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3 Things To Consider If You’re Planning An Over-The-Road Whitetail Hunt
It’s not hard to find plenty of people willing to recount tales of their amazing deer hunting trips to Iowa, Kansas, or wherever. And if there ever was a way to catch a serious case of whitetail FOMO, it would be listening to hunters talk about their deer travels. While hearing about someone else’s...
Tony J. Peterson
Jun 1, 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
3 Things To Consider If You’re Planning An Over-The-Road Whitetail Hunt
It’s not hard to find plenty of people willing to recount tales of their amazing deer hunting trips to Iowa, Kansas, or wherever. And if there ever was a way to catch a serious case of whitetail FOMO, it would be listening to hunters talk about their deer travels. While hearing about someone else’s...
Tony J. Peterson
Jun 1, 2023
Read More
Hunt
How to Kill Your First Deer with a Bow
It took me nearly four full seasons of bowhunting to kill my first deer. That clueless button buck, a gift of a deer in late December in Minnesota, changed the arc of my hunting career. He represented a lot of things to me, but most importantly, he showed me that it could be done. Until I walked up...
Tony J. Peterson
May 23, 2023
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Hunt
The Dumbest Things I’ve Done While Deer Hunting
Hunt long enough and you’ll make some mistakes. Hunt as long as I have and you’ll make a whole bunch of mistakes, some dumber than others. But, regardless of how dumb the mistakes are, they are almost always lessons built in. Here are a few of my past hunting screw-ups.
The Brush Buck
It had been a...
Tony Hansen
Apr 26, 2023
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Hunt
3 Things I Learned After Taking My Daughters on Their First Deer Hunts
When I turned 11, I didn’t realize I was in for the longest year of my life. The wait until 12, which was the legal hunting age in my home state of Minnesota back then, was torture. I wanted to hunt in the worst way, but it wasn’t like my dad was going to take me to a state with a younger minimum...
Tony J. Peterson
Apr 3, 2023
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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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Scout
Scout
Why Spring is the Best Time to Gain Deer Hunting Permission
Several years ago, I sat down to eat at a nice restaurant in Indianapolis with a dozen or so industry folks. We were in town for the Archery Trade Association (ATA) show, and I was definitely the lowest person on the totem pole.
At one point during that dinner, the topic of the future of hunting...
Tony J. Peterson
May 9, 2023
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Scout
How to Scout for Whitetails While You’re Turkey Hunting
Where turkeys live, so too, do deer. The crossover between pursuing both species is huge, and while you might not learn much about spring turkeys while hunting deer in the fall, the inverse isn’t true.
Spring turkey hunting can tell you a lot about whitetails.
You just have to pay attention when you...
Tony J. Peterson
Apr 28, 2023
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Scout
The Best Sign to Find While Winter Scouting
The key to winter scouting effectively isn’t just locating as much sign as possible. It is, instead, about filtering your findings through a mental screen to separate them into two piles— nighttime and daytime sign.
Since you’re about five months too late to have any chance to see when the sign was...
Tony J. Peterson
Mar 30, 2023
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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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Manage
Manage
All Oaks are Not Created Equal
The sound of falling acorns crashing into the forest floor is music to any hunter's ears. These small-but-powerful fruits can be one of the hottest primary food sources readily available throughout hunting season. Oak trees are extremely hearty, can be found throughout all of North America, and are...
Logan Jensen
May 30, 2023
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Manage
3 Hell Raisin' Conservation Tips for Hunters and Anglers
Imagine a world in which your favorite hunting spot is sold off and covered with condominiums. I mean it. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine this scenario. See your place, hear it, smell it. Now imagine a condo over there and there and there. How does that make you feel?
Then, picture your...
Mark Kenyon
May 26, 2023
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Manage
A Silver Bullet Solution for Improving Wildlife Habitat
It’s long been preached that there are no silver bullets when it comes to improving wildlife habitat. There are no shortcuts, no end-around, no one-size-fits-all fixes.
But what if I told you there was an exception?
There is one silver bullet for wildlife habitat management. One concept that is...
Mark Kenyon
May 19, 2023
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Manage
The Science of Planning the Perfect Plot
The food plot is one of the most utilized, yet perilous, land management techniques used by landowners and land managers alike. At its pinnacle, it's a multi-species food source beneficial to the resident animals, but can simultaneously be used as a strategic chess move by the hunter. At its very...
Logan Jensen
May 12, 2023
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Manage
The Predator That Deer Fear Most
If you’re thinking wolves, coyotes, or cougars, think again. The predator deer fear most walks on two legs. A study conducted in 2018 at the Jones Center at Ichauway in southwest Georgia found whitetails were significantly more spooked at the sound of “super predator” humans than any other predator...
Emily Kantner
May 2, 2023
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Manage
The Whitetail Manager’s Guide to Regenerative Ag Food Plots
It’s possible that you’re needlessly wasting money on your whitetail food plots and damaging elements of your hunting property just as much, if not more than you’re helping. Got your attention? Let me explain.
Food plots are a proven means for providing high-quality wildlife forage and are an...
Mark Kenyon
Apr 21, 2023
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Gear
Gear
How to Buy Your First Deer Hunting Bow
Pick an archery range in a populated area and then head there about three weeks before your state’s deer season opens up. You’ll see folks who can hit a golf ball at 40 yards consistently and others who can’t hit a four-foot-square bale blind with half a dozen arrows.
The folks in the latter...
Tony J. Peterson
May 17, 2023
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Gear
When Should You Replace a Bowstring?
Dry, damaged bowstrings can blow up in your face, causing significant injury, wrecking your rig, or—worst of all—spoiling your shot at the buck of a lifetime.
Bowstrings that are past their prime can also reduce consistent accuracy and have a negative impact on overall performance. Over time, the...
Emily Kantner
May 11, 2023
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Gear
Why Treestand Accidents Still Happen and How to Prevent Them
L.J. Smith is an expert witness that trial lawyers want on their side. Smith, 72, a former Mississippi wildlife officer, has investigated 550 treestand accidents, given 100 depositions in treestand lawsuits, and testified 30 times when injured hunters took treestand manufacturers to trial in...
Patrick Durkin
May 5, 2023
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Gear
Bowhunting Gear You Don't Need
A few years back, I decided it was time to change some things—or, I suppose some of that decision was made for me. Life has a way of doing that. One of the biggest changes was the amount of time I could dedicate to hunting. With just weekends and perhaps a week or two of vacation available each year...
Tony Hansen
Apr 19, 2023
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Gear
Turkey Season is the Best Time to Test Your Whitetail Gear
Ask any random elk guide what midwestern and eastern hunters tend to get wrong about heading to the mountains to chase bugles, and you’ll hear two quick answers. First, they’ll tell you that clients rarely get into real high-country shape, and, second, they’ll tell you about untested gear and the...
Tony J. Peterson
Apr 13, 2023
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Gear
Yes, You Can Kill Big Bucks in Hot Weather
Mosquitoes, 90-plus-degree temperatures, and humidity so thick you can cut it with a knife—those add up to my kind of whitetail pursuit. Why? Because it’s a challenge to mentally and physically prepare yourself for the early season in the South.
Season openers across the South range from July to...
Mark Haslam
Apr 11, 2023
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Gear
What You Need to Know About Self-Filming Hunts
A while back, a significant portion of my time in the woods was spent creating video content. It was a full-scale endeavor, complete with a traveling cameraman and all the assorted accouterments that go along with it. I won’t say I hated it, but I can’t honestly say that I loved it either. The...
Tony Hansen
Apr 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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