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Clamped Tail? Better Go Trail!
By Tim H. Martin
We all know the telltale signs of a deer being hit with a bullet. The obvious reactions are a hunching of the back, a bronco-like kick, stumbling, and a changing of the deer’s gait or even the animal being completely knocked down. But one important sign is much more subtle. While hunting with an outfitter in Ohio several autumns ago, I learne... READ MORE
Bowhunting Practice: Replicate Scenarios
By Shannon Shipley and Tim H. Martin
When getting ready for bow season, I have learned to practice shooting for all sorts of scenarios. No two situations are alike when it comes to the moment of truth for shooting whitetails. I like to prepare for the unexpected, and my practice routine includes shooting at every angle imaginable. The only way to properly do this is to replicate a hu... READ MORE
Venison Confusion: Backstraps vs. Tenderloins
By Tim H. Martin
Backstraps and tenderloins: Are they the same thing? The answer might surprise you if you’re a hunting newbie, and it even might be news to some of you old-timers! The answer is no, backstraps and tenderloins are two different things, although the terms are often interchanged in conversations about venison. There is a widespread misconceptio... READ MORE
Easy Turkey Decoy (and Other Gear) Repair
By Jim Harkless
Turkey decoys take a lot of abuse. After several years of folding mine and stuffing them into my backpack, the seams on the undersides have begun to split and separate. This seems to be fairly common with inflatable, foam and rubber decoys. The splitting usually occurs around the area where the stakes go into place. But the busted seam will eventua... READ MORE
Take Time to Take Photos
By Tim H. Martin
In hunting, the chance to capture a special memory on film passes like lyrics to a song by Kansas: “Only for a moment, and the moment’s gone.” I learned that lesson the hard way in 1977 on Thanksgiving Day when my father took me deer hunting for the very first time, but we never took a single picture. We’d jumped a herd of ... READ MORE
Beat the Bootstrap Blues
By Frank Carieri
I wasn’t sure my tip was worth sharing, but decided to send it to help other Buckmasters fans who are getting on in years, or are a little on the heavy side. Using a climbing stand is my favorite way to hunt whitetails. But, at age 52, I’ve had four back surgeries and a quadruple bypass. I’ve also added a couple inches to my waist... READ MORE
Staying Put: Virtues and Perils
By Rich Williams and Tim H. Martin
When you are an invited guest on someone’s hunting property and they put you in a spot, DO NOT leave early or go roaming around, even if you aren’t seeing anything. Wait until your host comes to get you, because you could get lost or put yourself in a dangerous situation with other hunters. This happened to someone hunting with me; they... READ MORE
New Stand? Bring Your Compass!
By Larry Brown
Experienced hunters use a compass for more than just map reading. To make my treestands most effective during hunting season, I always carry a compass. I use it when picking out a tree and deciding which direction to face my stand. Here's why: Knowing your bearings is essential for the initial stand set up. If you guess and get it wrong, you'll lik... READ MORE
Back in Black
By Tim H. Martin
Black clothing can stand out nearly as much as white in the forest during daylight hours, but there is a place for black in the hunting world. I first learned the downside of wearing black in 2005, while bowhunting in Illinois. I'd accidentally left my camo hat in camp and had to use the only headgear I had in my backpack, a solid black fleece bea... READ MORE
Curing the Wet Slate Blues
By Christopher Anderson
Here’s a question for my fellow turkey hunters. Have you ever gotten set up on some birds just before sunrise; the hens and gobblers are all talking. You pick up your favorite slate call just as the turkeys begin to pitch down only to find morning dew has dampened the call surface and it won’t make a sound? This has happened to me more ... READ MORE
Binos & Camera Telephoto Trick
By Tim H. Martin
Photo: A sheep hunter’s tip for taking long-range photos helped Tim H. Martin photograph this wide 10-pointer from a distance. While muzzleloader hunting in Ohio in 2010, I watched an extremely wide 10-pointer bedding down in the rain. It plopped down about 70 yards behind and to the side of my ground blind, well outside of my shooting lane. ... READ MORE
No Rail Pad? No Problem!
By Marcus Bolick
Photo: Venison is a prized commodity in the area of North Carolina where Marcus Bolick hunts. The hunter proudly hunts with the same model rifle used by Milo Hanson — a Winchester Model 88 chambered in .308. My tip isn’t anything fancy, and I may not be the first Buckmasters fan to come up with the idea, but I’ve decided to share ... READ MORE
Hunting’s Most Overlooked Resource?
By James Blackmon
As hunters, we are always looking for resources to improve our scouting and hunting. If you are like me, you have spent a lot of time scouring maps, walking properties and talking to farmers and other hunters about where they’ve seen deer. We also invest a lot of research, time and money into scouting technology and hunting gear: digital top... READ MORE
Diamond-Dusted Honing for Hunters
By Rick Roesler
Seems like hunters always need to sharpen something. I have found inexpensive, easily packable items that really do the trick, even in the field. There are several types of files embedded with diamond dust or diamond grit that will put an edge on your gear. The flat kind women use to file their nails are very inexpensive, and you can find them at T... READ MORE
Freeze & Fly Your Trophy
By Dave Graber
Photo: Dave Graber poses with his trophy of a lifetime, a mountain lion from Arizona. Dave shares a cost-saving tip that will help deer hunters fly home with their frozen capes as carry on luggage. Recently, I had a successful mountain lion hunt in Arizona. Like successful deer hunters who travel by air, I had to figure out the best way to get my t... READ MORE
Zip That Quiver!
By Al Kirby
Photo: Removing his quiver and having a second arrow at the ready enabled Tim H. Martin to tag this beautiful Illinois buck. Here’s a great way to hang your quiver and reload easily, too. One less thing attached to my bow is a good thing. When archery hunting, I like to remove the quiver. I don't like the added weight or the extra noise it ma... READ MORE
Rifle Targets Come Gift-Wrapped
By Ryan Noffsinger / Art Director Buckmasters Magazine
Photo: Before scoring their first Alabama buck double, Ryan Noffsinger (right) and his son Luke wanted to double-check the zero on their scopes. Ryan discovered a great target substitute when he lost his store-bought targets. As an avid bowhunter, I don’t usually knock the dust off my deer rifles until after Christmas. This season was no diff... READ MORE
Conquer the Dead Zone
By Tim H. Martin
Photo: Because it stepped into a dead zone, Buckmasters Tip Editor, Tim H. Martin, had to go southpaw in order to smoke this Alabama 10-pointer. Tim learned this trick from a U.S. Army shooting instructor. Try this test sitting down, as if you were in your treestand: Using an imaginary rifle, without moving below the waist, pretend a deer is direct... READ MORE
When Hunters Share Property
By Maureen Janson
When hunters share hunting rights on a piece of property, I’ve found one of the main conflicts to be messing up each other’s hunts when going to and from their stands. If you are a landowner and allow more than one hunter or hunting parties to hunt your place, here are a few ground rules I’ve come up with that hunters must abide b... READ MORE
Deer Journal Keeps Data & Memories
By Tim H. Martin
Photo: For more than 30 years, Tim H. Martin has kept an outdoor journal. He uses it to capture deer data, but more importantly, he uses it to capture memories. In Robert Ruark's beloved classic, “The Old Man and the Boy,” he describes March as “a fine month for remembering.” With deer season now gone, March is the perfect t... READ MORE