Tomorrow’s not only the ninth of December—it’s also the bottom of the rut’s ninth inning. It’s also a day you could hit hunting’s equivalent of a walk-off home run by tagging a giant in the last phase of breeding. One month ago…
Go to Best Days of the Whitetail Rut: Be Sure to Hunt Tomorrow!Author Archive
November 29th, 2012
Deer Hunting Tip: Remember to Hunt Near Water During the Rut
As most of you know, I recently hosted Hurteau on an archery hunt, and although Dave did have a couple of those “if only” moments so common to bowhunting, he didn’t go home with a Minnesota whitetail. Since I was tagged out, I ha…
Go to Deer Hunting Tip: Remember to Hunt Near Water During the RutNovember 26th, 2012
Mentoring 101: Understanding the Risks
All hunters have something important to share, and never before has it been more important for us to share it–with our kids, the neighbor’s kids, our nieces and nephews, anyone who wants in. But before you commit to mentoring a new hunter, y…
Go to Mentoring 101: Understanding the RisksNovember 21st, 2012
Bowhunters: Don’t Aim Too Close to That Front Shoulder
I hear a lot of deer hunting stories from fellow bowhunters. Inevitably, a small but notable percentage of them start like this: “I thought I hit him perfectly, right behind the shoulder….” Yet it turns out that the hunter couldn&…
Go to Bowhunters: Don’t Aim Too Close to That Front ShoulderNovember 19th, 2012
No Buck for Me, No Rack for You
Well, my efforts to give away a rack are foiled again. As you know, I spent last week bowhunting with Bestul on his home stomping grounds in southeast Minnesota. It was one of those hunts—any of you who carry a bow a lot will understand&mda…
Go to No Buck for Me, No Rack for YouNovember 13th, 2012
Contest: Guess The Score of Hurteau’s Buck Before He Tags It, Win The Rack
To those of you who’ve been following the “Help Me Kill My Buck, Win the Rack” posts: First, thanks for the great suggestions. Second, I’ve run into a problem—or a problem ran into the buck, as it were. After a few more…
Go to Contest: Guess The Score of Hurteau’s Buck Before He Tags It, Win The RackNovember 12th, 2012
Carhartt: An American Classic and Great Women’s Apparel
Rather than run yet another picture of me holding a gun or dead thing in this space, today we have Field & Stream’s Kristyn Brady modeling a Carhartt Women’s Work-Dry Base Layer Quarter Zip Shirt and a live trout.
Kristyn and I, along…
November 12th, 2012
Smartass How-To: Steer a Deer Right to Your Stand
Intercepting deer on natural movement via scouting and careful observation is cool and all. But radical landscape manipulation is where it’s really at these days. As you know, with some farming equipment and a chainsaw, you can readily infl…
Go to Smartass How-To: Steer a Deer Right to Your StandNovember 7th, 2012
A Good Reason Not to Shoot Deer Beyond 30 Yards With a Bow
I’m not saying that if I can screw up an easy bow shot, anyone can. But if I screw up an easy bow shot…. Well, anyway, this doe was 20 yards away and just barely quartering away. Easy, easy shot–and I missed by a good 8 inches, too far…
Go to A Good Reason Not to Shoot Deer Beyond 30 Yards With a BowNovember 6th, 2012
How to Pack for a Hunt
“The only time I ever got my s**t together, I couldn’t pick it up.”—Roger Miller
Packing successfully for a hunting trip is far more important than making out a will which will hold up. If you die and your will is successfully…
November 5th, 2012
Help Kill My Buck, Win the Rack: Part II
And the winner is…the buck, for now. If I’d had enough light to legally shoot, I’d have tagged him last week and given half of the rack to maynardtl8, who was the first to suggest mock scrapes, and the other half to finnyk, who sugge…
Go to Help Kill My Buck, Win the Rack: Part IINovember 5th, 2012
What Happens When You Shoot Buckshot Through a Rifled Barrel? (Gun Nuts TV Question Winners Announced)
This was the second year on the The Gun Nuts that we answered viewer questions and it has become one of my favorite segments to do on the show. The question in the video above came from Bob, and I think the video illustrates fairly well what happen…
Go to What Happens When You Shoot Buckshot Through a Rifled Barrel? (Gun Nuts TV Question Winners Announced)November 1st, 2012
Hunting Ethics: Shooting Ducks on the Water
Today we have a hunting ethics question.
For the record, I have never shot a duck on the water and I never will, with, of course, the exception of cripples. When I taught my kids to hunt I didn’t let them shoot their first ducks on the water, ei…
October 31st, 2012
Consumer Alert!
Being an artist, and therefore unconcerned with vulgar commerce, and being disinclined to lead you into temptation for my name’s sake, I try to steer clear of extremely desirable, costly stuff. However, I’m compelled to do so here because I…
Go to Consumer Alert!October 30th, 2012
Recoil: The Enemy of Good Shotgun Shooting
To climb back onto one of my favorite soapboxes: recoil is the enemy of good shotgun shooting. I saw that again last weekend when I helped the local Pheasants Forever chapter with its youth pheasant hunt. My job was to give the kids a little shotgun i…
Go to Recoil: The Enemy of Good Shotgun ShootingOctober 29th, 2012
Who Are the Greatest Deer Hunters Ever?
I’m compiling a list of the 25 greatest deer hunters ever. Want to help? I’ve got 20 or so off the top of my head, including renowned old-time deerslayers like Nat Foster (Cooper’s real-life Natty Bumppo) and Philip Tome, 20th-cent…
Go to Who Are the Greatest Deer Hunters Ever?October 26th, 2012
Treestand Safety: I Repeat, Wear Your Harness!
I say it every year, but it bears repeating: If you are not wearing a treestand harness, you’re nuts. Take a look at this picture. The man hanging from the strap is Jim Barta of Hunter’s Safety Systems, makers of one of the original high…
Go to Treestand Safety: I Repeat, Wear Your Harness!October 24th, 2012
Help Me Kill My Buck, Win the Rack
Shortly before our October 1 bow opener, I found a new rub line leading roughly from a creek crossing to a lush alfalfa field. So I hung a stand overlooking it about 20 yards into the woods (labeled S1 in the accompanying chicken scratching). Walkin…
Go to Help Me Kill My Buck, Win the RackOctober 22nd, 2012
Foolproof Big-Buck Tactic: Strategically Placed Deer-Crossing Signs
As I’m sure you can imagine, people are constantly coming up to me and asking, “Dave, how do you kill so many big deer?” And up till now I have gotten away with the usual BS about persistence and a positive attitude and the discipli…
Go to Foolproof Big-Buck Tactic: Strategically Placed Deer-Crossing SignsOctober 22nd, 2012
Handloading: Tips on Picking Powders
Since the more intelligent among you have asked for more handloading posts, here’s one. One of the questions all beginners have is, how on earth do I select a powder, there being so many on the market? Here are a few tips on that and powders gene…
Go to Handloading: Tips on Picking PowdersOctober 18th, 2012
The $1,000 Long-Range Deer Outfit
This may bring some pain to those of you who have already spent $5K or even $10K in years past to get your sub-MOA, long-range deer rifle with befitting scope and comparable binocular. But the gun and glass I carried last week while hunting mule de…
Go to The $1,000 Long-Range Deer OutfitOctober 18th, 2012
Kent Fasteel: Reliable, Nontoxic Shot for Waterfowl
Years ago I was in Stuttgart, Arkansas with the president of a company that made expensive non-toxic shot. He was expounding on the theme that ammunition is a small part of the overall price of hunting, and that most hunters don’t shoot many she…
Go to Kent Fasteel: Reliable, Nontoxic Shot for WaterfowlOctober 17th, 2012
How to Take a Great Harvest Photo
If you haven’t filled your tag yet, it’s going happen soon. And when you shoot that buck, your friends are going to want to see it, and you’re going to want a memento. That’s why being able to take a good field photo (which h…
Go to How to Take a Great Harvest PhotoOctober 15th, 2012
Gun Bench Essentials from ‘The Total Gun Manual’
Editor’s Note: this post comes from Field & Stream’s ‘The Total Gun Manual’ by David E. Petzal and Phil Bourjaily.
While I leave major jobs to a gunsmith, I like to be able to take guns apart and put them back together, mount scopes, switch stock …
October 15th, 2012
Shotgun Tips: Doves in the Wind
The last two days in the dove field have been windy, as in 25-30 mph windy. The conditions have made shooting a real challenge, and the shooting and the low gray skies remind me of a duck hunting in a cold, ducky gale. Wind becomes a big problem when…
Go to Shotgun Tips: Doves in the WindOctober 15th, 2012
How to Miss a Mule Deer
Well I suppose I ought to tell you about how I embarrassed myself on an Oregon mule deer hunt last week. But first, let me just get a couple of excuses out of the way:
[1] I’m a crappy long-range rifleman.
[2] I can be really, really stupi…
October 11th, 2012
Basic Gun Safety Rules from ‘The Total Gun Manual’
Editor’s Note: this post comes from Field & Stream’s ‘The Total Gun Manual’ by David E. Petzal and Phil Bourjaily.
If you’ve been shooting for any time at all and had any kind of proper education (by which we mean anything from a firearms ce…
October 9th, 2012
A New Folding Knife from Knives of Alaska (And Other Knife Notes)
It occurred to me that I haven’t done anything on knives in a while, so here goes. As a brand, I’ve seen more Knives of Alaska cutlery in the hands of guides and outfitters than any other maker’s stuff, which is probably due to the fact th…
Go to A New Folding Knife from Knives of Alaska (And Other Knife Notes)October 4th, 2012
Shoot Me Down: Mechanical Broadheads for Deer Hunting Aren’t Worth the Cost
In the great debate of mechanical vs. fixed-blade broadheads, there are valid arguments on both sides. For the sake of this post, I’ll compare a Muzzy 100-grain 3-blade to a Rage 100-grain 3-blade. Both are among the most popular styles in their…
Go to Shoot Me Down: Mechanical Broadheads for Deer Hunting Aren’t Worth the Cost