Wired To Hunt

Whitetail hunting strategies for the next generation

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Contributors

Hunt

How I Made Deer Hunting Fun Again

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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Is Our Trophy Obsession Killing Whitetail Hunting?

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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Why Your Ground Venison Doesn't Taste Good

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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5 Things You Should Do Differently Next Deer Season

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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How to Backpack Hunt for Whitetails

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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A Guaranteed Way to Ruin Any Deer Hunt

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

You Can’t Stop the ‘Legless Shed Hunter’ From Finding Antlers

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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How Shane Indrebo Finds Over 100 Sheds in a Single Season

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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How to Find Deer Watering Holes

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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3 Ways To Improve Your Winter Whitetail Scouting

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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A Beginner’s Guide to Shed Hunting

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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Shawn Luchtel’s Strategy for Shed Hunting in the Heartland

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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Mastering Bedding-Based Shed Hunting

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

5 Ways Your Whitetail Property Can Help Save Threatened Species

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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Announcing the Working for Wildlife Tour!

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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Can Whitetails Stake a Claim in Alaska?

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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Why Every Whitetailer Should Hunt Public Land

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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The Injuries and Illnesses that Trigger Amazing Antlers

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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Call this Senator to Pass the CWD Bill Now!

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

How to Become a Better Archer in Your Basement

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
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How to Pick the Right Peep Sight for Bowhunting Whitetails

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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3 Reasons to Pull Your Treestands and Start Fresh This Season

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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Can Your Arrow Penetrate A Deer’s Shoulder?

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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Is Crossbow Hunting Really Archery Hunting?

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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How to Stay Warm During the Coldest Deer Hunts

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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What Compound Bowhunters Can Learn from Trad Bowhunters

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

Ep. 514: Foundations - How to Train a Shed Antler Dog

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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Ep. 513: Whitetail Therapy Session with Tony Peterson

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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Ep. 512: Foundations - Shed Hunting with a Purpose

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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Ep. 511: First Deer Stories on the Back 40 with Evan Barrett, Forest Wagoner, and Hank Forester

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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