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Spencer Neuharth

Spencer Neuharth is the hunting editor of MeatEater, producer of Wired to Hunt, and founder of Rut Fresh. His writing has been featured in over a dozen magazines, including Field & Stream, Petersen's Hunting, and Men's Journal. His work is a reflection of his roots as a whitetail hunter and training as a biologist.

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Whitetail Deer

Are Big Rubs Made by Big Bucks?

Spencer Neuharth

Dec 4, 2019

For archers seeking out deer sign, it doesn’t get much more obvious than rubs. In most cases, rubs start showing up in mid-September when bucks begin to feel a spike in testosterone. It’s a visual and chemical way for deer to communicate: shredding the bark off a tree while leaving behind scent from their forehead glands.
There’s a lot of lore when it comes to rubs, as they’ve been captivating outdoorsmen for centuries. You’ll often hear...

Saltwater

Could There Actually Be Bull Sharks in the Midwest?

Spencer Neuharth

Dec 3, 2019

When I worked for the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks, it was inevitable that every summer I’d get approached by people asking about sharks in the Missouri River. I’d always explain that sharks have never been documented this far north, but that usually didn’t quell their fears.
The furthest inland a bull shark has ever been seen in North America is Alton, Ill. Alton sits along the Mississippi River about 15 miles north of St. Louis, and 175...

Anthropology

The First Thanksgiving: Wild Game, Extinction, and Stuffing

Spencer Neuharth

Nov 26, 2019

A few years ago, Twitter put together a list of the most tweeted-about food on Thanksgiving. It was stacked with the classics like ham, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pie.
If social media existed when the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians celebrated the first Turkey Day, the plates appearing on our news feeds would look radically different.
“Most of today’s classic Thanksgiving dishes weren’t served in 1621,” said Kathleen Curt, a culinary...

Whitetail Deer

Rut Fresh Report: 11/21

Spencer Neuharth

Nov 22, 2019

Much of the country is now on the other side of the rut, but that doesn’t mean it’s over. Although the first couple weeks of November offer the best chance at a rutting buck, the second half of the month is still a great stretch to tag a mature whitetail. In fact, for some big buck killers, this is the preferred time to strike.
At this phase in the rut, most does have been bred and will yet again be distancing themselves from bucks. This can...

Big Game

Fact Checker: Does Gutting Deer Make Your Farts Smell Like Guts?

Spencer Neuharth

Nov 21, 2019

Myths, lies, and old wives’ tales loom large in the outdoor pursuits. Here at MeatEater, we’re dedicated to separating facts from bullsh*t, so we created this series to examine suspect yarns. If there’s a belief, rumor or long-held assumption you’d like us to fact check, drop us a note at factchecker@themeateater.com.
Claim
After field dressing a kill, your gas will start to smell like animal organs within 24 hours. This observation has been made...

Wildlife Management

Ask a Warden: What’s the Most Common Injury You See?

Spencer Neuharth

Nov 18, 2019

In our new series, Ask a Warden, we’ll be interviewing officers from across the country to learn about their role in protecting our game, fish, and other resources. In this edition, we asked officers from Minnesota, West Virginia, and Arizona what injury they deal with most is.
I’ve buried hooks in my hands and slipped coming out of treestands, but nothing has warranted a 911 call yet. Odds are if something did happen, a warden would be the...

Whitetail Deer

Rut Fresh Report: 11/14

Spencer Neuharth

Nov 14, 2019

The rut is a bell curve that climaxes in mid-November. Every day you get closer to that date, daylight buck movement increases. Every day you get further away, daylight buck movement decreases. This is an important concept to grasp as we approach what hunters consider the lockdown phase of the rut.
Lockdown is when a buck finds a willing doe that’s in estrus. Many hunters imagine a two to three-day window where buck movement shuts down and that...

Wildlife Management

Ask a Warden: What Day Do You Write the Most Tickets?

Spencer Neuharth

Nov 13, 2019

In our new series, Ask a Warden, we’ll be interviewing officers from across the country to learn about their role in protecting our game, fish, and other resources. In this edition, we asked officers from Kentucky, Wisconsin, Alaska, and Oklahoma about what day of the year they write the most citations.
The South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks recently posted on Facebook that a check station for pheasant and duck hunters resulted in a 5...

Mule Deer

Is This the New Texas State Record Mule Deer?

Spencer Neuharth

Nov 12, 2019

A few weeks ago, we told you about the potential new world record whitetail killed by a teen in Oklahoma. Now, it’s rumored another record was broken by their neighbors to the south.
Greg Simons of San Angelo, Texas, shot a mule deer last week that seems likely to break the Texas non-typical record. Simons has been following the deer on his free-range ranch since it was a 3.5-year-old, electing to pass on the buck multiple times.
“With the traits...

Whitetail Deer

Rut Fresh Report: 11/7

Spencer Neuharth

Nov 7, 2019

This is it—the rut is here. If you whitetail hunt in the East, Midwest, or West, these next couple of days will be the best of the season.
During this stage of the rut, you can ignore almost all outside factors. Temperature, barometric pressure, precipitation, and moon phase aren’t going to deter a buck from moving this week. The most important thing is that you’re in the field as much as possible.
To kill a buck during the rut, just keep it...