Serious bowhunters know that a successful hunt is usually just the culmination of a months-long puzzle. It's the prep that truly matters. Today’s hunters know more about the big game they’re chasing than any generation prior — and they’re more successful at it, too. This is partly because of all...
If you’re shopping for a new bow, you’re going to need to make a trip down the accessory aisle, too. As bows have become faster, lighter and more efficient, sights, rests and other accessories have become at once more rugged and more precise. Today’s bowhunters have it better than ever...
The first bow show of a new decade begins today. Since 1997, members of the archery industry including manufacturers, dealers, media, state agency representatives and more have gathered each January for the Archery Trade Show — known to most as the ATA Show — where the year’s best new bowhunting...
There was a time when shed antlers were an afterthought. You picked them up on the edge of a cornfield on a late-season bird hunt, or out of a honeysuckle thicket on a spring turkey hunt. Not anymore. Shed hunting has gone mainstream with organized events, specialty gear websites, numerous...
Most hunters don’t shoot ducks every day. Bad luck, mishaps afield and many other factors let the skunk creep into our blinds now and then. Even so, some hardcore guys fill the boat consistently. If you’re not in this elite group, you might take a long look at your tactics...
First, I offer my condolences. Building anxiety, a feeling of hopelessness and months of big-buck scrolling led you to this point. A buck tag remains unfilled in your pocket, and desperation is setting in. It won’t get the best of you, though. While many hunters are consumed with thoughts of...
My first duck never had a chance. Buffeted by cold October winds, the hen mallard lifted off the open water of Pool 9 of the Mississippi River and fluttered down into our meager shoreline decoy spread. I reacted the way any 12-year-old newbie would — letting her splash down 5...
Feral hogs have been around for long enough that just about everyone is aware of the destruction they cause. Invasive pigs wreck the land and edge out native wildlife, and the consensus is that total sounder removal is the best way to combat the invasion. But I can tell you...
Just like that, another 10 years have passed. For hunters, there were some significant moments in the 2010s. A duck call company was forever cemented into pop culture. Trail cameras began texting big buck photos straight to us. We all beheld the rise of the Instagram “Influencer.” In that time,...
East winds typically deceive and confound. Even in literature, they often portend bad tidings or evil events. But one bright November day, a light easterly breeze brought four rednecks to the pinnacle of their obsession and marked the end of a personal, gilded age of duck hunting. Even now, when...
Today’s deer hunters are more focused on managing their hunting properties than ever before. But habitat improvement isn’t always easy, and it rarely comes cheap. But there are tricks and tools you can use that cost a little less money, but still help get the job done . First, the...
Even from a distance I could tell he was the kind of buck I was looking for. His velvet-wrapped 4X4 rack carried deep forks and heavy beams. I would have considered myself lucky just to get close enough for a shot, let alone slip an arrow through his ribs. Even...
