Gear

I first heard about tree saddles more than a decade ago. At the time I thought hanging from a tree by a waist harness seemed uncomfortable, impractical, and downright foolish. But it turns out I was the fool. Ten years later I finally gave saddles a try—only to realize I’d been missing out in a big...

Between the biblical rain and plague-level ticks, I called it quits on the run-and-gun mission an hour before sunset. The late season Wisconsin birds weren’t gobbling, and it was clear the public land I was hunting had plenty of other turkey hunters. As I hiked out, I tried to salvage the day by...

You’ve got questions. We’ve got answers (and if we don’t, we’ll make them up). Every day, fellow MeatEaters send us more than 100 emails regarding hunting, fishing, cooking, conservation, and more. So, we decided to publish a series dedicated to our favorite FAQs. This is Ask MeatEater. While...

Fifteen minutes from my house is an extensive archery complex. It offers multiple walk-through courses and a standard range of 20- to 80-yard bale targets. It’s a great place to go to if you want to hone your archery skills—or see what not to do in the weeks leading up to the season. In Minnesota...

Deer hunters love to debate. We argue over broadhead styles. We fight over who makes the best bow. We will nearly come to blows over baiting versus food plots versus hunting natural movement. What we don’t get overly passionate about is choosing the best hunting arrows. I talk to a pile of whitetail...

I’d heard about it for a decade and considered it for years. In 2018, I decided it was finally time to give it a try. I was going to hunt from a tree saddle. Of all the questions I’ve received since making that decision, no topic has been more common than tree saddles: What did I think about the...

Hang a trail camera in front of a pile of corn or a mineral block and you’re almost guaranteed to get an SD card full of deer photos. It used to be that simple. But with increasing concerns over disease in recent years, more and more states are outlawing the use of bait at trail camera sites. For...

At the risk of igniting “another classic ethics debate fueled by none other than MeatEater,” as one social media commenter recently lamented, I’d like to talk about the fair chase ramifications of wireless trail cameras. What is ethical? What is moral? What is fair chase? This is a set of questions...

It’s obvious to anyone paying attention that trail cameras have led to a lot of whitetail bucks ending up in freezers. But the inverse is true too: Cameras have saved a lot of deer lives as well. Mostly this is because well-intentioned hunters place their cameras in the wrong locations and check...

By Paul Annear I’m not sure about you, but I am obsessed with trail cameras and even more in love with capturing monster bucks during those hot and humid days of July and August. The anticipation of checking a camera that has been on that prime inside corner gets me downright pumped. But as fun as...

We all know that once a deer hits the ground the real work begins. Typically, our options for a getting our venison back to the truck are pretty simple—drag  it out or quarter it up and haul it out piece by piece. However, there is a third option. You can carry the deer on your back. I learned this...

Taxidermists are like referees. When they do their job well, you hardly notice them. But when the job is done poorly, it commands attention in a bad way. In many cases, exceptional taxidermy contains details that the average person won’t pick up on. I reached out to some taxidermists to ask what...

If there’s any one thing that connects the most consistently successful whitetail hunters I know, it’s a strong focus on scent control. A whitetail’s nose is its best defense mechanism. For that reason, the smart hunter will do everything possible to control the scent he brings into the woods. Can...

Mimicking the sound of bucks fighting can be an effective way to draw a buck in during any phase of the rut. In this video, I compare the volume of five different rattle calls to see which is loudest. Admittedly, volume isn’t the only thing that matters when it comes to rattling—realism is equally...

Many hunters doubt they can beat the seemingly invincible noses of deer, elk or other game once the animal gets downwind. Given what we read about animals olfactory powers, and what we’ve witnessed while hunting, it’s understandable why some hunters think scent-control methods are futile wastes of...

If a hunter pees in the woods, do deer, bears or elk really care? If they do care, how do they respond? And for how long? Do they respond differently if hunters consumed coffee, garlic, onions, beer, cheese, cabbage or other aromatic drinks and foods? With so many opinions and questions, and so many...