Each issue of North American Whitetail brings you effective techniques for outsmarting monster bucks. You'll learn the success secrets of North America's most accomplished, most knowledgeable whitetail hunters - riflemen and bowhunters alike.
Week of 2/6 Pat Hogan goes after some South Georgia “problem” hogs under cover of darkness, while Dr. James Kroll unveils this season’s “Build Your Own Deer Factory” project. Jeremy Moore kicks off a series on teaching your deer dog camp manners. Week of 2/13 Gordon Whittington connects prehistory with frontier times and the present on a Texas hunt. Pat Hogan discusses vertical bow options for female hunters. Finally, Dr. James Kroll explores the importance of good year-round nutrition for whitetails in the South. Week of 2/20 Mike Clerkin heads back to a favorite location in western Illinois with his muzzleloader. Then Dr. James Kroll and Pat Hogan conduct a trail camera inventory of the land being featured in this season’s “Deer Factory” series. Our “On Target” segment offers an…
2017 SHOT SHOW Step onto the show floor with us to see the new year’s top hunting gear. northamericanwhitetail.com / shot-show-2017 NAW COMMUNITY Submit your best photos and see other readers’ top bucks. northamericanwhitetail.com/ photos FIND, TARGET & TAG MATURE WHITETAILS Improve your odds with these proven trophy tactics. northamericanwhitetail.com/ bigger-bucks LOOKING FOR GREAT WHITETAIL FUNNELS? Here’s how to find the best ones for next season. northamericanwhitetail.com/ pinch-points…
With its rocky hills, sparkling streams and sweeping wildflower meadows, my native Hill Country is widely viewed as the most attractive part of Texas. No matter from which direction you enter, this region is easier on the eyes than the one you just left. Four thousand years ago, it likely was just as welcome a sight. Small bands of nomadic natives crisscrossed the region, following streambeds that offered water, food and shelter. Along the way, these migrants availed themselves of the many outcroppings of chert, a form of flint well suited for projectile points. Long before the bow came into use in Texas, chert points were used to hunt deer, bison, antelope and other animals. Whether of the so-called “Pedernales” style or some similar form, these points were affixed to…
Over the years, our institute’s research has offered insight into the critical question of when a buck should be culled — that is, if he should be culled at all. In analyzing our data based on age as a predictor of ultimate antler quality, we see that until a buck is 3 1/2 years old, there’s no reliability in predicting his antler size at maturity (4 1/2 or 5 1/2 years). This really gives you only one year to remove a buck in any culling scheme. However, removal at maturity has some positive benefits, as the majority of offspring are produced by bucks of these ages. So no buck should be removed from the herd as a “cull” until he’s at least 3 1/2. And how many bucks in the…
Nearing the Pacific Ocean in 1805, members of Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery saw dainty deer that were neither mule deer nor blacktails. These “common longtailed fallow” deer, as Meriwether Lewis referred to them in his journal, were more reminiscent of whitetails back East. Indeed, they were of the same species, but slightly different. And in 1829, the Columbian whitetail was recognized by science as our westernmost subspecies: Odocoileus virginianus leucurus. Overhunting and habitat conversion soon took their toll. From an original range of 13 million acres, from Washington’s Puget Sound region into southern Oregon, the subspecies eventually was reduced to just two small pockets. One was along the lower Columbia River, which separates western Washington from Oregon; the other was 200 miles south, along the Umpqua River near…
I can think of several reasons why deer hunting with a handgun is enjoyable. For starters, it’s something different. If your hunting regimen seems monotonous and you’re thinking of trying something new, little else will wake you up in the morning quite like the roar of a hand cannon. It’s hard to emphasize roar enough here. Plus, as we see more wildlife agencies allowing the use of straight-walled cartridges during firearms seasons that were previously shotgun and/or muzzleloader only, handguns have emerged as viable tools for long-range deer hunting. I can’t tell you how many big bucks I’ve heard of being harvested this year with straight-walled cartridges, but it’s enough to get me excited. Plus, several of the hunters who’ve shared their stories with me are novices to handgunning. That…
