Rack Magazine

Don't Try To Prolong The Rut Past Its Natural Time

Don't Try To Prolong The Rut Past Its Natural Time

By Ken Piper

There's a reason so many hunters look forward to the peak of the rut -- bucks get stupid and forget some of their safety habits in favor of chasing does. They are more likely to fall victim to rattling, grunting and scents at that time of year, and hunters often change their habits accordingly -- all of which is good. As we head into many states' l... READ MORE

Killin’ Tree

Killin’ Tree

By Gita M. Smith

“Screee!” Regan Martin winced. His lock-on stand’s seat had flipped up, announcing his presence to every deer in three western Illinois counties. A nearby doe startled and blew at him. Of course. But nothing else ran away or sounded an alarm in the chill November air, so maybe it wasn’t so bad. “Screee!”... READ MORE

Teamwork

Teamwork

By Buckmasters

One of the biggest whitetails felled in the South in 2016 came out of the Peach State, proof that two heads (and guns) are sometimes better than one. One of those heads belongs to Shannon Sledge, who owns a dairy farm near Ty Ty, Georgia. The other rested on the shoulders of a friend who’s also an employee, Skippy White. Skippy had been... READ MORE

Fantasy Island

Fantasy Island

By Dale Weddle

White-tailed deer are one of the most adaptive species in North America. Urban sprawl and loss of habitat might have decimated rabbit and quail populations, but acorn and stick munchers continue to thrive in the shadows of our biggest cities. Just ask R.C. Rogers of Louisville, Kentucky, who hunts a relatively small 35 acres surrounded by urban ... READ MORE

Playing the Wind

Playing the Wind

By Mike Handley

Had it not been a Sunday evening, Mike Nelson probably would’ve shot a doe on Oct. 15. But as much as he likes venison, he didn’t want to spend the next few hours elbow deep in it. “It was just too much trouble,” he admitted. “I had to work the next day, so I didn’t want to stay up ’til midnight, cutting... READ MORE

Gone Today, Here Tomorrow

Gone Today, Here Tomorrow

By Ed Waite

Nineteen-year-old Luke Lohan, a heavy equipment operator in the oil and gas fields of eastern Ohio, loves to prowl his family’s 46 acres during deer season, and he often has a particular deer on his mind. His most wanted in 2017 was the same buck he hunted in 2015 and 2016. “For the past three years, I have collected photographs o... READ MORE

The One That Got Away

The One That Got Away

By John E. Phillips

Tony Viteritto has hunted Kim Burrows’ 45 acres in north Alabama since October 2012, the year shoulder problems caused him to trade his regular bow for a crossbow. Going into the 2016 season, he’d taken two 8-pointers from what he calls the Skull Stand, so named because he found a deer skull nearby. He’d never seen a buck there... READ MORE

Midwest, Schmidwest

Midwest, Schmidwest

By John E. Phillips

New Jersey deer hunter Leonard Gilbert never dreamed he’d see himself in a hunting publication. “I watch most of the TV shows and read Rack and several other magazines,” says the 33-year-old. “I’ve always said, ‘I can’t take one of those big bucks unless I go to the Midwest or Canada. We don’t have... READ MORE

And from Public Land, No Less

And from Public Land, No Less

By Mike Handley

Less than an hour after settling into his stand on Dec. 13, 2016, Josh Clark changed his mind. The clock was ticking on the last day of the Canemount Wildlife Management Area’s primitive weapons hunt, and he wanted to look at something else, preferably a deer. The hunter from Iuka, Mississippi, had already devoted a day and a half to th... READ MORE

It’s Not Over ’til the Arrow Sings

It’s Not Over ’til the Arrow Sings

By Lisa Price

For many years, Jared Trosclair of Lutcher, Louisiana, was content to pursue whitetails in his home state. The self-described ne’er-do-well ate, slept and breathed deer hunting, but success often eluded him. But then he met Sidney and Gail Meacham, the couple he credits with upping his game. “I was the biggest deer hunting enthusi... READ MORE

From Moping to Moon-walking

From Moping to Moon-walking

By Ed Waite

On the eve of Indiana’s 2007 shotgun season, Steve Padgett learned that his son, Steven, couldn’t make it home from college. Father and son had not missed an opening day since junior was old enough to carry a gun. “I was really bummed,” Steve said. “It was probably the first time since 1978 that I could not force my... READ MORE

Daddy Sang Tenor

Daddy Sang Tenor

By Mike Handley

Some men squeak when they see rats, snakes or spiders. It takes a dead buck – a big one – for Bill Nadeau to sing tenor. That said, the deer hunter from Indiahoma, Oklahoma, outsang Luciano Pavarotti on Nov. 3. While looking for the buck he shot that afternoon, Bill called a buddy, Kris Borden. The phone was to his ear when he fou... READ MORE

An Hour to Spare

An Hour to Spare

By Ed Waite

Ohio’s 2016 deer season didn’t get off to a particularly good start for Adam Wells. Because of the hotter-than-usual weather, he rarely ventured outdoors except to monitor trail cameras. Collecting photos is Adam’s favorite way of keeping tabs on the whitetails roaming the farm he’s hunted for many years. But the act itse... READ MORE

Hot Spot

Hot Spot

By Mike Handley

The beetle man hates Josh Feldman, but at least one taxidermist near Alton, Illinois, could kiss him. Had it not been for Josh’s shaming, Aaron Fry might’ve paid to have insects clean his 2017 buck’s skull so he could screw it to a plaque. But the cape and antlers are now with a taxidermist, soon to be Aaron’s first troph... READ MORE

Nine Years of Yesterdays... Still-hunting might be unjustly underrated.

Nine Years of Yesterdays... Still-hunting might be unjustly underrated.

By John E. Phillips

Nine years have passed since Kevin Cottrell of Bonnieville, Kentucky, shot his career-best whitetail. But he remembers Nov. 11, 2007, as if it were only yesterday. The 44-year-old hunts deer on his own 31-acre farm in Hart County. “I’d been putting out bait in front of my trail camera since before the 2007 bow season arrived. This... READ MORE

How to Become a Conspiracy Theorist

How to Become a Conspiracy Theorist

By BTR Files

One week after missing a giant buck in a neighbor’s alfalfa field near his home in Archerwill, Saskatchewan, Bruce Ewen returned on Nov. 26, 1992, hoping for a second opportunity at the top-heavy whitetail. He wasn’t able to get off a follow-up shot during his initial visit because his second cartridge became stuck in the rifle’s ... READ MORE

Tricked by a Wick

Tricked by a Wick

By Ed Waite

Impromptu reunion ends with hunter relishing new role as bean protector. Steve Davis doesn’t have a place of his own to bowhunt deer, so he must rely on the kindness of others. In 2016, he had permission to hunt a very small lot. Though the property had little to offer deer, Steve returned at every opportunity to sit in his stand with finge... READ MORE

Second Season, Second Buck

Second Season, Second Buck

By Mike Handley

Nine-year-old Missouri girl upstages her little brother on opening day of the 2016 youth season. Sharing a deer stand with a kid can be both incredibly rewarding and challenging. Just ask brothers Scott and Jeremy Knox. Ten days before Missouri’s 2016 youth season opened, Scott went out to the family farm to look for deer sign and retrieve tr... READ MORE

Righteous Recon

Righteous Recon

By John E. Pillips

After braving the sauna and no-see-um hatchery that is LBL in September, Alabamians rush home to throw money at a taxidermist. Jacob Lamar of Athens, Alabama, knows the value of homework. Before he and his brother, Adam, drove up to hunt Kentucky’s Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, he pored over maps, photos and even walked a... READ MORE

The Right 3 Acres

The Right 3 Acres

By Rex Burdick

A chance roadside sighting and a knock on a door lead this Kansan to a dream buck. In the summer of 2015, the owners of ground I’d leased and hunted for more than 12 years told me they were leasing the place to someone else. I couldn’t afford to match what was offered, so I just had to suck it up and find a new place. One late-July nigh... READ MORE

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