Whitetail Deer

Creating a mock scrape with a heavy rope serving as the overhead branch is a technique used by many veteran whitetail hunters. Here’s how.

The author has a love/hate relationship with deer decoys — but the more he understands where and when to use them, the more he loves them.

Bill Winke provides tips on how many deer stands you should have ready to roll, and how long you should rest a stand between sits.

You know that antlers grow fast, but you’ll have an ever greater appreciation for the process after watching this short video.

Ready to spend more time in places mature bucks feel secure? Here’s how to use water and other difficult access routes to find more-productive whitetail hotspots.

A complete guide on how to bowhunt whitetails over natural and manmade ponds, as well as buried water tanks.

Using drones to scout and hunt game is unethical, but what about their use to locate a big game animal that has been shot?

Pursuing whitetails on public land is a challenge. Period. But with the right mindset, it can be tremendously rewarding.

Don’t let your deer hunting strategy become as stagnant as the summer air. When whitetails react, you must adapt.

The path you take to and from a treestand or ground blind is critical to your whitetail success.

Chances are good your local whitetails — bucks and does — could benefit from a smart mineral supplement plan.

The saying “it’s better to be lucky than good” could be used to describe the longbow shot sequence on this big buck in Mississippi.

A proper “thank you” can be critical in obtaining — and keeping — hunting permission on private property.

You may not be the agronomy envy of your hunting neighbors with food plots, but you still have the power to attract deer to your property with other means. Start now for a fall payoff.

The whitetail rut is a magical time to be in the woods — especially in Iowa. And you won’t believe the size of this palmated buck, which walks directly under the bowhunter.

The new Bedded Doe Decoy from DSD looks so realistic that in the author’s opinion, rutting bucks won’t stand a chance.

In the author’s opinion, the video by Jared Mills of mature whitetail bucks feeding — and fighting! — on January 9th in an unpicked soybean field — during a southern Iowa blizzard — is the best he’s ever seen. And yes, Jared finally arrows the biggest buck.

The good, the bad — and the ugly — whitetail clients who occupy a permanent spot in one longtime outfitter’s memory.

Professional bass angler Gerald Swindle is a diehard deer hunter, and in this video he explains why. It’s not about killing an animal.

Believe it or not, the primary reason you were unsuccessful at killing a big buck this whitetail season is because you were hunting with a dull ax.

When it comes to rare encounters in the whitetail woods, this one must rank very near the top.

The author has changed his mind when it comes to avoiding sanctuaries during the whitetail rut. Here’s why.

Some of the best whitetail movement transpires when the temperatures plummet. If you’ve never hunted in brutally cold weather, here’s a glimpse at what it’s like.

If the whitetail rut comes and goes, and you still have an unpunched tag, don’t put away your bow and sulk.

The author has had close calls with many memorable big game animals, but only one keeps him awake at night — a whitetail named Big Tobey.

Whitetails are wired to be on full alert, but these five proven deer scents can fool them, especially during the rut.

During firearm whitetail season, a fisherman is out in his canoe on a lengthy float trip when he hears a distant gunshot. You won’t believe what happens next.

Mark Drury of Drury Outdoors TV fame is gun hunting with his mom, and she has a close encounter with a monster buck. But the buck lives for another day!

With all due respect to those bowhunters who have killed giant bucks this deer season, my No. 1 whitetail story for 2023 is a public land doe.