It’s becoming increasingly common to travel outside of home states in pursuit of North America’s most popular game animal. Although nearly every state hosts huntable whitetail populations, there are a few that stand above the rest.
These states have exceptional public land opportunities, economical tags, good license availability, and trophy potential that should titillate every DIY hunter. Pack up your truck camping gear and hit these...

Several years ago I was sitting on a Minnesota buck tag as December rolled in. I figured filling that tag was a long shot, but I also had nothing to lose by trying. I made a plan to split my time between private and public ground with the realization that I didn’t have access to a single acre of a food plot or agricultural field.
Knowing that, I went looking. With the benefit of snow I found enough trails to justify hanging a few stands. I found...

When there’s snow in the forecast during hunting season, you can bet I’ll be heading to the whitetail woods. That’s for one simple reason: Snow shows deer patterns like a black light exposes invisible ink. Tracks are what tell the story.
Whether it be to follow a buck on foot or verify the presence of mature deer in the area, being able to accurately pick out a big buck track in snow is an important skill for any savvy whitetail hunter. Here’s...

Santa Claus, Christmas carols, and candy canes be damned—now is not the time to get distracted from deer hunting if you still have a tag. The late season can be one of your best chances to kill a buck, but only if you play your cards right. That means paying attention to the weather.
Why?
By the time December and January arrives, most deer have been hunted for three months or more. All that hunting pressure leaves whitetails more cautious and...

Many hunters claim that December is often the best time to kill a mature buck. After all, the rigors of the rut caused them to drop 25% of weight, and packing on pounds is of utmost importance. So, simply hop on your side-by-side and drive out to your favorite box blind to shoot a hitlister over your protein-packed food plot, right?
As someone who primarily hunts public land, or private land that feels like public land, that advice never...

No biologist, veterinarian, or medical professional believes the popular bowhunting claim that deer have dead space high in their chest.
That void, it’s said, lets a broadhead pass through with little harm to the deer if it just happens to exhale as the arrow hits, supposedly opening the space farther. MeatEater’s “consulting physician,” Dr. Alan Lazzara, calls that myth “deer hunting’s magic-bullet theory” for explaining unrecovered deer.
The...