Stormy Weather Whitetails by Scott Haugen Four days of hard hunting, and all I’d seen was a handful of deer, and no bucks. Does and fawns nervously fed along timbered edges, here and there, but the bucks—even the number of does I’d expected—were nowhere to be seen. That night, just as I was ready to call it quits, a storm front moved in. Temperatures dropped more than 30º, … [Read more...] about Stormy Weather Whitetails
Northwest Whitetail
Early Season Whitetails
Early Season Whitetails by Scott Haugen, Editor Whether scouting or hunting, late summer is one of the best months to locate a Western whitetail buck. Here’s what to look for in your pre-season scouting missions, and early season hunts! A wild flush at my feet, and instinctively the shotgun was shouldered. I have no idea where my first payload of #6 shot went, but my second … [Read more...] about Early Season Whitetails
Scouting for Drought-Stricken Bucks
Scouting for Drought-Stricken Bucks by Mark Kayser It occurs every year somewhere across the wide whitetail range in North America. It occurs even more in the arid West, causing some whitetail sub-species to evolve or find a new home. The “it” in reference is drought. It’s a phenomenon induced by worldwide weather patterns and nearly inescapable, occurs every year. Ignore … [Read more...] about Scouting for Drought-Stricken Bucks
Saskatchewan Whitetail, with a Smokepole
Saskatchewan Whitetail, with a Smokepole by Scott Haugen The phone rang early one September morning. It was my TV producer asking if I’d like to go to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and try filming a whitetail hunt. When Saskatchewan and whitetail deer are mentioned in the same sentence, it gets my attention. In a few week’s time—mid-October to be exact—I’d find myself in … [Read more...] about Saskatchewan Whitetail, with a Smokepole
Hunting From A Ground Blind
Hunting From A Ground Blind by Patrick Meitin Notes from inside a pop-up ground blind. Returning to western Oklahoma last October felt like a homecoming, getting together again with old friends like Gary Sefton, Mike Jordan, Jason Pickerill and a handful of outdoor writers I’ve come to know well. I also looked forward to seeing Scott and Joni Sanderford, owners/operators of … [Read more...] about Hunting From A Ground Blind
Wife, Mother, Hunter
Wife, Mother, Hunter by Virginia Hawthorne There I laid flat on my back with my jeans soaked through from the icy snow. I had slipped getting out of my truck and I felt a stabbing pain radiating from my now extremely swollen left hand. As my husband, Daniel, came around to help me to my feet he could see from the look on my face his usual calm and rational wife was nowhere to … [Read more...] about Wife, Mother, Hunter
Idaho Whitetail Hunting, One Exciting Double
Scott Haugen doubles while hunting whitetails in Idaho. Positioned overlooking a rose hip-choked bench, it was obvious whitetails had been everywhere. Trails crisscrossed through and around the brush, and beaten paths led to and from the bordering stands of timber. We'd see a few does on that first evening of the hunt, and then a buck. It was only one buck, but I knew he was … [Read more...] about Idaho Whitetail Hunting, One Exciting Double
Early Season Whitetail Strategies
Early Season Whitetail Strategies by Patrick Meitin In much of "whitetaildom," October represents the launch of bowhunting festivities, “early season” from the perspective of the average eastern deer hunter. Early, within a western reference, means something else altogether, normally indicating the still-blazing months of a fledgling fall, beginning with the final days of … [Read more...] about Early Season Whitetail Strategies
Shooting On High
Shooting On High by Patrick Meitin Pope and Young records tell us the average “book” whitetail is taken at something like 21 yards. This is a range even the most indifferent archer or novice bowhunter would fail to find daunting. Nearly all such shots today come as a direct result of an elevated tree-stand vantage. Serious bowhunters spend long summers standing flat footed … [Read more...] about Shooting On High
Three Loves
Three Loves by Kevin McNeil I have three loves in my life: 1) family, 2) waterfowl, and 3) big whitetail deer! Growing up in the province of Alberta, I have been fortunate to be around big whitetail bucks for most of my life. At an early age, I was bitten by the big whitetail bug. Of course, it's hard not to catch the "disease" living in the Peace River area of northern … [Read more...] about Three Loves