Monster Bucks: Success and Failure

Illinois 2011
I had an incredible gun season this year in Illinois, sharing deer camp with some great friends and scoring on this 140” 8 point first thing Friday morning! In fact, I had my best season ever in Illinois, filling both my archery and gun tags for the first time this year after hunting this [...]

Monster Bucks and Quality Equipment

My biggest buck to date, taken 2 hours after I hung the stand.
Illinois has been one of my favorite hunting destinations for the last 6 or 7 years, and I normally draw a bow and a gun tag, (non residents can shoot one buck with a bow and one with a gun) and with the [...]

Monster Bucks in Canada – not this time!

Well like they say all good things must come to an end, and so did my lucky streak, just never imagined it would happen in Canada! Yes, after 4 great bucks in a row – Wyoming, Ohio, Kansas and Illinois – I got skunked in Canada! I really believed after starting my bow season off [...]

Monster Bucks in Kansas

Pig Farm Giant!
As I sat perched in a tall cottonwood overlooking the hillside of c.r.p, the cool northwesterly breeze felt good on my face as I glassed the cover for antlers, man it’s great to be back in Kansas! I absolutely love hunting this type of habitat, and Kansas is loaded with it, one reason [...]

The Dark Horse

Finally, after 2 long years, passing up a shot without camera light last season, numerous trail camera pics and 5 sightings in the past two weeks – the Dark Horse is dead! It’s been quite a September for me, making up for a heaping helping of tag casserole from last year, I’ve started off my [...]

Monster Bucks during the October Lull

The October Lull…..sounds a little depressing doesn’t it! Not nearly as popular a word with whitetail hunters as something like “The Rut”! Probably because it is just that, a lull in activity that happens somewhere between the first week of October and ends a week or so before Halloween. But what’s really happening during this [...]

Monster Bucks on The Opener

If I had to pick my favorite month to hunt “Monster Bucks” it would have to be October! Yeh, you heard right, October, not November. I have had my best luck in October and harvested all of my biggest bucks including all 3 of my 200” deer prior to Halloween. There are a few good [...]

Monster Bucks- The Change

The “Dark Horse” buck, 2011
Who out there has an eyeball on a big buck already? Trail cam pics? Video? Or have you burned a hole through him with your spotting scope? Is he predictable, doing the same thing every night? Have you had your eye on him all summer, watching him waltz into the local [...]

Monster Bucks and Salad Dressing

When is the best time to see a Monster buck this time of the year? I’m sure if you are reading this column, you’ve probably been running trail cameras in your hunting area and cruising the roads glassing the bean fields, trying to catch a glimpse of a giant in velvet. I’ll bet some of [...]

Spooking Monster Bucks

Is it ok to spook a mature whitetail? If you do, what will happen? Will he turn nocturnal or leave the area completely never to return? Is there ever a good time to spook a big buck? All good questions and I wish there was a definitive answer. I don’t believe that if you do [...]

Monster Buck success

What’s the key to harvesting Monster Bucks consistently? It would have to be finding them, right? It doesn’t matter if you are the best bow hunter on earth and you can hit a paper plate consistently at 100 yards on every shot, if he doesn’t live where you hunt you won’t kill him! There’s an [...]

Monster Bucks and the Moon

“Cody’s Buck”
If I had to name just one thing that has increased my success on seeing monster bucks during the daylight hours, whether it’s in season or during summer scouting, it would have to be paying attention to the MOON! I know there are many different opinions about the moon and what impact it has [...]

Monster Buck summer observation

Although it can be extremely hot and humid during the summer months here in the mid west, the dedicated hunter can accumulate some valuable information from June through September to help him score on a monster whitetail! Last week, I started on the subject of summer scouting and the best locations I’ve found for keeping [...]

The Bow-Zone

OH CANADA! I don’t think it would have been possible for me to be more excited about my spring trip to Canada. Two weeks to chase giant black bears in Alberta and do a little shed hunting in the infamous Bow-Zone! Well, I don’t think it would have been possible for a trip to be [...]

Pope and Young National Convention and Hunt Auction

The Pope and Young Club is holding their 28th Biennium National Convention April 6th through April 9th at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minnesota. I am excited to be able to attend this year. Hope to see you there!
The club said “a significant portion of the money raised for our Conservation Program activities comes [...]

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