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BuckMag Features
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Lucky or Cursed?
By Steve Bartylla
The story of a buck named Moses. As the buck came trotting down the woods edge toward Trevor Oleson, the hunter couldn’t believe it; he was looking at a local legend. Although Trevor had never laid eyes on the buck, he’d seen the pictures and heard the stories. There was no doubt that this was Moses. The only question that remained was ... READ MORE
Fools Rush In
By Jim Wardlow
If the weather’s too bad to go to work, go hunting instead! It was the second day of the second shotgun season in Rock Island County, Ill., and we were getting our first big snow of the year. I wasn’t happy about heading to work on such a perfect hunting day — any day in the woods is better than a day at work. Then my boss called ... READ MORE
The Language of Smells
By Bob Humphrey
Whitetails communicate as much with smell as they do with vocalizations. It was the fourth day of my Kansas bowhunt, and things hadn’t gone particularly well. A clean miss the first morning and unseasonably warm temperatures had haunted me for three days. Somehow I had to make amends, but with rain and more high temperatures in the forecast, ... READ MORE
Make Your Move
By Jeff Murray
When it’s time to make a mid-season move, it’s all about surprise. In spite of our best whitetail preparations, events sometimes conspire against us. But the main problem isn’t that setbacks occur; it’s how we react to them. A prime example is the hot stand that suddenly goes cold. Some hunters hang in there because of fond ... READ MORE
The Not-So-Perfect Spot
By Joe Blake
Despite loads of sign and tons of deer sightings, there are places on this earth that God seemingly created just to frustrate hunters. From my perch on an open ridge high above the James River valley in central North Dakota, I could see nine BTR whitetails — the same nine bucks I had glassed the week before, and the same nine bucks I had glas... READ MORE
Second Chance Dream Buck
By Travis Faulkner
Most hunters never get to see a giant buck, let alone get two chances to take one. Anyone who has ever climbed into a treestand has envisioned the ultimate buck. You know the one I am talking about. It’s the buck responsible for all those sleepless nights before the opening day of season. This buck is also the driving force behind waking up e... READ MORE
The Great Escape
By Mike Handley
For dad, it’s a break from students; for son, a break from teachers. Driving 1,200 miles through five states isn’t so bad when the destination is a long-anticipated hunt during the peak of the rut. The return trip, however, can be grueling. You can’t click the muddy heels of your camo boots together and wake up back home in Pennsy... READ MORE
Public Land Pursuits
By Travis J. Faulkner
These strategies will help you take big bucks from high-pressure areas. Most deer hunters believe it isn’t possible to regularly take trophy bucks on public land. Such results have to happen behind a high fence at some expensive hunting lodge, right? The truth is that some of the biggest bucks have been taken from areas that any of us could h... READ MORE
Mounting Up the Memories
By Gary Bellis
A father and son share the magic of their public-land trophies. I started hunting deer when I was about 35 years old and immediately got hooked on bowhunting. I took my first deer – a 5-pointer – with a used PSE compound I bought for $50. I thought there was no better kind of hunting. That was before I took my son, Kyle. After Kyle took... READ MORE
One Shot, One Kill
By Tom Fegely
Since smokepoles provide just one chance, you’d better make it count.
Over the four decades I’ve been hunting whitetails, I’ve cleanly killed perhaps a dozen fast-running deer, although none were more than 75 yards away. Some were missed cleanly. Most of the fast-movers whose overdrive had kicked in were simply watched through bi... READ MORE
Just Passing Through
By Sy Gibbs
Virginia hunter finds a permanent home for lovesick buck. I began hunting whitetails when I was about 15 in Charles City, Va., where county regulations allow the use of dogs. After graduating from high school, I went to Ferrum College in Franklin County and made friends who lived in the area. I was lucky enough to be allowed to hunt their land, but... READ MORE
Scouting Homework
By Jeff Murray
Find bedding areas now to make your fall season a success Deer hunters end up in the darnedest places for the darnedest reasons. Some just hunt where they used to hunt. Others rely on tips (from the UPS man to website scuttlebutt). Still others follow the sign (beds, trails, droppings, rubs, scrapes, you name it). It doesn’t really matter how... READ MORE
The Waiting Game
By William T. Strickland
Practice, patience and perseverance pay off... eventually. In July 2004, my good friend Clay Young, owner of Mexico Outfitters Unlimited in Del Rio, Texas, called and said he had an unexpected opening for a five-day hunt on his premier low-fence ranch in Mexico. The La Margarita is a 33,000-acre cattle ranch that has been under a strict trophy deer... READ MORE
Big Nasty
By Rob Brennan
With a rack like this, there could be only one name for this buck. In 2005, I bought my third trail camera. The first week, I got some photographs of a tremendous buck in one of my Biologic food plots. When my children saw the pictures, they described the deer’s rack as “big and nasty.” That led to our nicknaming it “Big Nas... READ MORE
No Time for Nerves
By Rob Meade
It took only a few seconds to make a memory that will last a lifetime. The alarm went off at 3 a.m. on Oct. 21, 2006, and Justin Metzner rose from his bed to prepare for a bowhunt in southern Ohio. Once dressed, he headed out to pick up his buddy, Jeremy Fannin, and the two hunters began the three-hour drive to Adams County. Their destination was a... READ MORE
Muzzleloader Gremlins
By Tom Fegely
Attention to detail before the hunt is even more important with smokepoles.
It doesn’t take much to spoil a muzzleloader hunt.
On one of my first flintlock outings more than 30 years ago, I wasted a valuable part of an afternoon following the clean miss of a doe I encountered on my way to a backwoods treestand. After firing, then verifying ... READ MORE
Shoot More Does ... Or Else
By David Hart
Are our grandfathers’ views on shooting female deer still valid today? There’s something about antlers we just can’t resist. Put a healthy doe and a pencil-horn spike in front of a guy with a .30-06 in his hands and the odds are he’ll center the crosshairs on the buck. Every time. While some dedicated deer hunters have come ... READ MORE
Misconceptions
By Bob Humphrey
If you repeat something often enough, people will think it’s true. The sun and the temperature were well up, so I decided to abandon my stand in favor of a stroll around the woodlot. Deer movement was nil. There was a chance I might jump one, but I was more interested in doing a little scouting. I’d just cleared a thick patch of firs wh... READ MORE
Scouting with a Purpose
By Jeff Murray
Just like the rut, scouting has phases that come together to complete the process.
“Patience is bitter, but its fruits are sweet.” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau
I view seasonal scouting as an event leading up to a promising hunt — something to be savored, much like a bowl of homemade soup. Unfortunately, most hunters view scouti... READ MORE
Shooting the Moon
By Bob Humphrey
Just how much does the moon influence deer movement and rut activity? It was 4 p.m. - broad daylight - when I glanced out the window and saw five deer strolling up the back field. Seeing deer in the back yard isn’t all that unusual, but they typically don’t show until the last half hour of daylight. Furthermore, all five deer seemed rat... READ MORE