Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2024 i North American Whitetail

As few as 10 years ago, I had very little experience hunting whitetails from box blinds, or “permanent blinds” as many call them. I killed my first deer from a hang-on tree stand when I was just a kid, and for the next 20-plus years I primarily hunted from small, mobile platform stands, during both archery and firearms seasons. While my beloved hang-on style stands and tree steps can’t be beat for their light weight and modularity (except maybe by popular new tree hunting saddles, which admittedly I’ve not tried), there’s a reason why most of the bucks I’ve shot since 2015 were taken from permanent blinds. In this article, I’ll briefly explain why I’ve started hunting from permanent blinds as often as I do, and why I’m punching tags…

I’m sure every bowhunter has either nicknamed or has a buddy who’s nicknamed a certain buck. It’s an easy, symbolic way of remembrance when telling stories about a particular deer. The buck I dubbed “Big Louie” was named after my grandpa Louie, as he was built like a brahma bull back in his day. So believe me when I say Big Louie quickly had my full attention beginning in mid-September 2021. I got lucky when one of my trail cameras took a series of pictures as he passed by. I knew him instantly, and as a 5-year-old, he’d blown into a 170-class typical 10-point. His body had become gigantic compared to the other bucks of the same age class, hence the name “Big Louie.” His rack sported stellar brow tines,…

Big 12’s unmistakable split G-4s materialized in the cedars ahead of me. Bow already in hand, I laser-eyed that buck as he slowly picked his way through the pokeberries. Within a few minutes, he was broadside and 24 yards out. I came to full draw, settled the pin and released one more breath. A millimeter movement of my index finger sent that fateful arrow downrange. It connected, and Big 12 disappeared into the timber. Then, silence. I followed that buck for three years, possibly four. Each summer, he returned to run it back another season on the farm. I saw the buck in person many times and learned much about him. This deer taught me more than most, and it wouldn’t have happened without targeting this specific returning buck. Of…

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Anyone who has had the experience of hunting an individual buck for any period has learned the importance of keeping a positive frame of mind. Lifelong Ontario, Canada resident Dearl Hill always carried such a mindset, firmly believing that one should always “dream big.” He lived by that motto, and his approach to deer hunting was no different. In the pre-dawn darkness of Nov. 4, 2021, Dearl parked his vehicle along a field approach that gave access to 200 acres of private land he had permission to hunt on. He was close to his hometown of Sarnia, Ontario, which made this property one of his favorite hunts, and it gave him ample time to do diligent scouting. It wasn’t by chance that Dearl chose this location to hunt during the…

Thanks to better than 30 years spent as a full-time outdoor writer and video/television show producer, I’ve had the unique pleasure of pursuing trophy whitetails across a very broad geographic range. Those hunts include trips to states located in the far southern U.S., hunts in the far northern reaches of Canada and just about every place in between. As one might imagine, my many experiences have provided me with a wealth of knowledge regarding the behavior patterns of mature bucks that reside in different environments. Now before proceeding I’d like to state that, while my depth of knowledge has increased dramatically, to this day there are times when I still come away from a hunt having been fully humiliated by a mature whitetail. To be honest, I truly hope those…

In November 2017, I was perched up in a heavily covered hedge tree when I caught a glimpse of a familiar buck: a pretty 8-point sporting a double throat patch. The buck approached to my left and what should have been a chip shot turned into a disaster. I rushed my shot, and it impacted directly into the buck’s shoulder. The buck whirled around and presented me a follow-up shot, and upon impact, the animal took off like a lightning bolt through dense cover. He stopped about 100 yards out and walked slowly to the north. I was dejected, and I knew I was about to have a long evening. It had been cool and dry that day, but a cold front was to arrive after dark with freezing rain,…

I woke up a little later than I typically like to, but luckily the short 20-minute drive to the farm left me plenty of time to get in the stand by daylight. A quick double check of the weather forecast showed cloudy skies with scattered rain showers, but the wind was perfect for the stand I planned to sit. I told myself: Today could be the day he finally messes up and shows himself during the daylight hours. Probably not, but I’ll never know if I’m not sitting there. Parking a half-mile or so down the road, I decided it would be better to take the extra steps than park at the pull-off closest to the stand. I didn’t want to take a chance of bumping the deer out of…

I can remember as if it was yesterday, back in 2010, when I scouted one of my favorite oak ridges during the rut and all heck broke loose around me. On the ground, with a bow in my hand, I came close to shooting multiple bucks as they quickly passed by me, either out of range or moving too fast for a shot. I ended up seeing five different bucks chasing one doe. The biggest was one that could have made the Boone & Crockett record book. After things settled down, I quickly went home, grabbed a stand and hung a set for the next morning’s hunt. Long story short, I hunted that stand three full days in a row and saw 18 different bucks. Several of those bucks were…

When Back to the Future was released on July 3, 1985, the sci-fi comedy struck gold with its clever plot reviewing how much the world had changed in the past 30 years. Young moviegoers saw that many everyday products had been groundbreaking when their parents were growing up, and still only dreams to folks a generation before them. Had we swung by the nearest archery shop that summer, we’d have been reminded just how far whitetail products also had come in three decades. The familiar recurve bows of 1955 had largely been replaced by compound designs. Some even had overdraw rests, the latest fad in the quest to push arrows well beyond 200 feet per second. New aluminum shafts, sights, release aids, broadheads, optical rangefinders and string trackers also would…

There was once a fine 8-point rack attached to the end of that spinal cord in the picture. And there’s no telling where it is now. After the year I’d had hunting, I should have seen it coming. It all started in early spring when I missed a tom turkey. The fool bird sprinted across a wheat field like he had a death wish, just so I could shoot over his head. That miss was followed by a trip out west where the only bull elk I saw was one I helped another hunter field dress. I did see a decent mule deer on that trip, but he was already well out of range and hightailing it for the next county. And then, back home, I didn’t have a single whitetail…