Last year we bought a small, non-descript farm in Michigan with the goal of transforming it into a hunting and wildlife paradise. We documented the whole process in our Back 40 YouTube series. After two autumns on the farm, we’re ready for the final and most exciting phase of the project: We’re...

I’m a hunter and I’m colorblind. For a guy who has to follow a lot of blood trails, this is not a good combination. But I’m not alone. According to reports from San Francisco State University, about 5% of females and 8% of males have some form of colorblindness. This means there are likely hundreds...

It’s a moment every father dreams of. My son drew back on the buck, took a deep breath, paused for a moment to settle in, and then released his arrow. It was a perfect shot. “Dadda, I ga ga the deer buck!” My son is two years old and the buck he shot is made of foam. But I kid you not, he anchored...

Hunting whitetails in the backyard is awfully fun, and going to family deer camp is a blast. But my absolute favorite place to return to after a long day of public land hunting is a DIY truck camp. The combination of sleeping quarters, gear storage, and transportatability make this the ultimate...

There are few things more precious than a sense of control. We cling to it like small children grasping their mother’s hand. When it’s lost, we’re helpless at sea. What could be worse than losing control of something we love as much as hunting? This is what I, and tens of thousands of other bow...

Now more than ever, having realistic turkey decoys is critical. “There’s been an education curve out there for these birds today,” veteran turkey hunter and MeatEater contributor Tony Peterson said. “We’ve killed off a lot of the dumb ones.” With most of those “dumb” birds gone, we’re left hunting...

Like most firsts, my inaugural shit in the woods was a clumsy endeavor. I was 6 years old and on the brink of an emergency several miles into the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. My mother escorted me behind a large tree, instructed me to pull down my pants, squat, and take care of business...

After spending August working my ass off on the Back 40, I’m ready to get the heck off of the property and let it rest. Michigan is one of the most heavily hunted states in the country, which gives our farm the opportunity to be one of the few small properties that doesn’t spook every mature buck...

A twig snaps. You can hear footsteps. A four-legged figure approaches. A deer? Nope, just a coyote. For many hunters, the immediate next step is to reach for the gun or bow. But is that such a good idea? The first issue of concern when shooting a ’yote mid-deer hunt is the impact of the shot itself...

I bet this sounds familiar: You draw your bow and watch as the pin floats back and forth around the bullseye. You struggle to keep still, and then as soon as it’s about to touch the center of the target, you hammer the trigger. Or, maybe you draw your bow, aim, and just as the pin touches the...