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Mark Kenyon
Mark Kenyon
Mark Kenyon is the author of That Wild Country, founder of Wired To Hunt, and host of the industry-leading Wired To Hunt Podcast. He is a nationally published writer, a QDMA certified Deer Steward, and MeatEater's resident "whitetail guy."

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Whitetail Deer

The Single Best Way to Get Bucks on Trail Cam (Without Bait)
Hang a trail camera in front of a pile of corn or a mineral block and you’re almost guaranteed to get an SD card full of deer photos. It used to be that simple. But with increasing concerns over disease in recent years, more and more states are outlawing the use of bait at trail camera sites. For many deer hunters hoping to get quality intel during the summer or fall, this can pose a significant challenge.
Fortunately, there’s a simple...

Ep. 363: What Would Steve Bartylla Do?
Today on the show I’m joined by outdoor writer and whitetail consultant Steve Bartylla for his take on a series of hypothetical deer hunting scenarios varying from private land habitat improvements to public land hunting tactics.
Topics discussed:

What would Steve to a new lease if he only had two weekends in August to improve it?
What to do if you have to share a great, but small, hunting property with a family member who hunts poorly...

Whitetail Deer

Ask MeatEater: How High Do You Hang Tree Stands?
You’ve got questions. We’ve got answers (and if we don’t, we’ll make them up). Every day, fellow MeatEaters send us more than 100 emails regarding hunting, fishing, cooking, conservation, and more. So, we decided to publish a series dedicated to our favorite FAQs. This is Ask MeatEater.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to how high you should hang your tree stands. But by considering three factors, you can get to an answer that’s right for...

Whitetail Deer

How Legal Spotlighting Can Help You Kill More Deer
Spotlighting. Shining. Jacklighting.
Without context, any of these terms can conjure images of some of the worst wildlife offenders in America—nighttime poachers using a bright light to blind deer into paralysis and then swinging a rifle out the window. This is an unfortunate reality in some parts of the country, but not a complete picture of the practice.
Spotlights can be used legally, at certain times and in certain ways, as a valuable tool to...

Ep. 362: What Would John Eberhart Do?
Today on the show I’m joined by the legendary DIY Michigan bowhunter John Eberhart to discuss what exactly he would do in some of the deer hunting world’s toughest scenarios.
Topics discussed:

How John’s 2020 whitetail preparations are coming
What would John do if he gained permission on a new property at the end of August with only one weekend to prep?
It’s October 1 and you have to choose between a dynamite apple tree set or...

Whitetail Deer

Answering the 3 Most Common Questions About Tree Saddle Hunting
I first heard about tree saddles more than a decade ago. At the time I thought hanging from a tree by a waist harness seemed uncomfortable, impractical, and downright foolish. But it turns out I was the fool.
Ten years later I finally gave saddles a try—only to realize I’d been missing out in a big way. I’ve used saddles extensively in the last few years and now see them as one of the most effective tools for hunting deer from an elevated...

Ep. 361: Islands, Big Woods, and Northeast Bucks with John Altman
Today on the show I’m joined by John Altman, of the new whitetail show Sea Bucks, to discuss his unique tactics for hunting mature bucks across the islands and big woods of the Northeast.
Topics discussed:

Why island hunting is a sneaky effective way to hunt mature bucks
Tips for accessing islands to hunt deer
How wind and available space impact how you hunt islands
How John killed a 12+ year old island buck
Annual patterns for Northeast...

Ep. 360: A New Era in Deer Conservation with Nick Pinnizzoto, Kip Adams, and Lindsay Thomas Jr
Today on the show I’m joined by Nick Pinizzotto, Kip Adams, and Lindsay Thomas Jr to discuss one of the most significant changes in the deer conservation world in decades – the merging of the Quality Deer Management Association and the National Deer Alliance into a brand new organization.
Topics discussed:

Why the QDMA and NDA are merging into a new organization
The mission of the new organization
How will this impact deer and deer...

Wildlife Management

The Biggest Change for Deer Conservation in Decades
The deer hunting conservation space is changing in a big way this summer. Today the Quality Deer Management Association and National Deer Alliance announced their plans to merge into a new, combined organization. This is a group that will service all deer and deer hunters.
This represents the end of the QDMA, in name at least, which was founded 32 years ago and has arguably been the most influential whitetail deer conservation organization in U.S...

Ep. 359: The Evolution of our Summer Whitetail Prep
Today on the show I’m joined by Dan Johnson to recap our latest summer whitetail projects and evolving thought processes around summertime deer prep.
Topics discussed:

Our latest debacles in parenting and the outdoors
Catching up on Mark and Dan BS
Hypothetical dream bucks
The evolution of Mark and Dan’s summer trail camera processes
Scouting new public land
Why we don’t set many tree stands in the spring or summer anymore
Summertime...