Let’s say we’re engaged in a high-stakes game of tag. If I tag you, I get your house, your truck, and your bow.
You, of course, will be wary of my presence. You might not leave your home too often, and if you do, it will probably be with minimal travel and under the cover of darkness. I likely won’t have much luck trying to tag you at your favorite restaurant, local park, or place of employment. The best spot, I’m guessing, will be at your home...

Can you tell how old a buck is by observing him from afar or studying a photo? Many say they can, but others call BS.
From my experience, aging a deer “on the hoof” is an inexact science. With the right knowledge an estimate is possible, but estimates always come with caveats. They’re subjective, up to personal interpretation, and sometimes region specific. So maybe aging a buck on the hoof is more art than science. Either way, it’s a helpful...

Many hunters picture coyotes scouring woodlots from May to June, snatching newborn fawns between sun-dappled trilliums, and heading home with a hindquarter clamped between their jaws.
Why wouldn’t we envision such scenes? Trail cameras across the U.S. often snap grip-and-grins of coyotes, bobcats, or black bears with freshly killed fawns. But those pictures seldom tell the full story. Recent research suggests fawn predation is much more about...

A few years ago, I interviewed the host of a prominent whitetail TV show about his proven hunting strategies. He started off by saying that he plants around 100 acres of food plots each year. From that point, his hunting decisions are based around having dozens of destination food sources to choose from. Every single one is heavily monitored with trail cams and set up for easy access to blinds and stands. I remember thinking: How is this...

“When I was your age, it was the talk of the town just to see a deer track!”
Sound familiar? Many hunters in the 21st Century have heard similar statements from a father, grandpa, or friendly old-timer reminiscing about the days when whitetail deer were a novelty. Supposedly, the story goes, there was once a time not that long ago when whitetail deer almost disappeared entirely.
I’ve heard it all too, but the idea seems far-fetched. We’re all...

Turkeys starved in treetops. Ravenous raccoons killed nesting turtles and newborn fawns. Countless other wild animals perished during a record 219-day flood last year in Mississippi’s Yazoo Backwater Project.
The Yazoo Backwater’s surrounding levees provided the only high ground for displaced wildlife, but all those miles of manmade barriers provided little sanctuary throughout the unprecedented deluge. The Backwater, or South Delta, covers about...

Misery loves company, so let’s begin here: You’re not alone. I’ve missed deer too. Plenty, actually.
I missed the first deer I ever took a crack at. I also missed a big Ohio 8-pointer a decade ago. I missed an opening day Michigan buck just a few seasons ago. And I missed a couple more in between. Every one of these experiences was miserable, depressing, upsetting, disgusting. I know how you feel. But they each came with a silver lining.
What I...

The number of hunters is declining across North America and the anxiety has reached a fever pitch among industry experts and wildlife conservationists.
At this year’s Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show—the largest of its kind in the world—the marquee press conference revolved around recruiting, retaining, and reactivating hunters in the United States.
“This is the show’s most important press conference,” Jim Curcuruto of the National...

Like most firsts, my inaugural shit in the woods was a clumsy endeavor. I was 6 years old and on the brink of an emergency several miles into the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. My mother escorted me behind a large tree, instructed me to pull down my pants, squat, and take care of business. I did as she described and promptly dropped “my business” straight into the pants bunched up around my ankles. 
If you hunt, fish, hike, or camp...

Most tech-savvy whitetail hunters know the basics of how to locate and e-scout public land from the comfort of their homes. But finding the best of the best spots is an entirely different matter. If studying deer habitat on aerial maps is e-scouting 101, then finding public parcels that offer truly top tier hunting opportunities is akin to graduate level work. Here’s a breakdown of the advanced detective work needed to do just that.
The Initial...