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
Hunt
Why September is the Best Month to Hunt Scrapes
Hunt with me just once, and you’ll know at least one thing about me: I focus a lot of my whitetail attention on scrapes. Even in September, which goes against conventional whitetail wisdom.
I think I make a sound argument that September and early October is the best time to target a mature whitetail...
Tony Hansen
Sep 16, 2021
Read More
Hunt
How to Kill a Buck in High Wind
When Spencer Neuharth asked me to write this article, I feared it might end up being the shortest piece in MeatEater history. It would read like this: If you want to kill a buck in high winds, you should just keep hunting like you would in calmer conditions.
Unfortunately, the problem with that is...
Tony J. Peterson
Sep 15, 2021
Read More
Early Season
Hunt
How to Kill a Whitetail Buck in September
Early November is the absolute best time to arrow a big whitetail buck. The rut causes deer to totally lose their minds and make mistakes they otherwise wouldn’t. The second easiest time of year to shoot a booner? Early September—but for way different reasons.
Don’t Wait for “Good” Weather
To kill a...
Tony J. Peterson
Sep 2, 2020
Read More
Hunt
How to Kill a Whitetail Buck in October
October is the most interesting month of the whitetail season. Just hear me out.
It’s like the slow ride up the first big hill of a rollercoaster, every passing day akin to a click on the tracks, building towards the much-awaited rush of the rut. The suspense of October alone is enough to make it a...
Mark Kenyon
Oct 2, 2020
Read More
Hunt
How to Kill a Nocturnal Buck
With the increasing use of trail cameras among deer hunters, a new and most vexing whitetail subspecies has stolen the hearts and minds of hopeful hunters across North America: the nocturnal buck.
This is, of course, the big ol’ buck you capture on trail cam every season, but never see during...
Mark Kenyon
Sep 25, 2019
Read More
Hunt
How to Kill an Early-Season Buck in the Morning
There are two myths in deer hunting that need to die. One is that we are all experts at judging the age of a buck on the hoof. The other is that hunting mornings during early season will only cause irreparable harm to your future chances of success. (The thinking here is that it’s too hard to get...
Tony J. Peterson
Sep 18, 2020
Read More
Hunt
Should You Deer Hunt in the Rain?
Should you still get out in the field even when it’s raining? For some hunters, there’s an easy and convenient answer. Rain in the forecast means staying at camp and watching football or hitting snooze and catching a few more hours of sleep. But I’d encourage you to consider the more difficult—and...
Mark Kenyon
Oct 18, 2019
Read More
Hunt
The October Lull is Real
Amidst many a marital squabble, my wife has reminded me that “perception is reality.” I still don’t know what the hell that means in the context of my marriage, but when it comes to deer hunting, I’ve got it pegged. It means that the October lull is in fact real, despite research showing that buck...
Mark Kenyon
Oct 2, 2019
Read More
Hunt
How to Kill a Whitetail Buck Hunting Water
As someone who mostly hunts public land, I’ve realized that a lot of the destination food sources that factor into my hunts are on private land and off limits. Or, they are on public land but are so obvious and easy to hunt that they get a ton of pressure. Although deer still use these food sources...
Tony J. Peterson
Sep 23, 2020
Read More
The Rut
Hunt
The Rules of the Whitetail Rut
Whitetail hunters live for the November rut. It’s what we dream of all year. But sometimes the reality of the rut falls short of expectations. When that happens, it’s easy for panic to set in. The remedy? Go back to the basics.
In my mind, there are four key principles that will always keep you in...
Mark Kenyon
Nov 8, 2019
Read More
Hunt
3 Places to Kill a Whitetail Buck at Midday
The rut can be the great equalizer. Sometimes it’s as simple as spending more time in the field to get more deer on the ground. Sometimes it’s not.
But it doesn’t have to be “hunt smarter, not harder.” You can do both. For me, that means sitting all day, but not in the same spots that I’d typically...
Dylan Tramp
Nov 6, 2020
Read More
Hunt
How to Kill a Pressured Buck During the Rut
Whitetailers tend to think of the rut as a magical time when the season starts anew and success is all but guaranteed. As I discussed in a previous article on why so many hunters fail during the rut, that’s simply not the case. Iowa’s harvest rates speak to this point.
There is no state that offers...
Tony J. Peterson
Nov 11, 2020
Read More
Hunt
How to Rattle in a Buck
The first time I rattled in a buck I was 13 years old and riding in the back of my mom’s minivan. After watching countless big bucks get rattled in to their demise on Saturday morning hunting shows, I figured I’d give it a shot myself. While I was cracking my new rattling bag together driving home...
Mark Kenyon
Oct 26, 2019
Read More
Hunt
3 Reasons Hunters Fail During the Rut
The first two weeks of November are without a doubt the best days to be in the woods if your goal is to kill a mature buck. That’s Whitetail 101 stuff, but it’s still not a simple proposition. Just because daylight movement ramps up and bucks are throwing caution to the wind doesn’t mean killing is...
Tony J. Peterson
Nov 3, 2020
Read More
Hunt
What is the Best Day of the Whitetail Rut?
I’d wager to say that bowhunters burn up a majority of their vacation time in the first half of November. It’s for good reason, as most whitetail enthusiasts agree there’s no better time to be in the woods.
I reached out to 10 big buck experts to take a closer look at that part of the season. They...
Spencer Neuharth
Oct 16, 2019
Read More
Late Season
Hunt
3 Places to Find a Post-Rut Buck
The peak of the whitetail rut is now behind us in most parts of the country. I hate to say that, but it’s true. If you’re still holding on to a buck tag this fact might be causing you some stress, but don’t despair. The post-rut can be just as promising as the peak if you know where to look.
Here...
Mark Kenyon
Nov 27, 2020
Read More
Hunt
How To Kill a Late-Season Buck On Public Land
If you want one of the biggest challenges in whitetail hunting, set your sights on a mature buck in December. If that’s not enough, commit to doing it on public land. After general gun season resets the deer herd to survival mode and the rut winds down to nothing, it becomes challenging just to see...
Tony J. Peterson
Dec 11, 2020
Read More
Hunt
How to Kill a Late-Season Buck Without Hunting Food
Several years ago I was sitting on a Minnesota buck tag as December rolled in. I figured filling that tag was a long shot, but I also had nothing to lose by trying. I made a plan to split my time between private and public ground with the realization that I didn’t have access to a single acre of a...
Tony J. Peterson
Dec 23, 2020
Read More
Hunt
How Weather Impacts Late Season Deer Movement
Santa Claus, Christmas carols, and candy canes be damned—now is not the time to get distracted from deer hunting if you still have a tag. The late season can be one of your best chances to kill a buck, but only if you play your cards right. That means paying attention to the weather.
Why?
By the...
Mark Kenyon
Dec 17, 2020
Read More
Hunt
3 Overlooked Deer Hunting Tactics for Late Season
Many hunters claim that December is often the best time to kill a mature buck. After all, the rigors of the rut caused them to drop 25% of weight, and packing on pounds is of utmost importance. So, simply hop on your side-by-side and drive out to your favorite box blind to shoot a hitlister over...
Tony J. Peterson
Dec 16, 2020
Read More
Hunt
How to Kill a Late Season Buck From the Ground
Having a good ground game is as important to a whitetail hunter as being able to kill deer from a tree. Versatility is your friend, and there are times of the year—like the late season—where one style can offer up an advantage over the other. If you’re looking to arrow a buzzer-beater buck, your...
Tony J. Peterson
Dec 19, 2019
Read More
Hunt
How to Kill a Buck on Food Sources in December
Late season can be one of your very best chances at a mature buck all year, but that’s only if several criteria are met. The most important of those criteria is simply having a mature buck on your property that’s moving in daylight.
Attracting a big buck to your land can be as simple as having food...
Mark Kenyon
Dec 4, 2020
Read More