It’s not uncommon for deer hunters to hang up their bows or guns after the rut and spend late season in their living rooms. And, to a degree, I can understand. After several months of hunting season, it’s only human to be a little worn down. However, these folks are missing out.
The late season can be just as productive as the famed month of November if you play your cards right. But knowing the right move to make is easier said than...

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...

Once November hits, my internal countdown clock begins driving me into a mild panic as each day passes without killing a buck. I know I’m not the only one.
A lot of us have been programmed to believe that the first two weeks of November are our absolute best chance to kill a buck all year, and if it doesn’t happen then, it might not happen at all. This is far from the truth.
In fact, the second half of November can offer plenty of...

Fall has settled across the Back 40, and deer season is in full swing. With a few target bucks identified, I’ve invited Doug Duren to hunt the late October pre-rut. Both of us are disciples of conservation writer Aldo Leopold, who famously advocated for Americans to develop a new land ethic. Leopold challenged us to shift our relationship with the land, to act as stewards instead of conquerors.
We’d love to tag a big buck, but deer down or...

You shot a deer. The first question is how long you should wait before going to look for it.
As a young hunter in the 1990s, I couldn’t help but be impressed by my uncle’s backwoods approach to this issue. Before each hunt, he’d pack a thick cigar inside his jacket. If he shot a buck, he’d smoke it down to the end and only then leave his blind to pick up the blood trail. Despite the simplistic allure of the burn down strategy, I’ve learned that...

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...

I remember my first time like it was yesterday.
It was November 5. The air was crisp and the trees held their leaves by a thread. A doe slipped silently into the green field ahead of me, with a buck of magazine cover proportions trailing behind her. She flicked her tail twice, stood still, and looked over her shoulder as the 10-pointer sauntered up behind. He took a moment to compose himself and then mounted the doe.
It was the first time I’d...

When you hunt elk at elevation, thermals are always on your mind. In the whitetail woods, that’s usually not the case. Thermals in the high country are almost as predictable as ocean tides, creating noticeable updrafts in the morning and downdrafts in the evening. In the whitetail woods, you might not even feel them. But if you hunt bluffy territory, creek drainages, or river bottoms, you should think about them.
Thermals occur when the ambient...

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...

Introducing Ask the Eagle, where I’ll be answering your questions about everything from hunting to butchering to marriage. This week, an Instagram follower wants to know if it’s unethical to shoot a deer right after stepping out of the pickup.
Have a question of your own? You can write to me asktheeagle@themeateater.com.