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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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!"
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
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
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
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
How Much Is Enough?
By Ken Piper
With so many great scent, grunt and rattle products out there, it's tough to figure out the right mix. I mean, how much scent is too much, and how much rattling or grunting, or rattling AND grunting is enough?
The problem is that the answer could be different on any given day -- it's up to the deer. With that in mind, though, it's safe to ... READ MORE
You Can Conquer Buck Fever
By Ken Piper
It's amazing how all those hours and hours of steady-handed practice go out the window when a deer actually appears under your stand. Buck Fever can strike veteran or novice hunters, and the deer doesn't have to be a buck -- but it's certainly more severe and harder to overcome when the deer has antlers on his head.
Experience and time spe... READ MORE
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
After the Shot
By Ken Piper
We all put a lot of preparation into having our equipment sighted in and ready. As a community, we hunters have done a great job of educating one another about the importance of making a good, clean shot on our deer. Many of us in the outdoors media have been so focused on that issue that we've forgotten the second part of each successful deer hunt... READ MORE
The Shift
By Ken Piper
This is the time of year when many hunters become frustrated. You did your scouting and you had been seeing deer, but now you are struggling. What happened? First, the deer are probably reacting to hunting pressure. Second, they might be shifting their feeding habits. As acorns and other mast crops become available, and as farm fields are harvested... READ MORE
Warm Weather Deer Care
By Buckmasters
Many archery seasons have begun across the country, and the way the weather has been the past few years, warm temperatures can carry on well into the gun seasons. Proper care of your harvested deer is essential. Buckmasters Online volunteer biologist Dana Johnson says it is critical to get your deer meat cooled down as quickly as possible.
... READ MORE