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BuckMag Features
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Rifles Rule
By Bob Humphrey
While they don’t get much attention, rifles still rule the world of whitetail hunting. I don’t think outdoor television provides a very realistic representation of contemporary deer hunting. It’s not because they portray situations the average guy will seldom, if ever, experience, although there’s a certain element of that. ... READ MORE
Scrape Magic
By Fred Eichler
No strategy works 100 percent of the time, but scrape hunting works often enough. It seems everyone has an opinion about hunting over scrapes. Having guided many archery and rifle hunters for deer, and personally harvested whitetails in 14 states, I have one, too. Mine is pretty basic, but it works. Just keep in mind that opinions are like noses, h... READ MORE
The Two-Man Push
By David Hart
You don’t need a crowd to move deer. What happened to old fashioned deer drives? What was once a long standing tradition in deer camps all over the country is slowly fading into the annals of whitetail history. It could be a result of higher deer populations, or it could be a gradual change in deer hunting culture. Whatever the reason, big, o... READ MORE
Shooting Long Distance
By Bob Robb
Whitetail hunting isn’t always a short-range game. Growing up a mule deer hunter out West, I was weaned on the importance of being able to make the first shot count at a deer three or four football fields away. We always tried to get closer, but sometimes it just wasn’t in the cards. Most shots at whitetails are less than 200 yards, bu... READ MORE
High Mercury Whitetails
By Darron McDougal
Sweat, bugs and extra effort aside, you can take big bucks when the weather is hot. Sweat poured from my face. The thermometer read 85 degrees Fahrenheit, and the mosquitoes just wouldn’t relent. Of all the places I could be in such conditions, I found myself trudging along the border of a standing cornfield. My destination was a hang-on stan... READ MORE
Calling All Bucks
By Tracy Breen
What you say and when you say it are crucial to successful calling. Most of you have tried deer calls, and I’m sure if we conducted a poll, your opinions would be mixed. Some deer hunters swear by grunt tubes, cans and snort-wheeze calls and use them every year. It’s not uncommon to see a hunter pull into the local coffee shop with a bi... READ MORE
Shoot the Gap
By P.J. Reilly
How often does a buck show up at exactly 20, 30 or 40 yards? In a perfect world, all bucks would carry BTR racks. They’d never see, hear or smell us, and they’d all show up in daylight and stop broadside in clear shooting lanes at exactly 20, 30 or 40 yards. Unfortunately, this isn’t a perfect world, and bucks, especially mature o... READ MORE
Food Plots and Antlers
By David Hart
There are plenty of reasons to plant food plots, but keep your expectations realistic. A decade ago, food plots were little more than a place to hang a treestand and bring deer into the open. These days, food plots have become not only a hunting tool, but management tool. Hunters use them to provide high-quality forage that, in theory, helps bucks ... READ MORE
Eliminate Hand Torque
By P.J. Reilly
A good bow shot starts with a proper foundation at the grip. When building a house, the most important part of the project is making sure the foundation is level and straight. If the foundation is off, everything you put on top also is going to be askew, and that can lead to a lifetime of problems. The way you grip your bow is the foundation of a g... READ MORE
The Smell of Success
By Bob Humphrey
Use a whitetail buck’s No. 1 sense against him. Light was fading quickly and I was ready to close the book on another afternoon when I caught sight of movement in the stream bottom. Hefting my trusty Nikon 10x42s, I saw a big doe following a trail that paralleled the stream. Her trail would take her past me, well out of bow range. She paused ... READ MORE
ATVs: Gas or Electric?
By Bob Humphrey
Which is right for you depends on how you use it. As more people try to reduce their consumption of fossil fuels, electric and hybrid automobiles are becoming available and more popular. The same is somewhat true off the road, although electric ATVs, or EVs, have actually been available to the masses for quite awhile. While earlier versions of elec... READ MORE
Field of Greens
By Joe Blake
When it comes to brassicas, if you plant them, deer will come. There it was again, the deep, amorous grunt of a whitetail. The morning had not lightened enough to show me the buck I knew was close, but the eastern sky was becoming alive with color, so I tightened the grip on my 60-pound longbow and waited impatiently. I knew where the buck was head... READ MORE
Can you Beat a Deer’s Nose?
By David Hart
We spend millions on scent-blocking products. Do they work? I felt like the odd man out. After eight of us pulled on camouflage and slipped into our boots each morning, I stepped outside to enjoy the brisk Illinois air before being shuttled to my morning bow stand. Six others stayed in the outfitter’s scent-free room and spritzed themselves w... READ MORE
Ghost Deer
By Bob Humphrey
Albinos and piebalds are rare, but should they be protected? I entered the woods and was slipping along at a somewhat casual pace, scouting more than hunting, when a deer broke from cover in front of me. Cursing myself for being too casual, I stopped to survey the area. My intent was to find a likely ambush spot, then go back for the climber I&rsqu... READ MORE
Talk Yourself Down
By Russell Thornberry
A few soothing words can keep you from losing your cool on a big buck. While bowhunting in Ohio a few years ago, I met a fellow hunter who was an avid hunting TV fan. He was remembering a show he had seen where I shot a nice whitetail, and his comment took me by surprise. “After you dropped that buck, you turned calmly to the camera and said,... READ MORE
Tar Heel Haunting
By Tyson Williamson
Trophy dream comes true in a ghostly way for this North Carolina deer hunter. My amazing story started when I got to hunt a friend’s land in central North Carolina. It’s a large block of woods surrounded by housing developments just outside the city limits. Surprisingly, there is very little hunting pressure. In early August of 2010, I ... READ MORE
Why Food Plots Fail
By David Hart
Food plots take time, effort and money to do them right. You spent hundreds of dollars on chemicals, fertilizer and seed, not to mention countless hours turning dirt on your ATV. But there you are, staring at a mess that was supposed to be your deer hunting honey hole. It might be a few skimpy clumps of clover swallowed by a sea of weeds, or it cou... READ MORE
Thank You, Dad
By Anthony R. Knight
Timely invite salvages dream hunt for new father. My love of hunting began when I was 10 years old when I went rabbit hunting with my dad near our home in Tennessee. I got my first rabbit that year with a 20-gauge single-shot H&R shotgun my parents got me for Christmas. Although I didn’t get a deer that year, I was hooked on hunting. I wa... READ MORE
Be Realistic
By P.J. Reilly
Passing up small bucks is great, if there are bigger bucks in the area. My outfitter buddy loves to tell the same story at camp every year. It’s about a group of guys who signed up to hunt with him during Illinois’ late muzzleloader season. My buddy had e-mailed the guys to tell them what to expect, what gear they should bring, etc. He ... READ MORE
Game Changers
By Collected By Tim H. Martin
Buckmasters’ staffers share tips that have helped fill their tags. THE TARSAL HOARDER (Jackie Bushman) We can thank the good folks at Scent-Lok and Tink’s for developing scent-absorbing clothing, scent attractants and odor eliminators that fool a deer’s nose pretty doggone well. Today’s technology and improvements in hunting... READ MORE