Brow Tines and Backstrap

Our deer blog is one of the longest-running and most popular ones out there. This is where we cover all things deer hunting, from experts and whitetail trivia to news, gear, and hardcore hunting advice. Whether you need to know how to test the soil in your food plot, tighten the groups from your crossbow, or scope out the latest on that big buck you saw online, you've landed around the right campfire. Pull up a seat and join us.

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Podcast: Brodie Swisher on BB Guns, Devices, and The Joys of Hunting with Kids

January 10, 2022   |  Brow Tines and Backstrap

On this episode of Realtree's Outpost Podcast, I joined Brodie Swisher, editor of Bowhunting.com, for a great discussion on the realities of hunting with kids. Brodie, who lives just across the state line from me in Tennessee, is an expert bowhunter and champion game caller, but you'd never know it...

Why You Should Hunt a Texas Management Buck

January 6, 2022   |  Brow Tines and Backstrap

There are two reasons why I love to visit South Texas in January: the weather is wonderful, typically sunny and in the 70s, and there are plenty of big deer running around. On most ranches in Texas, those bucks are classified as either “trophy” or “management” deer. Trophies are bucks...

Bowhunter Bitten By Bear in Treestand and Vagabond Buck Swims Mississippi River

December 28, 2021   |  Brow Tines and Backstrap

Best Kill of the 2021 Season Some mega bucks have been harvested across the country, but to me this kill near Torrey, Virginia, is hands down the best . Virginia Dunning, 94 years young, went out one day in September and shot a fat doe for the freezer. Virginia’s daughter,...

Why You Should Snoop Around in Your Buck's Gut Pile

December 21, 2021   |  Brow Tines and Backstrap

Phil Anderson has a job only a whitetail freak like you and me could love. “I snoop around in gut piles,” says the animal nutrition consultant from Pennsylvania. “The cool thing about rooting around in guts is that you get the most recent information as to what that deer ate...

Why the .300 Blackout Is a Great Deer Round

December 14, 2021   |  Brow Tines and Backstrap

The 2-year-old buck was facing us at 90 yards, and my 7-year-old son, Anse, said he was steady, with the deer in the scope. I told him to hold on the crease between the buck’s neck and shoulder, and squeeze the trigger slowly. The deer crumpled at the shot, kicked...

Don’t Let a Dead Deer Kill You

December 8, 2021   |  Brow Tines and Backstrap

One December day a few years back, a Virginia hunter name Rob shot a 10-pointer just before dark. He hiked back to his truck, put up his rifle, and called a buddy to help with the drag. When the boys went back in 30 minutes later, the buck was gone...

3 Places to Shoot a Buck Thanksgiving Weekend

November 22, 2021   |  Brow Tines and Backstrap

There’s a big hunting weekend coming up. You and millions of other guys and gals have a few days off, and for many of you this is the last best chance to get a buck. After stuffing your face Thursday, get out there and try these three tactics. Hunt a...

When You Should Pass a Buck … and When You Shouldn’t

November 12, 2021   |  Brow Tines and Backstrap

As a general rule I say to shoot whatever buck makes you happy, as long as you do it legally and ethically. Spike, forkie, 2-year-old 8-point … This is America, man, it’s your choice. We ought never to shame anyone for shooting a youngish buck with an undersized rack, but...

Why Buck Tarsal is the Deadliest Scent in the Deer Woods

November 1, 2021   |  Brow Tines and Backstrap

One morning in early November, I smoked an 8-pointer with my muzzleloader and got on the blood trail. I could smell his rankness as I tracked, and when I found him a short way ahead, I covered my nose with my sleeve and thought, Man, you stink . The deer’s...

Is Saskatchewan Deer Hunting Overrated?

October 27, 2021   |  Brow Tines and Backstrap

On a cold, gray afternoon in Saskatchewan, Canada in 1987, a whitetail buck thick as a steer chased a doe into a pasture. I threw the .30-06 to my shoulder and fired; miraculously the beast went down in a heap. My knees shook as I walked up to the 300-pound...

Why Oct. 20 Kicks off the Best Bowhunting of the Year

October 20, 2021   |  Brow Tines and Backstrap

Historical “rut curves” assembled by whitetail biologists over decades show that while bucks have been sign-posting for weeks now in the early fall, they really crank up their scraping around October 20. Data also show that in central and northern states, 5 to 7 percent of a herd’s does are...

Here’s Where Pressured Bucks Spend the Most Time

October 5, 2021   |  Brow Tines and Backstrap

We all need a sanctuary, a place where we feel safe and comfortable hanging out, sometimes alone and sometimes with a few friends. A refuge we can come home to and flop into bed after dinner, or a long night out on the town. Old bucks need those shelters too...

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