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
Big box stores like Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops will pay premium prices for exceptional deer mounts.
Origin
Every time a...

After five months of dedication to the Back 40, every corner of the property is connected to a lesson. Luckily, there’s still one more chance to capitalize on everything learned this year.
Joining me for the final hunt of the season is Ryan Callaghan and his good friend Anna Borgman, a first-time hunter who grew up in a small town in Oregon. Anna is a part of a program called the Good Meat Project where she teaches butchering classes and promotes...

I remember the first time I ever knocked on a door for hunting permission. My hands were clammy, my voice was shaky and my speech was stumbled. I’m not entirely sure if the landowner denied my request because he didn’t want me hunting there, or if he simply couldn’t understand what I was trying to say. But I do know I learned an important lesson that day: getting hunting permission is hard.
Whether you’re a new hunter or...

Last January, with wind chills ratings across the country dropping as much as 60 degrees below zero, the polar vortex was all anyone could talk about. But many within the outdoors community were thinking about its effects on animals other than ourselves. In particular, the question on the minds of hunters was how exactly do deer survive these kinds of conditions?
Fortunately, whitetail deer are uniquely adapted to handle just about anything...

Having a good ground game is as important to a whitetail hunter as being able to kill deer from a tree. Versatility is your friend, and there are times of the year—like the late season—where one style can offer up an advantage over the other. If you’re looking to arrow a buzzer-beater buck, your best bet might be to go au naturel on the ground.
This is especially true if there’s snow in on the ground to blend in with. Couple that with the fact...

Long before Tom Heberlein was old enough to hunt deer, he watched for his father’s blue, snow-encrusted 1952 Ford pickup to return home from northern Wisconsin each November. It would usually be loaded with dead whitetails tucked among the Christmas trees they’d sell at the family’s gas station.
Heberlein never thought someone could be shocked or offended by the stiff legs, glazed eyes, and slit carcasses of dead deer. After all, his dad wasn’t...