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Organization Pays
By Ken Piper
Packs are made to organize your gear, but they sometimes need a little help. We all have different ways to doing things, as well as our own set of preferences when it comes to how we hunt and the gear we use. One thing that seems universal is the more organized you are, the better you can handle the curveballs the hunting gods inevitably throw your... READ MORE
It's Never Over
By Ken Piper
The end of the hunting season doesn't mean an end to hunting preparation. Deer season just ended here in Alabama yesterday, and while that's later than most of the rest of the country, it brings to mind a few considerations. First, hunting season might be over, but the weeks immediately following its closure are at least as important as the weeks l... READ MORE
Flying with Guns
By Ken Piper
Traveling with a firearm can be challenging, and it’s all about following the rules. Following up on last week’s tip regarding how to protect your hunting gear in traveling cases, this week we’ll talk about flying on a commercial airline with a firearm. Some of the following information is actual requirement, and some is my recomm... READ MORE
Case Logic
By Ken Piper
Pack well to ensure your gun's zero when traveling to hunt. Traveling with a bow or gun is stressful. No matter how carefully you pack, you can't help wondering whether you'll still be sighted in when you get to your destination. And if you're traveling by plane, that feeling is compounded exponentially. I've traveled long distances to several hunt... READ MORE
Thank Your Mentor
By Ken Piper
Show your appreciation to the people who introduced you to the outdoors. Forgive me for getting personal this week, but I just lost my father and am feeling rather sentimental. My father had a hard time understanding his son's interest in things like Star Trek, sports and reading books. Truth be told, I should have paid more attention during the ti... READ MORE
The Eyes Have It
By Ken Piper
Scent control is critical, but don’t forget deer can see pretty well, too. If you can see a deer’s eye(s), it can see you ... or at least catch your movement. The side-of-head location of a whitetail’s eyes gives them a field of view of about 310 degrees, so they don’t miss much! As good as today’s camouflage patterns ... READ MORE
Just Chillin'
By Ken Piper
Cold weather considerations for late-season die-hards. Many of us have hung up our hunting gear, but there are still some late-season opportunities to fill a tag throughout much of the country. A majority of the late seasons require primitive weapons, and cold weather can have more of an impact on bows and muzzleloaders than on other firearms. If y... READ MORE
On the Down Low
By Ken Piper
There is no foolproof way to beat a whitetail's nose. I used to avoid eating meat for the week or so leading up to hunting season to keep deer from identifying my scent as that of a predator. I like to think I have more common sense today. Don't get me wrong, scent precautions are important. The fewer smelly molecules we release into the environmen... READ MORE
January Scouting
By Ken Piper
This is a great time to get a better read on local deer behavior. One trait shared by whitetails and humans is we're creatures of habit. If something works and we're happy, we're not likely to change. This means that, barring significant habitat changes, next year's deer will likely use the same trails, bedding areas, staging areas and breeding gro... READ MORE
It’s Not Complicated
By Ken Piper
A great hunt doesn’t have to include fancy, expensive gear. Getting my truck loaded for an Illinois bowhunt last fall, it was almost embarrassing how much gear I have accumulated. It’s no wonder new hunters are intimidated by all the stuff they think they have to buy to get started. Remember the old orange Hot Seats? I shot many a deer ... READ MORE
It's a Drag, Man
By Ken Piper
It's all fun and games until somebody shoots a deer. Then the work begins! Hunting with the folks at Mystery Ranch packs in Wisconsin in November, one of our party shot a bruiser buck that fell just 25 yards from his stand. It was only about 100 yards off a field edge, but the drag was all uphill. The shooter and a few other guys were in their 30s ... READ MORE
Same ... but Different
By Ken Piper
Tactics and tips might require modification for your location. While considering a tip for this week, it struck me how many strategies and techniques don’t always apply to different regions. Then I realized that in itself is an important point. I grew up hunting huge blocks of timber on heavily hunted public land. When I moved to Alabama, I h... READ MORE
They’re All Trophies
By Ken Piper
Take the deer that makes YOU happy, and forget everything else. A friend just returned from a bowhunt in Kentucky, where he had several close encounters with a handsome 130-inch buck. He talked about how he struggled with himself over whether to shoot it or not and ultimately decided to let it go. His reasoning was he has taken several deer of that... READ MORE
Not the New Black
By Ken Piper
Camo accessories hide from you more than from deer. A few decades ago, I found the most amazing branch clipper I'd ever used. It utilized a ratchet system and could trim shooting lanes with less effort than any other hand trimmer I had ever tried. It was expensive compared to other trimmers, but I splurged and even paid a few dollars more the camou... READ MORE
Ready or Not
By Ken Piper
Getting close to deer isn't the hard part of bowhunting. The most difficult aspect of bowhunting isn't getting close enough to deer. The hard part is getting off a shot when you're just 20 yards from one of the most paranoid animals on earth. Even slight movement can be noticed by a cagey old buck or, worse, a smart and experienced doe. It's not th... READ MORE
Thoughts on Does
By Ken Piper
Everybody wants to shoot a buck, but does are the key to deer management. Shooting does is a key component of our role as caretakers of deer and the habitat. It’s also the best way to fill a freezer. As a writer and editor of hunting publications for more than 25 years, I’ve seen quite a few recommendations about the best time and locat... READ MORE
Less Than Perfect
By Ken Piper
Solutions to last-minute hunting problems need not be ideal. Sometimes it seems like nothing is going your way. That's what I'm experiencing right now as I prepare for a Wisconsin bowhunt with pack manufacturer Mystery Ranch. I purchased a new crossbow early this year. I shot it a few times to get it close, but I ran out of scope adjustment with th... READ MORE
A Different Angle
By Ken Piper
Intense practice led to a big mistake for this bowhunter. Last week we talked about habits, including how we repeat what we do in practice. That's usually a good thing, unless you're practicing bad habits. It also can work against you if you don't adapt practiced habits to the situation. What I'm talking about is exemplified by something that happe... READ MORE
Trail Blazers
By Ken Piper
Of course deer hunters set up near trails – whitetails are creatures of habit and often use the same trails to move throughout their range. As long as food sources remain relatively stable, they won’t change their habits much from one day to the next. A trail by itself doesn’t mean much, however. First, bucks and does tend to use ... READ MORE
Phone It In
By Ken Piper
We can debate whether cell phones have made our lives better or worse, but there's no debate about how much we use them. That includes in the deer stand. When I got my first smartphone, I used it to listen to music, read and do puzzles to pass slow hours in the stand. As technology evolved, I listened to football games and kept in touch with other ... READ MORE