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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...

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...

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...

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...

Whitetail Deer

Fact Checker: Can You Identify a Mature Buck by Droppings?

Spencer Neuharth

Nov 6, 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
An observant hunter can identify deer sex by studying droppings. Large piles of soft scat are made by bucks, and small piles...

Whitetail Deer

Rut Fresh Report: 10/31

Spencer Neuharth

Oct 31, 2019

For many serious big buck hunters, right now is the favorite time of year to tag a mature whitetail—even though we’re still a week out from the best rutting activity. The reason is that these next couple days are when those homebody bucks will get out of their beds a little sooner in the evening, freshen their favorite scrapes in daylight, and start checking doe groups for those first willing females.
Last week, those wise bucks would have still...

Whitetail Deer

Hunter Gored by Buck He Shot, Dies in Hospital

Spencer Neuharth

Oct 24, 2019

We run a lot of coverage of bears, lions, and wolves attacking humans, but this is a new one for us. According to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, a 66-year-old hunter died this week while recovering a whitetail buck that he’d shot.
“I’ve worked for the game and fish commission for 20 years, and it’s one of the stranger things that’s happened,” said Keith Stephens, chief of communications, in an interview with KY3 News.
The hunter was...

Whitetail Deer

This Might Be the New World Record Whitetail

Spencer Neuharth

Oct 23, 2019

Social media is abuzz this morning as deer hunters fawn over what might be the new world record whitetail. Guner Womack, a teen out of Oklahoma, arrowed this incredible 8×8 buck last night while hunting over a wheat field.
“We’ve had him on camera for several years and watched him grow up,” Womack said. “He was real broken up last year, but we knew if he could make it through the winter that he would be something...

Whitetail Deer

What is the Best Day of the Whitetail Rut?

Spencer Neuharth

Oct 16, 2019

I’d wager to say that bowhunters burn up a majority of their vacation time in the first half of November. It’s for good reason, as most whitetail enthusiasts agree there’s no better time to be in the woods.
I reached out to 10 big buck experts to take a closer look at that part of the season. They shared with me their favorite day of the rut and why it sticks out to them. November 7th was the most popular choice, and 70% picked a day between...

Whitetail Deer

How to Pick a Good Deer Taxidermist

Spencer Neuharth

Oct 10, 2019

Taxidermists are like referees. When they do their job well, you hardly notice them. But when the job is done poorly, it commands attention in a bad way.
In many cases, exceptional taxidermy contains details that the average person won’t pick up on. I reached out to some taxidermists to ask what they look for when judging a peer’s work, and here’s what they said customers should be keen to.
Eyes
Eye shape and placement is critical, and it’s often...