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.
Don’t Move . . . If you hunt alone, you won’t hear it said. But when a hunting buddy utters this simple two-word phrase, it gets my heart pounding just as quickly as crunching leaves in the timber, a grunting buck, gobbling turkey or tight fishing line! I heard it this April while turkey hunting in Kentucky with my brother and dad. We’d spotted a red-hot longbeard on the next ridge over and watched him breed a hen. After his business was finished, I yelped at him three or four times and he gobbled fiercely in reply before vanishing into the brush. Two gobbles later, I thought surely he was closing the distance between us. But when all went silent, I couldn’t help but question if he’d hung up! Then,…
Is there anything more exciting than bowhunting big, mature whitetails? We don’t think so! The adrenaline dump that comes from a rutted-up buck working his way into archery range is unlike anything else in the world, and that’s why we love walking into the whitetail woods bow-in-hand each fall for NAW TV. Since this is our annual archery issue, we thought it would be the perfect time to tell you about the bowhunts you’ll see on season 22 of NAW TV, airing now on Sportsman Channel. Shown above is one of the best archery hunts featured on the current season. As he’s been known to for decades, Stan Potts filled both his Illinois buck tags last fall before gun season even began! In addition to the wide buck in the…
In Part I of this series on the cost of land management for whitetails, we discussed food plotting equipment expenses. Now, in Part II, we’ll “dig into” the cost of clearing land for planting, timber stand improvement and the introduction of man-made water sources. We'll also discuss food plot management and feeding. MECHANICAL CLEARING First, to create an opening in your forest or woodland, you will have to clear the area using heavy equipment. There are three basic ways of doing that: timber harvesting, mulching and bulldozing; although, track excavators can be useful. If you are harvesting timber, there may be a net gain from sale of the timber, but you still will have to prepare the site, which will negate the income. Here in Texas, the average mulching cost…
When reverse-draw crossbows first came onto the scene, they garnered high praise from hunters due to their compact size, better balance and faster shooting speeds. Contrary to conventional crossbows, reverse-draw crossbows have cams at the front of the bow and limb pockets at the rear of the riser. This design allows reverse-draw bows to have enhanced “power stroke” (more arrow speed for less draw weight) and a centered balance point (as opposed to front heavy). In addition, reverse-draw crossbows are typically much narrower in width than conventional models. TenPoint Crossbows recently launched their lightest and narrowest reverse-draw crossbow ever: the TRX 26. Designed with a micro-footprint and low profile at 26.5 inches short and 5.75 inches narrow, the TRX 26 shoots 460 FPS. At the heart of the TRX 26’s…
The story of my hunt for Stickers and Clydesdale really begins in late summer of 2021, when we gained access to a 130-acre piece of property. This piece of property is a combination of tillable land and pasture area with a creek running through it. Since we did not have much time to really get in and take a good look at the property, we decided to put up a camera on the back side of the corn. That fall, we had several solid deer show up; however, I had a deer on my main farm that I focused my attention on for the year. The following year, I decided I needed to put boots on the ground and check out the 130-acre property more closely. With the help of…
“I was wondering if I should pull my truck on in, or just wait!” says Jonathan Duzan, describing the moment he spotted a world-class buck standing in the predawn light a quarter-mile from the gate he was about to open. “I figured he was heading to the same place I was, so I texted a couple of my buddies while I was sitting there watching him,” Jonathan continues. “I told them: ‘There is a giant here with another buck, and I’m not sure what to do.’” This turn of events was totally unexpected, and Jonathan was taking a moment to consider his options. He had hunted the same property in Illinois for many years, and he had never seen a buck like the one standing there! But let’s not get…
