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Big Frank
By Eric Wuebker (Part One)
No matter how big the buck, you can’t split it over two tags. PART ONE The story of Big Frank begins in the summer of 2010. I first captured him on a trail camera on August 29, 2010. As soon as I saw the photo, I dedicated my entire season to pursuing this monster whitetail. Not only did I never see Big Frank while hunting, I didn’t get... READ MORE
Black Death
By Richard P. Smith
Coyotes aren’t the only predators impacting fawn survival rates. It’s about time black bears get the credit they deserve as whitetail predators. On a year-round basis, where they are present, bears might not kill as many deer as coyotes or wolves, but if you focus on which predator takes more fawns, bears are right at the top. And if yo... READ MORE
Beauty and the Beast
By Ed Waite
Nothing says love like a bloody arrow and a big gut pile. Skylee Moore wasn’t a hunter, but her boyfriend, Peter Gravens, sure seemed excited when he talked about it. And because it would be another way for the couple to spend time together and get outdoors, the 19-year-old decided to give it a try. It didn’t hurt that Peter’s fam... READ MORE
The Hole in the Bucket
By Bob Humphrey
Food plots are all the rage, but they’re not usually the most critical element of a management plan. Do you follow all of the laws when it comes to hunting and managing your land? There’s one I’ll bet many land managers don’t follow: Liebig’s Law of the Minimum. Liebig’s Law states that “Growth is controlle... READ MORE
Balancing Act
By David Hart
Understanding buck-to-doe ratios is not as simple as you might think. As the deer project coordinator for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Matt Knox fields a lot of calls from his constituents. A common conversation revolves around a disproportionately high number of does observed to the number of bucks. At least that’s w... READ MORE
It Can’t Be You
By P.J. Reilly
Five gear issues that affect bow accuracy. Practice makes perfect. And certainly it is true that a key to accuracy with a bow and arrow is to practice, practice, practice. A compound bow is not something you can pick up once a year and immediately drive tacks. But practice isn’t the only path to perfection. You can practice like a fiend and s... READ MORE
The Gift
By Theodore Kesler
Getting back to the woods isn’t always easy after losing loved ones. This is the story of how a deer hunt helped bring a family closure. I am 47 years old and was raised in a deer hunting family. I hunted with my mother and father until the last couple of years when they could no longer do it. They were also involved in getting my daughter Ca... READ MORE
One or None
By Tracy Breen
Trail cameras and patience key to three-year quest for Illinois bruiser. Trail cameras have had a huge impact during the last decade, fundamentally changing the way many of us approach hunting whitetails. While it can be argued they give us an unfair advantage by showing what’s happening when we’re not in the woods, it’s also true... READ MORE
Follow the Sign
By Jason Houser
Scout this winter to find hot stand locations for next fall. Winter is arguably the best time to scout for the following deer season. Whether you combine late-season hunts with your scouting, or you head afield with the sole intent of finding a buck for next year, trails, rubs and scrapes are fresh enough to tell the story of what took place in you... READ MORE
Spreading the Gospel
By P.J. Reilly
Tips for talking to nonhunters about our sport. If you’re reading this magazine, odds are you love deer hunting. You know it’s fun. You know it puts meat on your family’s table. You know your hunting-license dollars pay for the management of all kinds of wildlife. And you know that you are the primary instrument for deer managemen... READ MORE
Wish Me Luck
By Robert Murphy
Not even the postman has the dedication of this Delaware deer hunter. It was ironic that I had just finished reading a Buckmasters article titled ”Bow Bucks in the Deep Freeze.” I wasn’t planning to hunt with my bow the next day since it was the end of Delaware’s late muzzleloader season, but it got me pumped, anyway. It was... READ MORE
Late Bloomers
By Tracy Breen
Fawns that mature and breed later in the rut make finding bucks a little easier. There has been much debate over whether there is a secondary whitetail rut. Some say it exists while others say it’s a hunting myth. It makes you wonder about all the articles you’ve read about how to take advantage of late breeding activity. Biologist Dr. ... READ MORE
Ask the Biologist
By Bob Humphrey
Deer hunters have an insatiable curiosity about the fascinating creatures they pursue. From the time we first walked upright on this continent, man has been inexorably tied to the white-tailed deer. For millennia, we depended on them for our very survival. Today, they remain the most popular big game animal in the world and account for more hunting... READ MORE
Clue(s)
By Mike Handley
The only board for this game was a sea of hardwood saplings best suited for four-legged players. Colonel Mustard did not do it in the library with a lead pipe. Miss Scarlet did not do it in the kitchen with a knife. And Professor Plum didn’t do it in the study with a revolver. In the game of Clue that played out in central Louisiana during th... READ MORE
Dressed to Kill
By Ken Piper
The best thing you can do to increase hunting success is be in your stand. Growing up hunting public land in the mountains of Pennsylvania, I’ve spent many a long, cold day in the deer woods. My father was a stump-sitter. His favorite way to hunt was to choose a low spot along a gas line opening and sit all day, dark to dark. It’s hard ... READ MORE
The Coyote Equation
By David Hart
Can we control the whitetail’s most prolific predator? The verdict is in: Coyotes eat a lot of deer. Studies in South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and other states have found that predators can kill upwards of three-quarters of all fawns born in a given year. As a result, hunters everywhere have declared war on coyotes. We shoot them at every o... READ MORE
R&R, Kentucky-Style
By Ed Waite
There’s nothing like a relaxing weekend of hunting to shatter the nerves. Jody Beth Walker of London, Kentucky, grew up in Whitley County, where her family lives. She still hunts deer there, but she spent the 2014 rifle opener fending off a little buck and tagging a great big one in Morgan County. Jody had intended to hunt her usual place, wh... READ MORE
Know When to Walk Away
By P.J. Reilly
Why hunting on low-odds days can hurt your chances when the time is right. Country crooner Kenny Rogers scored the biggest hit of his career with “The Gambler.” Just about everyone knows its signature refrain: “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em. Know when to fold ‘em. Know when to walk away. Know when to run.&r... READ MORE
Much Ado About Nothing
By Bob Humphrey
Things don’t change that much during the peak of the rut. Conventional wisdom says bucks stick close to home and follow patterns early in the fall. Then when the rut hits, they spread out across the landscape, roaming far and wide in search of prospective mates — and foiling our best hunting plans. That contention is based on circumstan... READ MORE
Quoting Lincoln
By Mike Handley
If it fools even one buck, one time, isn’t rattling worth the extra pound or two in your bag of tricks? Abraham Lincoln once opined, “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool ALL the people ALL the time.” The 16th president wasn’t talking about rattling up bucks, ... READ MORE