Scout
The Land Feature Too Many People Ignore
Aerial scouting has become a large part of a whitetail hunter’s game plan for finding new land and expanding their current areas. Still, it can be overwhelming to figure out how to shrink a giant tract of public land to a manageable size for actual hunting. You can learn effective ways to e-scout...
Beau Martonik
Oct 15, 2021
Read More
Gear
How to Sight in a Bow in 25 Minutes
We’ve all been there. Bow season is just a few days away and we decide it’s time for a new sight. Or maybe a new bow. Or, let’s be honest here, we haven’t spent as much offseason time as we should sending arrows downrange.
Regardless of the reason, the reality is that sometimes you need to get your...
Tony Hansen
Oct 14, 2021
Read More
Scout
Active Scrapes Worthy of Hunting
Scrape signposts are often mentioned in hunting literature and on entertainment television. While some hunters consider them paramount, others dismiss them as secondary locations. Over half of the bucks I’ve arrowed were taken from active scrape areas, so I consider them major focal points of buck...
John Eberhart
Oct 13, 2021
Read More
Contributors
Mark Kenyon
Mark Kenyon is the author of That Wild Country, founder of Wired To Hunt, and host of the industry-leading Wired To Hunt Podcast. He is a nationally published writer, a QDMA certified Deer Steward, and MeatEater's resident "whitetail guy."
Read More
Tony J. Peterson
MeatEater Contributor Tony Peterson has penned hundreds of hunting articles, several books, and developed multiple podcasts. Peterson’s whitetail-related contributions stem from real-world experience and a passion for hunting new ground each season. He's considered one of the top whitetail hunters...
Read More
Spencer Neuharth
Spencer Neuharth is the director of web content at MeatEater, producer of Wired to Hunt, and founder of Rut Fresh. His writing has been featured in over a dozen magazines, including Field & Stream, Petersen's Hunting, and Men's Journal. His work is a reflection of his roots as a whitetail hunter and...
Read More
Clay Newcomb
Clay Newcomb is a 7th-generation Arkansan that grew up in the Ouachita Mountains. He's a hunter, mule skinner, curious naturalist, and observer of rural culture. He's also a writer, filmmaker, podcaster, and owner/publisher of Bear Hunting Magazine.
Read More
Mark Kenyon
Mark Kenyon is the author of That Wild Country, founder of Wired To Hunt, and host of the industry-leading Wired To Hunt Podcast. He is a nationally published writer, a QDMA certified Deer Steward, and MeatEater's resident "whitetail guy."
Read More
Tony J. Peterson
MeatEater Contributor Tony Peterson has penned hundreds of hunting articles, several books, and developed multiple podcasts. Peterson’s whitetail-related contributions stem from real-world experience and a passion for hunting new ground each season. He's considered one of the top whitetail hunters...
Read More
Spencer Neuharth
Spencer Neuharth is the director of web content at MeatEater, producer of Wired to Hunt, and founder of Rut Fresh. His writing has been featured in over a dozen magazines, including Field & Stream, Petersen's Hunting, and Men's Journal. His work is a reflection of his roots as a whitetail hunter and...
Read More
Hunt
Hunt
How to Kill a Buck at Midday in October
In deer hunting (and life), it’s the false things we think are true that hold us back the most. While I could list a pile of these beliefs as they relate to deer hunting, a glaring example is the myth that there’s no reason to be on the stand during the midday hours before Halloween.
We all know...
Tony J. Peterson
Oct 6, 2021
Read More
Hunt
3 Places to Kill a Buck During the October Lull
The first few weeks of October are almost a season on their own. Everything changes, leaves are turning, farmers are harvesting crops, weather fronts are fluctuating, and bucks are easing into their fall patterns and ranges. It’s also the period known as the infamous October lull. Spending most of...
Alex Gyllstrom
Oct 1, 2021
Read More
Hunt
How to Deer Hunt a Staging Area
If there is a month to consider hunting staging areas, it’s October. That is, at least, if you’re the kind of hunter who spends time on public land, or just generally around pressured deer. In either case, the field-edge pattern has probably died a quick death, and the dreaded reality of educated...
Tony J. Peterson
Sep 30, 2021
Read More
Hunt
The Truth About Frontal Shots on Deer
It’s November 11. Temps are in the mid-20s. You took a week’s vacation, have hunted seven straight days, and have yet to lay eyes on a shooter buck. After eating the sandwich you packed for lunch, you climb down to relocate for the evening’s hunt. Shortly after taking your bow off the tether, you...
Dylan Tramp
Sep 24, 2021
Read More
Hunt
A Guaranteed Way to Ruin Any Deer Hunt
Consistent whitetail success and enjoyment hinges on two very different aspects of every hunt.
The first involves all of the stuff we can’t control, like weather, the actions of other hunters, and the cosmic, known-only-to-them whims upon which all deer operate. The second is what we can control...
Tony J. Peterson
Sep 23, 2021
Read More
Hunt
How to Deer Hunt Standing Corn
While many hunters value agricultural fields as reliable food sources for deer, one negative aspect of standing cornfields is that mature bucks rarely leave them. Standing corn makes for secure bedding, feeding, and breeding. These reasons give bucks little reason to stray very far. Rather than...
John Eberhart
Sep 20, 2021
Read More
Scout
Scout
The Land Feature Too Many People Ignore
Aerial scouting has become a large part of a whitetail hunter’s game plan for finding new land and expanding their current areas. Still, it can be overwhelming to figure out how to shrink a giant tract of public land to a manageable size for actual hunting. You can learn effective ways to e-scout...
Beau Martonik
Oct 15, 2021
Read More
Scout
Active Scrapes Worthy of Hunting
Scrape signposts are often mentioned in hunting literature and on entertainment television. While some hunters consider them paramount, others dismiss them as secondary locations. Over half of the bucks I’ve arrowed were taken from active scrape areas, so I consider them major focal points of buck...
John Eberhart
Oct 13, 2021
Read More
Scout
How Adam Hays Finds the Biggest Buck on a Property
With dozens of Pope and Young bucks under his belt, four of which broke the 200-inch barrier, Adam Hays makes it look easy.
But his consistent success hinges on a methodical, year-round strategy for zeroing in on a specific buck and waiting for the exact right moment to strike. He’s fine-tuned the...
Emily Kantner
Oct 11, 2021
Read More
Scout
Best Food Sources to Deer Hunt in October
A focus on food is front-of-mind during September bowhunts. But what about October? Well, here’s your whitetail hot tip of the week: Deer eat in October too.
I’m not sure why deer hunters seem to put food on the back burner when the calendar flips to October. It’s a mistake. While it’s true that the...
Tony Hansen
Oct 8, 2021
Read More
Scout
How to Find the Dumbest Buck in the Woods
Describing deer as “smart” or “dumb” is kind of silly. It’s mostly just a contextual framing exercise that masks what we are really saying, which is that some deer are good at surviving and some aren’t. And that’s not entirely true either. When we call a deer "dumb" it’s usually because it acts...
Tony J. Peterson
Sep 28, 2021
Read More
Scout
How to Deer Hunt Big Tracts of Public Land
One of the best reasons to hunt public land for whitetails is for the available acreage. When it comes to public dirt, the rule is always “the more the merrier.” But having thousands of acres to hunt comes with its own challenges, the main one being the need to quickly eliminate the ground you...
Tony J. Peterson
Sep 9, 2021
Read More
Scout
How to E-Scout Big Woods for Whitetails
A majority of the public lands available to hunt whitetails in the North, South, and East are made up of tracts of forests—rather than the farmlands of the Midwest. In my opinion, the Appalachian region gives you the best opportunity to get away from the crowds and find adventure for that reason...
Beau Martonik
Aug 27, 2021
Read More
Manage
Manage
How to Make a Horizontal Rub
The saying “there’s nothing new under the sun” sometimes seems doubly true in the whitetail hunting world. We see the same types of products, ideas, and hunting storylines trotted out year after year. But about a decade ago something truly original did arrive on the scene: horizontal rubs.
These...
Mark Kenyon
Oct 4, 2021
Read More
Manage
Best Food Sources for Big Woods Whitetails
For years, I watched outdoor television with whitetail hunters hunting big food plots and crop fields, telling myself how lucky they are to have those designated food sources. As I grew older, I became obsessed with figuring out how to hunt whitetails in the big woods. I realized there are many good...
Beau Martonik
Sep 17, 2021
Read More
Manage
You Won’t Believe How Far this Buck Traveled
It’s that time of year again. From Texas to Maine, whitetail hunters are feverishly pulling trail cam photos to take a first look at the bucks in their area. For those disappointed with their results, a new paper published in “Ecology and Evolution” might offer some hope.
Researchers in Missouri...
Jordan Sillars
Sep 13, 2021
Read More
Manage
The Injuries and Illnesses that Trigger Amazing Antlers
Just as premier wines come from the grapes of stressed vines, cool antlers with great character often come from bucks who suffered broken bones, harsh diseases, or crippling injuries.
As Demi Lovato sings, “Nothing is more beautiful than the smile that struggled through tears.” Admirable antler...
Patrick Durkin
Aug 13, 2021
Read More
Manage
4 Eco-Friendly Ways to Manage Food Plot Weeds
At their essence, food plots for wildlife involve the planting and promoting of a desirable group of plant species at the exclusion of others. This requires removal or management of those undesirable species, commonly referred to as “weeds.” The problem is that weed management in food plots has...
Mark Kenyon
Aug 4, 2021
Read More
Manage
The 3 Most Important Factors for Antler Growth
Karl Miller doesn’t hesitate when asked to list the five key factors of antler growth in white-tailed deer.
“Nutrition, nutrition, nutrition, nutrition; and then age and genetics, but you can’t do anything about genetics,” said Miller, professor emeritus at the University of Georgia’s Warnell School...
Patrick Durkin
Jul 30, 2021
Read More
Gear
Gear
How to Sight in a Bow in 25 Minutes
We’ve all been there. Bow season is just a few days away and we decide it’s time for a new sight. Or maybe a new bow. Or, let’s be honest here, we haven’t spent as much offseason time as we should sending arrows downrange.
Regardless of the reason, the reality is that sometimes you need to get your...
Tony Hansen
Oct 14, 2021
Read More
Gear
This Cartridge Doesn't Get Enough Love from Deer Hunters
The .223 Remington was designed for the battle, not the field. Militaries want a cartridge that can inflict enough damage to take an enemy off the table, while remaining light and small enough to pack conveniently.
Of course, hunters have adopted a wide array of cartridges originally designed for...
Jordan Sillars
Oct 7, 2021
Read More
Gear
Clay Newcomb’s Whitetail Hunting Kit
Whitetail hunting can be gear intensive, but I like to keep things as simple as possible. When hunting Texas in Episode 3 of Season 10 of MeatEater, we were constantly changing setups. This called for different gear than what I traditionally use for my whitetail treestand hunts. Here are five things...
Clay Newcomb
Oct 4, 2021
Read More
Gear
Everything I Use on DIY, Out-of-State Deer Hunts
I’ve traveled across the country to hunt whitetails everywhere from Ohio to Montana, Idaho to Indiana, and most points in between. Every time I embark on one of these trips, I receive dozens of messages asking about what clothing, gear, or camping equipment I’m taking with me.
About five years ago...
Mark Kenyon
Sep 22, 2021
Read More
Gear
4 Tools Every Bowhunter Should Own
You don’t have to be a contractor to know how to use a hammer. You don’t have to qualify for the NASCAR circuit to know how to change a tire. And you don’t have to be a full-time bow tech to know how to tune, maintain, and set up your own hunting bow.
You do, however, need a few basic tools. So let...
Tony Hansen
Sep 1, 2021
Read More
Gear
The Mobile Treestand Setups of 5 Legendary Hunters
As do-it-yourself hunters, we often have to keep moving and changing stand locations in order to encounter quality deer and adapt throughout the stages of the season. The best hunters I know have their mobile setups dialed to perfection, even though each hunter’s choice in equipment varies greatly...
Andy May
Aug 18, 2021
Read More
Gear
Are Single- or Double-Bevel Broadheads Better?
Products go through popularity cycles. In the hunting realm, the best example of something that was hot, then not, and is now hot again, would be the tree saddle. The runner-up might be beefy, sharp-as-a-razor, single- and double-bevel broadheads.
Single-bevel heads, with their one angled edge, are...
Tony J. Peterson
Aug 6, 2021
Read More
Latest Wired To Hunt Podcasts
Wired To Hunt
Ep. 464: Finding Whitetails Fast with Levi Morgan
Today on the show, we're joined by world champion archery and bowhunter Levi Morgan to break down his techniques and practices for finding, scouting and hunting whitetails when time is short.
Connect with Mark Kenyon and MeatEater
Mark Kenyon on Instagram , Twitter , and Facebook
MeatEater on...
Mark Kenyon
Oct 7, 2021
Read More
Wired To Hunt
Ep. 463: Rut Fresh Radio 10/6/2021 - Beating the October Lull
This is 2021's sixth episode of Rut Fresh Radio! In each show, Spencer interviews hunters across the country to get the latest intel on whitetail buck movement. This week he talks to whitetailers from Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma. They discuss trends like weather patterns, moon...
Spencer Neuharth
Oct 6, 2021
Read More
Wired To Hunt
Ep. 462: Staging Areas and Overlooked Whitetail Hotspots
On today’s episode, Tony discusses his strategy for figuring out where the bucks relocate to after a couple of weeks of hunting pressure ushers them into survival mode.
Tony J. Peterson
Oct 5, 2021
Read More
Wired To Hunt
Ep. 461: The Art of the "Whitetail Pivot" with Jared Shaffer
Today on the show, we're joined by DIY West Virginia bowhunter Jared Shaffer to explore the art and science of making quick adjustments and hard pivots in strategy when chasing whitetails.
Connect with Mark Kenyon and MeatEater
Mark Kenyon on Instagram , Twitter , and Facebook
MeatEater on...
Mark Kenyon
Sep 30, 2021
Read More