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How to Become a Better Archer in Your Basement
If you’re serious about becoming a better bowhunter, winter is a great time to hone your archery skills. To become a better archer, contrary to flashy social media trends, you don’t need to test out your bottom pin and send arrows into the next county. The fact is, you can become a better archer...
Dylan Tramp
Mar 24, 2023
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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."
Check out some of Mark's favorite gear.
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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...
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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...
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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.
Check out some of Clay's favorite gear.
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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."
Check out some of Mark's favorite gear.
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.
Check out some of Clay's favorite gear.
Read More
Hunt
Hunt
How I Made Deer Hunting Fun Again
I came to the realization in the fall of 2021 that I managed to make deer hunting not fun.
“I’d lost sight of what makes hunting fun," I wrote last summer about this epiphany. "I’d gotten too goal-oriented, too strung out, too stressed, too worried about what other people think, and too busy for...
Mark Kenyon
Mar 21, 2023
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Hunt
Is Our Trophy Obsession Killing Whitetail Hunting?
We just can’t help ourselves. As hunters, we continually ride waves of trophy obsession, but they always eventually crash. When they do, we usually lean into the experience of the hunt for a few years. But, over time, the swells build, and we find ourselves right back to the antlers-over-everything...
Tony J. Peterson
Mar 10, 2023
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Hunt
Why Your Ground Venison Doesn't Taste Good
The last time I took a deer into a processor was in 1998. I was a senior in high school and had arrowed a clueless two-year-old in September. Normally, my dad and I would have packed that buck full of ice and butchered him ourselves, but we had just butchered a deer my dad had shot a few days...
Tony J. Peterson
Feb 14, 2023
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Hunt
5 Things You Should Do Differently Next Deer Season
If your 2022 deer season went exactly as planned, read no further. However, if you find yourself here with an open mind, willing to glean a little knowledge from every outlet possible, this one’s for you.
While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, reflecting on your previous deer hunting seasons...
Dylan Tramp
Feb 6, 2023
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Hunt
How to Backpack Hunt for Whitetails
I know what you’re probably thinking; why would anyone bother backpack hunting for whitetails? You don’t need to hunt the backcountry to find a whitetail, I can find one within eyesight of the truck. If this is you, backpack whitetail hunting isn’t for you.
But if you’re the type who craves...
Dylan Tramp
Feb 2, 2023
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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
Dec 27, 2022
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Scout
Scout
You Can’t Stop the ‘Legless Shed Hunter’ From Finding Antlers
At any given time of year, you’re likely to find Hayden Bailey outside, whether he’s catching catfish and snapping turtles, shooting squirrels, deer hunting, or pursuing one of his greatest passions: shed hunting. The Chillicothe, Illinois, resident loves to spend every minute outside, especially...
Joe Shead
Mar 17, 2023
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Scout
How Shane Indrebo Finds Over 100 Sheds in a Single Season
Shane Indrebo, lifelong whitetail fanatic and co-owner of the North American Shed Hunters Club, credits a few simple tactics for finding a whopping 129 sheds last year.
While many shed hunters wait until the spring thaw, Indrebo typically starts searching in January and begins his recon even earlier...
Emily Kantner
Mar 13, 2023
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Scout
How to Find Deer Watering Holes
In the winter, deer require about 1.5 quarts of water per day for every 100 pounds of body weight. During warmer, summer months, their hydration needs double. This is worth knowing, no matter when or where you hunt whitetails.
Even in areas where water isn’t in short supply, identifying the most...
Tony J. Peterson
Mar 3, 2023
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Scout
3 Ways To Improve Your Winter Whitetail Scouting
This is it. March is the month where, if you want to set yourself up for success this season, you need to hit the woods. Yet, for all of its obvious value, winter scouting seems to be an oft-preached, but little-practiced, aspect of whitetail hunting.
The best public land hunters you know of all...
Tony J. Peterson
Feb 28, 2023
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Scout
A Beginner’s Guide to Shed Hunting
If you’re on the outside looking in, shed hunting appears to be a simple endeavor. Just walk some cut cornfields, grid-search a few bedding areas, and then figure out where in your man-cave, or she-shed, you’ll display your findings.
As if. In truth, shed hunting mirrors the greater whitetail...
Tony J. Peterson
Feb 27, 2023
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Scout
Shawn Luchtel’s Strategy for Shed Hunting in the Heartland
Shawn Luchtel’s shed season looks a little different from the average whitetail hunter’s.
The founder of Heartland Bowhunter, who consistently puts mature bucks on the ground, almost exclusively searches for sheds on his private hunting land in Missouri. Generally, Luchtel will wait until March—when...
Emily Kantner
Feb 24, 2023
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Scout
Mastering Bedding-Based Shed Hunting
Consistently successful shed collectors are a lot like good treasure hunters. Yes, I’m talking about those folks who miraculously strike gold on the seafloor or find centuries-old wooden chests filled with rubies.
Do you know what a treasure hunter never does? Walk aimlessly along the shore, hoping...
Mark Kenyon
Feb 21, 2023
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Manage
Manage
5 Ways Your Whitetail Property Can Help Save Threatened Species
We might be living in the golden age of whitetails across America. But the same can’t be said for many of the other animals, fish, birds, and bugs that share the landscape with our favorite big game animal.
Scientists are now warning of a slow-rolling mass extinction event taking place across the...
Mark Kenyon
Mar 9, 2023
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Manage
Announcing the Working for Wildlife Tour!
I'm hitting the road this month to kick off the Working for Wildlife Tour, and I'm hoping to see you there.
Unbeknownst to many, there are hundreds of events put on across the country every year by conservation organizations bringing together hunters and anglers to volunteer their time to improve...
Mark Kenyon
Mar 6, 2023
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Manage
Can Whitetails Stake a Claim in Alaska?
Other than humans, few mammals besides white-tailed deer have the flexibility and fortitude to live wherever they choose.
As Rollin H. Baker details in the 1984 book “White-tailed Deer: Ecology and Management,” South America’s whitetails thrive from Peru’s humid, sea-level tropics to just above tree...
Patrick Durkin
Jan 27, 2023
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Manage
Why Every Whitetailer Should Hunt Public Land
At one point or another, we’ve all dreamed about having a property of our own or access to ground no one else can hunt. Heck, maybe you own ground or have this kind of access right now. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been on both ends of the spectrum. I’ve spent most of my hunting seasons...
Alex Gyllstrom
Jan 17, 2023
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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
Jan 6, 2023
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Manage
Call this Senator to Pass the CWD Bill Now!
The Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Research and Management Act (H.R. 5608) has been years in the making, but it’s only one vote away from heading to the president’s desk. Unfortunately, the bill doesn’t have that last vote yet.
My understanding is that Mr. Rand Paul, the Junior Senator from Kentucky...
Ryan Callaghan
Dec 12, 2022
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Gear
Gear
How to Become a Better Archer in Your Basement
If you’re serious about becoming a better bowhunter, winter is a great time to hone your archery skills. To become a better archer, contrary to flashy social media trends, you don’t need to test out your bottom pin and send arrows into the next county. The fact is, you can become a better archer...
Dylan Tramp
Mar 24, 2023
Read More
Gear
How to Pick the Right Peep Sight for Bowhunting Whitetails
The devil is in the details. It’s a played-out statement, but true. This goes for a lot of aspects of life and certainly applies to bowhunting whitetails. We tend to reasonably focus on the big-picture stuff, like where and when we should hunt, but the heavy lift of actually filling tags tends to...
Tony J. Peterson
Mar 23, 2023
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Gear
3 Reasons to Pull Your Treestands and Start Fresh This Season
Leaving treestands up for a full year is a bad idea. Leaving them up for several years is far worse. Yet, quite a few hunters do this with both hang-on and ladder stands. Not only is this unsafe, but it’s also often not the best strategy if you want to kill nice bucks.
A blank-slate strategy with...
Tony J. Peterson
Mar 14, 2023
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Gear
Can Your Arrow Penetrate A Deer’s Shoulder?
Many bowhunters these days are turning their attention to heavy-hitting arrows, desiring an arrow that will pass through anything in its path. Of course, this comes at the expense of a slow-moving arrow and an unforgiving trajectory. If instead, you seek an optimal middle ground, you likely find...
Dylan Tramp
Feb 13, 2023
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Gear
Is Crossbow Hunting Really Archery Hunting?
While it isn’t burning as hot as it was a decade ago, the crossbow-versus-vertical-bow debate is still a hot-button issue. Even though the arguments are pretty played out at this point, there are still plenty of folks ensconced on both sides.
While there are several points of contention between both...
Tony J. Peterson
Feb 8, 2023
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Gear
How to Stay Warm During the Coldest Deer Hunts
One of my favorite ways to spend time during late December or throughout January is to pheasant hunt with my Labs. Busting through cattail sloughs in search of public land roosters is as enjoyable to me as deer hunting is, and I often invite people to hunt with me. I always warn them that they’ll be...
Tony J. Peterson
Jan 11, 2023
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Gear
What Compound Bowhunters Can Learn from Trad Bowhunters
I can vividly remember the first hunting video I ever watched. It was “Bowhunting October Whitetails,” and it featured the Wensel Brothers, Gene and Barry. The impact of that production on my life as a hunter was profound. I had killed very few bucks with my bow at that time, but I immediately...
Tony Hansen
Jan 10, 2023
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Latest Wired To Hunt Podcasts
Wired To Hunt
Ep. 514: Foundations - How to Train a Shed Antler Dog
On this week’s episode, Tony breaks down the strategy for training a dog to find shed antlers through nose-work and visuals.Connect with Wired To Hunt and MeatEaterTony Peterson on InstagramMeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YoutubeShop MeatEater Merch Learn more about your ad-choices...
Tony J. Peterson
Feb 22, 2022
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Wired To Hunt
Ep. 513: Whitetail Therapy Session with Tony Peterson
Today on the show, Mark talks with his new therapist, Tony Peterson, about what he learned about whitetails -- and himself -- over his most demanding season ever.Connect with Mark Kenyon and MeatEaterMark Kenyon on Instagram , Twitter , and FacebookMeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and...
Mark Kenyon
Feb 17, 2022
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Wired To Hunt
Ep. 512: Foundations - Shed Hunting with a Purpose
On today’s show, Tony discusses how to plan shed hunting routes, and figure out the best timing for your antler finding missions.Connect with Wired To Hunt and MeatEaterTony Peterson on InstagramMeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YoutubeShop MeatEater Merch Learn more about your ad...
Tony J. Peterson
Feb 15, 2022
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Wired To Hunt
Ep. 511: First Deer Stories on the Back 40 with Evan Barrett, Forest Wagoner, and Hank Forester
Today on the show, we're talking new hunter mentorship, getting you updated on what’s happened with the Back 40 in 2021, and then diving into a couple great stories about two new hunters that I had the privilege of helping mentor on their first successful deer hunts.Connect with Mark Kenyon and...
Mark Kenyon
Feb 10, 2022
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