Innholdsfortegnelse for December/January 2021-22 i North American Whitetail

WEEK OF DEC. 6-12 “Broken Brow”: Dr. James Kroll crossbow hunts an old buck in Kansas with John Butler of Buck Forage Oats. Planting trees for wildlife is the topic of this week’s “Build Your Own Deer Factory.” In “From the Stand,” Haynes Shelton explains the benefits of recurve crossbows. The historic John Breen buck from Minnesota is featured in our “Big Buck Profile.” WEEK OF DEC. 13-19 “Down to the Wire”: Rob Hughes rifle hunts the beautiful Bar J Ranch in Texas. In “Build Your Own Deer Factory,” Dr. Kroll identifies multiple wildlife preferred plants. Haynes Shelton talks bullet performance on whitetails in “From the Stand.” The colossal Brian Damery buck makes an appearance on this week’s “Big Buck Profile.” WEEK OF DEC. 20-26 “Stan the Man”: We look…

Alabama’s recent legislation to allow the night hunting of coyotes and feral hogs is just another step by states to help wildlife affected by these species. Coyotes and feral hogs have both spread across whitetail country, causing habitat damage along with predation effects on deer populations. Coyotes, once a predator of the open prairies and West, transitioned easterly with the opening of forests and agricultural undertakings. Hogs arrived on our shores from shipments believed to date as far back as Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto’s arrival. It is estimated feral hogs annually contribute more than $800 million in damage to agriculture and habitat by a population of approximately 4 million feral hogs. Alabama estimates that feral hogs cause $50 million in private property damage annually alone. The spread of coyotes…

In late December 2020, Lear McCoy had a lot to think about during his time in a tree stand. His wife, Megan, was about to give birth to their first child, and the buck Lear was hunting sprouted a rack he was sure would make the record books. But time for both was drawing near. Megan was due any day, and the hunt for the buck would likely be suspended for another season. The big whitetail was first spotted on trail camera in 2019 as a better than average 8-pointer. “He was a nice buck then, probably a 150-class deer,” recounts Chad McCoy, Lear’s older brother and near constant hunting companion. “We both saw the deer during the 2019 season and figured if it survived another year it would be…

No two quests for a trophy-sized whitetail are ever the same. Some can be over in a matter of hours. Others may last for days. Then, you have a few that can turn into week after week of epic struggles with highs and lows that test the limits of a hunter’s emotions. Frank Morrow’s bowhunt last season for a giant Kentucky typical he named “Big Boy” fell into the latter category. THE SETTING Wayne County, Kentucky, has been a consistent producer of big deer. A quick look at the Boone & Crockett record book shows that Wayne ranks 12th among the Bluegrass State’s 120 counties in number of B&C entries. Over half those bucks have been taken in the last decade. The county lies in the south-central part of the…

Sometimes finding a world-class whitetail really is as easy as a walk in the park. Or, as in this case a walk in the woods. While walking their German shorthairs on a February day in 2019, in Montgomery County, Missouri, Rick Berck and his wife were nearing their house when they noticed their dogs pushing something around. As they approached, they thought it was a tree stump that the dogs were messing around with, as it appeared to have roots on it. But after taking a closer look, it became clear that it was a deer carcass, but it was very deteriorated — basically just hair and bones. What the couple had originally thought was a ball of roots turned out to be a mass of antlers And neither of…

The first sighting of a white-tailed deer by a European likely occurred in the very late 1400s. Whether it was by John Cabot, who sailed to Atlantic Canada from England, or Alonso de Ojeda, who ventured to Central America from Spain, we’ll never know. All we can say with confidence is that long before the U.S. gained its independence, the whitetail was well known to the scientific community. Based on this, you’d assume our most widespread and abundant deer was also among the first of North America’s large animals to receive a proper scientific name. Yet even after Swedish botanist Karl Linnaeus opened the door to that process, by introducing the modern system of taxonomy in 1735, it would take right at another century for science to settle on calling…

1 Bryan Mills took this big late season buck in Champaign Co., Illinois. He shot the 15-pointer with his Mathews bow, and it was during sub-zero temperatures. 2 Cody Sorrell arrowed this mature buck in Michigan with his Prime bow. The buck weighed 212 pounds, and he green-scores 175 inches. 3 Tanner Edenfield tagged this nice Georgia buck on Jan. 24, 2020. Tanner killed it with his compound bow. 4 Jason Hedges bagged this incredible buck in Kansas on Dec. 7, 2020. He shot the buck with his 7mm Rem. Mag. 5 Steve Ruhl took this heavy-antlered buck during the 2019-2020 archery season. Steve shot the buck in Northeastern Ohio.…

I grew up in Vermont with my mom, dad and sister Autumn. Hunting has always been a huge part of our lives. Dad is a passionate hunter. He loves hunting whitetail deer, and we all love venison. The 2020-21 muzzleloader season in Southern Ohio is one I will never forget. It was then and there that I experienced the hunt of a lifetime. While hunting on foot, on public land, I shot a trophy buck with an official gross score of 196 2/8 inches. Talk about a memorable hunt! So how did a 19-year-old Vermont girl in her sophomore year at Western New England University end up bagging a 16-point trophy whitetail in Ohio? Well, here’s the story. HEADED TO OHIO After growing up hunting in Vermont, when I was…

I am still amazed how much interest in white-tailed deer management has grown since I began my career in 1973! Yet, I am even more amazed how, after thousands of outdoor articles and programs, there remains a general lack of understanding (even among some professionals) as to just how complex deer management really is. While every property is different, and thus there is no universal management strategy, I learned long ago the management communality is that you must find out what the limiting factor is on your property. Note, that’s singular, as in the No. 1 limiting factor. Perhaps one of the most common, and least understood is winter thermal cover; and that is what I wish to discuss in this column. LIMITING FACTORS Wildlife management developed as an offshoot…

CALIBER: .40 Cal. (as tested) ACTION: Bolt with Variflame Ignition BARREL: Stainless Steel, Nitride Treated, 26 in., and Free Floating BARREL TWIST RATE: 1:20 SAFETY: Manual LOAD INDICATOR: Yes SIGHTS: None WEIGHT: 9.6 LBS. LENGTH: 44.25 IN. STOCK: Composite, with Internal Aluminum Chassis and Adjustable Cheek rest INCLUDED: 20 PowerBelt ELR .40 Cal. Bullets, Carbon Fiber Collapsible Loading Rod, One-Piece Solid Aluminum Range Rod, VariFlames and Priming Kit, Quake CLAW Flush Cup Sling. CVA.COM…

To find success on any hunt takes dedication. There are no participation trophies for hunters. You either put in the work and stick it out, or you go without. It’s plain and simple. That’s the way it should be. The story of Jason Brin’s giant buck from Ellis County, Kansas, taken in fall 2020, is one in which the deer was definitely earned. Jason and his son, Brandon, began scouting in mid-summer trying to locate big bucks in their area. Going into September 2020, Jason’s then 16-year-old son found a huge buck, but the deer was nearly a mile away from any ground they own or lease. The buck sported an extra-large typical rack with tall tines and a really big frame. The pair moved a feeder to a part…

Going into the 2020 deer season, some friends and I gained permission to hunt a new piece of property in Fayette County, Kentucky. The piece of ground was 42 acres to be exact. We were all really excited, because there was a ton of deer sign and activity from what we could tell. We quickly found deer trails and could see deer out in the fields when we scouted. Opening week of deer season came upon us quickly, and at that point we hadn’t had a shooter buck show up on trail camera. We were bummed about that, because our initial expectations had been so high. But when the season started, I decided to hunt with my wife near our house at our farm. I thought it’d be smarter to…

When I think of deer hunting, I picture myself in a tree stand on top of a ridge, overlooking valleys of trees that are bursting with the colors of fall. Hunting in the mountains during the fall months is an amazing experience. Just viewing the scenery is enough to satisfy most deer hunters. However, mountain buck hunting is in a league of its own. The mountains create a variety of challenges that even experienced mountain hunters struggle to understand. Also, mountain bucks are just as tough as the environment they live in. I grew up and live in the Allegheny Mountains of northern Pennsylvania. The only kind of whitetail hunting I know is in the mountains. To me, mountain buck hunting is the ultimate whitetail challenge. In my opinion, if…

FIREARMS TRADITIONS The perfect partner for your late season pursuits, the Traditions NitroFire .50 caliber is fitted with a 26-inch chromoly steel fluted and tapered barrel branded with a 1:28 twist rate. Equipped with the Traditions Elite XT trigger system that allows the action to be cracked open with the cross-bolt safety engaged, you can load or unload this smoke pole and get a clear view of the chamber. Naturally, in true Traditions form, the manufacturer didn’t stop there. To make muzzleloading safer, more reliable and more consistent, Traditions partnered with Federal Premium and Hodgdon Powder. The NitroFire uses an encapsulated charge from Federal dubbed the Firestick. The Firestick is impervious to moisture and utilizes Hodgdon Triple Eight powder. (traditionsfirearms.com) CVA The newest member of the uber-popular Paramount family, the…

Down in Calhoun, Georgia, the cooler weather of fall felt far off, but Tara Johnson was busy doing her pre-season prep to ensure she would have successful deer hunting in the fall. “Oh my gosh, he’s perfectly broadside! I think I should try. Certainly, I can hit him.” One June day while out placing trail cameras, Tara and her boyfriend, Bryan, spotted an all-white deer. It was hard to miss, and the two sat astonished by the white hide they saw bouncing away into the woods. After the deer took off, the couple got back to work and thought nothing more of it. However, when Tara circled back a few weeks later to check the trail cameras, she and Bryan were amazed to find that the white deer they had…