Category Archives: Features

Simplifying the Late Rut

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Use these tactics to fill your tag during the last days of the chase season 

During the later stages of the rut, food sources are still the best place to spend the last hours of daylight.

By Steve Bartylla

It had already been an amazing morning. I’d passed on two very mature bucks within easy shooting range in under a half-hour. With firearm season a day away, the only thing that gave me the resolve to pass was my belief that I could still take a larger buck.

The stand location was an obvious choice when I had scouted the area that spring. With three points dropping down and meeting together and a doe bedding areas above the intersection, bucks would surely be using the points to get between the doe groups. As an added bonus, the bottom also narrowed at this location, pinching any bottom running bucks to within shooting range. The cherry on top was the water hole 15 yards away from the tree I’d selected. Continue reading →

Down-to-Earth Ambushing

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If you think ground blinds are ridiculous for deer hunting, think again 

More and more deer hunters are finding that a well-placed ground blind makes for a hot ambush. Pictured is a blind from Hunter's Specialties.

 

By Ron Rohrbaugh

Everyone knows that to kill whitetails with a bow you have to be at least 15 feet off the ground, right?

Wrong. Today’s combination of safe, inexpensive portable treestands and an extreme focus on hunting trophy bucks has turned ground hunting into a dying art—a trend that’s likely causing bowhunters to miss out on some great opportunities and a lot of fun. On nearly every property I hunt, there are excellent ambush sites that offer no possibility of placing effective treestands. I emphasize the word, “effective,” because there are sometimes trees available, but those in poor position relative to deer movement don’t offer shot opportunities, and trees with too little cover are sure recipes for getting busted. Continue reading →

Whitetail Circus

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Get the most out of the upcoming season with this in-depth survival guide 

By Steve Flores

 

I think most bowhunters would agree when I say that the average whitetail season can feel a lot like a roller-coaster ride, or better yet, a day at the circus. With so many highs and lows, not to mention the endless temptations in gear and tactics, it’s easy to understand how the whole process of filling a whitetail tag can sometimes turn into a chaotic mess.

For me, it’s akin to watching my own children when the “big-top” comes to town. There is so much to see and do that they literally don’t know where to begin. Choices and decisions pull their little minds in all directions. Luckily, they have their mother and me to guide them along, making sure they get the most out of the experience.  Continue reading →

Streamline Your Hunting Season

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 Tired of guessing what deer are doing? Well, don’t. Follow these rules, and you’ll enjoy better action. 

 

By Jason Herbert

My head hung low as I climbed into the car to go home. After slaving over this property all summer, I had big plans of putting my tag on one of the shooter bucks that must live somewhere on the property, although I had yet to see proof of one.

Three documented cases of poison ivy, countless hours away from home toiling in the food plots, sweat-laden days hanging stands, cutting trails and more money spent that I care to mention—all in preparation for this, the opening weekend of Michigan’s bow season. I had just gained permission to hunt this pristine river bottom in early June. Now, it was the third evening, and I was going home empty-handed. Continue reading →

High-Pressure Shooting (Part 2)

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An inside look at what plagues us when shots really count 

Bowhunter Joel Turner believes in using certain action words or phrases during the shot to assist the mind and body to perform correctly.

By Denny Sturgis Jr.

One of the archers we feature in “Masters of the Barebow 4″ is Joel Turner. Joel is a police officer, sniper SWAT team leader and lead firearms instructor for the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission. He’s also worked in an archery pro shop since he was 16 and is a world champion elk-caller. He has developed a system of shot psychology he teaches daily to people who find themselves in extremely stressful situations. The system Joes teaches for firearms is similar to the system for archery, with just a few differences. Continue reading →

Musk-ox!

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An adventurous bowhunter braves extreme conditions pursuing an Arctic trophy 

David and the author pose with the trophy musk-ox bull. Note the lunar-like landscape in the background.

 By Steff Stefanovich

 Plumes of frosty steam billowed from the big bull musk-ox in the frigid Arctic air. At 25 yards, he angrily pawed the ground and rubbed his pre-orbital gland on his hairy foreleg. He was obviously unhappy that I’d come this close to his eight buddies and him and was letting me know it.

We had stalked the group for a while and finally got them to form the classic protective circle, with each bull facing outward. The bull I was after was to my left, still within the group. I was trying to keep track of him, but the aggressive bull to my right held my undivided attention. (While purchasing our licenses, we had been warned that this behavior indicated an imminent charge.) Continue reading →

Halloween Ghost

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This bowhunter’s dream of owning his own land and managing it properly for big bucks finally comes to life—and in a way beyond belief 

The author with his 2010 Halloween-day buck, which was the buck he and his friends had called “Palmy,” due to his heavy, palmated 12-point frame.

 By Eyad Yehyawi

Living in Iowa my entire life, I had always dreamed of owning my own farm, a sacred place where I could pursue my passion for hunting and the outdoors. That dream became a reality in the spring of 2005, when I purchased a small acreage right out of school and vowed to make it the best I could in regard to bowhunting and wildlife management.

It wasn’t the typical property so commonly advertised today; big buck photos were absent, there were no massive rubs or scrapes tattooing the property, and food plots were non-existent. Continue reading →