when even a tee-shirt can feel like a parka in the often oppressive heat, might still attract hunters itching to get started. But hopes aren't generally high, even if trail cameras are clicking away, night and day.
Such was the case in 2013, when Charles Falkenheiner woke before dawn. Even though his b... READ MORE
And it Wasn’t Even Public Land!
By Mike Handley | July 06, 2014
Burning one's last vacation day and shelling out for a nonresident hunting license and deer tag are small prices to pay for a much-needed change of scenery. But when a frustrated Jesse Ferree paid that price in 2012, he got more of the same. The Indiana hunter, weary of hearing gunshots and seeing more hunters than deer where he hunts close to home... READ MORE
Success in the Sauna
By Mike Handley | June 29, 2014
If you're going to spend an afternoon in a deer stand when the mercury is pushing 100 degrees, you'd better keep the wind in your sweaty face.
Bowhunter Jody Slingo knows this. Even though he could pinpoint - almost to the blade of grass - where an incredible buck would enter a field every evening, even though he had a slam-dunk stand positioned i... READ MORE
Kentucky Buck Reshuffles Longbow Records
By Mike Handley | June 22, 2014
At first glance, Joe Lacefield's buck might appear to sport identical foot-long drop tines on a 4x4 mainframe. That's exactly what Joe, a B&C measurer and wildlife biologist with the state of Kentucky, thought when he peered at the dying animal through his binoculars.
Actually, however, the deer's main beams droop downward, which is even more ... READ MORE
How to Beat the No-stand Blues
By Mike Handley | June 15, 2014
A not-so-funny thing happened to Mike Flanigan of Conneaut, Ohio, on the way to his deer stand last Oct. 27. When he arrived at his tree, the stand wasn't there.
Understandably upset, he could've walked back to his truck to stew in his own juices for a few hours while his friend and son hunted.
Instead, he channeled his inner squirrel – or ... READ MORE
Possum-playing Buck Unravels Kentucky Hunter
By Mike Handley | June 08, 2014
Dennis Nickell and his friend, J.T. Rawlings, knew an enormous buck had been seen near the 160-acre farm they hunt in Fleming County, Ky., in 2013. A neighboring landowner had retrieved trail camera photographs of the animal when its impressive rack was still in velvet.
Despite spending many hours in a treestand with his bow in September and early... READ MORE
Elusive Buck Lets Down His Guard
By Mike Handley | June 01, 2014
Chad McCoy was not surprised when a buck wearing at least 160 inches of antler activated his trail camera's shutter in October 2011. He'd just acquired the property in Ohio, and the photograph merely confirmed his hunch that the piece of ground held potential.
He saw the same buck trailing a doe a month later, but that was the first and last time ... READ MORE
Why Tony Ran into the Rain
By Mike Handley | May 25, 2014
The moment Tony Losey looked out of his popup blind's window and saw something other than the raindrops he'd been watching all morning, he forgot he was holding a bag of pistachios. Or maybe he just lost his grip.
One moment, the Belleville, Mich., hunter was sitting in his dry dome, enjoying his snack. The next, nuts were flying everywhere while ... READ MORE
When a Buck Loves a Doe
By Mike Handley | May 18, 2014
The soundtrack to David Howard's successful 2013 season would have to include Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman."
David had a three-day window to bowhunt his lease in Todd County, Ky., last October – usually not the best time to catch whitetails on their feet when the sun's shining.
He arrived a day early, which gave him a few hours ... READ MORE
Hello, Stranger!
By Mike Handley | May 11, 2014
For all he knew, when Brooks Malone put on his orange cap and struck out with his rifle on Nov. 17, 2012, he might've been walking into a place as barren as the local high school's football field. He'd given his visiting son, Tucker, dibs on the farm that had yielded trail camera photographs of the best buck he'd seen all year.
When father and son... READ MORE
What are the Odds?
By Mike Handley | May 04, 2014
Jenna Gregg's first-buck story will be hard to top, in print and on screen.
While hunting with her husband, Floyd, on Dec. 14, she fulfilled her longtime goal of shooting her first buck, and he filmed her doing it. And, somehow, considering both were vibrating like the noisy end of a rattlesnake, her aim was true and the footage isn't "Blair Witch... READ MORE
Under the Cover of Snowness
By Mike Handley | April 27, 2014
Ten days into Michigan's 2013 firearms season, Jeff Toy was beginning to feel like the world's unluckiest deer hunter. The empty spot in his freezer seemed cavernous, which is why he went out every morning and evening.
He wanted very badly to be more hunter than gatherer, to have red meat unadorned with a "sell-by"date, but the deer weren't cooper... READ MORE
From Burger to Bone
By Mike Handley | April 20, 2014
When Larry Mangin decides to go deer hunting, which is almost every day the sun rises (in season), it's a matter of choosing which of his 17 setups to visit.
The retiree (except for the little antiques store he runs) has access to lots of land in Meade County, Ky. He's planted several food plots, and he has both permanent stands and ground blinds ... READ MORE
Ditch Runner
By Mike Handley | April 13, 2014
Tony Royal of Pleasant Garden, N.C., fell in love with Indiana while visiting his wife's relatives there two decades ago. He's made the long drive to hunt his in-laws' farms ever since, usually with friends he's eager to introduce to a landscape completely foreign to most Southerners.
Going into the 2013 season, Tony and his friends had tagged 15 ... READ MORE