Wired To Hunt

When I first started tracking whitetail bucks in the big woods, things always seemed to go the same way. I’d find a buck track, and then I’d meticulously follow it through the forest all day long without ever seeing the buck that made it. It frustrated me because I thought I was doing everything...

There’s a small section on a particular piece of public I look forward to hunting every year during the peak rut. There’s about a three- or four-day stretch that I know I’ll see bucks chasing in this specific stretch of woods. The first year I hunted this spot, I was nearly trampled by a group of...

Think of the piece of public hunting ground closest to your house. You know, that property 15 minutes from town that has multiple trucks in the parking lot every weekend throughout deer season. As you drive by, you probably think to yourself, “How could that property possibly be worth hunting? There...

Hunters drool over fresh rubs and scrapes. They’re thrilling to see during a scouting session or hunt, but deer are drawn to them for other reasons. Research from the University of Georgia shows that fresh rubs and scrapes actually glow for deer like “neon lights.” This first-of-its-kind study...

On December 15, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) announced the end of a controversial CWD control program: a sharpshooting initiative that involved baiting and spotlighting deer in areas where CWD has been detected. MDC Director Jason Sumners announced the news in an open letter. “As...

Two years ago, I was ready to throw hands at the next person to tell me to go mobile. I had only recently ditched ladder stands for climbing stands, which I considered mobile enough. The last thing I wanted to do was learn a new hunting system. I put up a brave fight against peer pressure, but...

Roger Maes knows he’ll recognize his grandfather’s nearly century-old trophy buck whether it’s in online photo lineups, hanging in a Northwoods tavern, or fully restored and displayed at a giant hunting/fishing store. But the Madison, Wisconsin, resident hasn't seen the buck for over 30 years, not...

Large blocks of public land appeal to me. There’s something remote, almost mythical about them. The cool thing about these places is that it feels like deer can come from anywhere at any time. Personally, that gives me more confidence in a spot. Often, these places require more walking, which tends...