S1-E26: How to NOT Mess Up a Follow-Up Shot

How to Deal with a Gut Shot Deer

A gut shot deer is any hunters nightmare. It is never good news when you hit a deer in the gut, but it’s our job as hunters to make the best of a bad situation. To be as brief as possible, there are several key things to understand in this situation. First, how do you know you gut shot the deer? Typically when you hit a deer in the gut, it will hunch up and walk or trot away in a strained looking position. If you are still not sure after the shot...

How to Kill a Flocked-Up Tom

It’s the bane of every early-season turkey hunter. Cold, wet skies stick around and won’t give you the beach weather required for a morning time gobble fest. What’s worse, the birds that spent all winter marching to a picked cornfield or cattle rancher’s feedlot seem to be stuck in that roost-to-food, food-to-roost rut. You can try to get as close as possible and sweet talk a tom into your setup, but peeling off a bird from a dozen potential...

How to Not Be a Public Land Knucklehead

It was the opening morning of the 1996 turkey season when I met my first public land knucklehead. I was 16 years old and barely old enough to drive, and I was hunting an area riddled with gobblers—and hunters. I drove past a parked truck and pulled to the side of the road a quarter mile away. After quietly shutting the truck door, I cranked out an impressive string of yelps and excited cuts. I waited. My calls were met with silence, but I soon...