Innholdsfortegnelse for December/January 2023 i North American Whitetail

WEEK OF DEC. 5–11: “Sub-Zero in Iowa”: Haynes Shelton joins Paul Fountain of Fountain Outfitting for a heart-pounding late season muzzleloader hunt in Iowa. In Build Your Own Deer Factory, the team talks about natural and supplemental water. Haynes Shelton profiles the Tony Lovstuen buck, a 307 5/8-inch giant from Iowa. WEEK OF DEC. 12–18: “The Finale”: Haynes Shelton takes his Browning rifle to Alabama to chase rutting whitetails with Mark Ezell at the Pushmataha Plantation. In Build Your Own Deer Factory, the team talks management maintenance. In a brand-new Big Buck Profile, Haynes Shelton profiles the incredible Joe Volitis buck from West Virginia. WEEK OF DEC. 19–25: “Bar J. Classic Pt. 2”: Rob Hughes and Dr. James Kroll are back for part two of their hunt at the Bar…

On Nov. 11, 2019, the whitetail rut was in full swing, and I still had an Illinois buck tag burning a hole in my pocket. I hiked into a doe bedding area around noon, and by sunset I was battling for visibility, as an unexpected and unusual cold front pushed into the area. Here in the southeastern part of the state, we almost never see measurable snow during the rut, let alone near-zero windchill temperatures. And I’ll be the first to admit, I was not prepared for that weather event. A borderline blizzard during the rut seemed like such an unlikely occurrence that I didn’t take precautions with my gear, making the hunt less than comfortable; but I survived. November 12th is one of my favorite days to sit all…

I was born to be in the outdoors. I grew up on a farm in Michigan to a single mom, and my grandfather taught me all about farming, growing crops and raising beef cattle. I showed beef cattle through 4-H, and when I was 10 my mom signed me up for shooting sports. The club where I shot 3D and league at was my first job! That’s where I learned how to shoot a shotgun, and I started shooting archery right away. I shot 3D targets for five years before my mom gave me the go ahead to hunt. I harvested my first buck that first season, a nice healthy 5-point. My passion grew from there. I started putting in food plots and learning more about what it took to…

When you think of deep snow, cold temperatures and the wind blowing in your face, what comes to mind? For most people, I’d venture to guess a nice night inside with your feet up next to the fireplace by the Christmas tree is what is first to mind. But not for deer hunters — unless of course you’ve already got your tags filled by the late season. For most of us though, those conditions trigger the thoughts of big mature bucks. In fact, almost half of the bucks I’ve shot have come in the month of December. And in almost every case there’s been heavy snow involved, along with brutal temperatures. Living in northern Minnesota and spending a lot of my late seasons hunting Minnesota and North Dakota, I’ve encountered…

The tale of the 200-inch buck I named “Forky” starts back in 2019. A friend of a friend knew a farmer who farmed several properties. That summer I went to talk to the farmer to see what properties he had that might be available for bowhunting and if I could possibly get permission to hunt one of them. The meeting went well, and I was granted permission to hunt two farms. After looking at the properties on Google Earth, I was a little skeptical that these properties would hold deer. They were mostly crop fields with very little timber, but they did have creeks running on a few borders, so I thought I would give it a shot. I went soon after to scout and hang a few cameras on…

The rut is what most deer hunters look forward to each fall. While the northern rut is quite predictable, the vast differences in southern rut dates have long raised eyebrows. Shrouded in mystery, it’s a question many have asked, but few have answered. NORTH VS. SOUTH The rut is an incredible time to be a deer hunter. Whitetails are running wild, and it can be a true spectacle for those who love to watch whitetail behavior. It’s also a fine time to fill a tag. Obviously, there are similarities between the northern and southern ruts. But there are also differences. The first of which is timing. While the northern half of the United States sees a largely well-defined November rut, the southern half experiences a rut that can occur sometime…

There are two questions professional deer biologists hate to hear: How many deer are there on this property? And; What kind of acorn crop will we have this year? First, I have learned that accurately estimating the number of deer on any property (large or small) is the “La Brea Tar Pits” of deer management! It is not practically possible, and no one would believe you if you could do it! Also, even if you conduct exhaustive acorn production surveys in a specific geographic area, whatever you find out will be challenged by the guy who has one highly productive tree on his property. So, when asked about the acorn crop, I have learned to answer, “It will be spotty!” Still, however, acorns remain a highly important food item for…

The southern states offer plenty of opportunity, and thanks to extensive research, we know when the bulk of the action occurs in each county. Here’s a rough outline for each southern destination. Note, these are general timelines and not a hard-and-fast rule. Many factors impact the exact timing and duration of the rut across the South. ALABAMA: Parts of Lawrence, Calhoun, Cleburne, Randolph, Chambers, and Lee counties see rutting action in late-November. Parts of Winston, Franklin, Cullman, Morgan, Lawrence, Franklin, DeKalb, Cherokee, Bibb, and other counties do so in mid- to late-December. Most north central counties — including Jackson, Morgan, Marshall, Etowah, Blount, Cullman, St. Clair, Talladega, Shelby, Jefferson, Walker, Fayette, Tuscaloosa, Pickens, Greene, Hale, and others — rut in the first half of January. Lauderdale, Limestone, Madison, Colbert, Franklin,…

When describing a location, it’s common to say the place is “up north.” If it’s especially far off, we might go with “way up north.” But even that falls short of saying how far it is to the Arctic Circle. This imaginary line is so close to the top of the planet that for one day each December, the sun never fully rises above the horizon there. Some muskoxen, caribou and even polar bears live farther from the North Pole than that. We’re definitely not talking about whitetail country. But wait a second. Maybe we are. Believe it or not, there’s reason to think the whitetail is trying to colonize parts of Arctic Canada. In fact, evidence of it started to show up many years ago. Telling the story behind…