Diehard whitetail hunters eat, breathe, and sleep all things deer hunting, 24/7/365. In many locales across North America, deer seasons are over; and hunters in places where there are still a few more days on the deer-hunting calendar are burning the ...
Whitetail
Venison Ragu: A Classic Wild Game Recipe
“Ragu” is one of those words we see on menus and hear in conversation all the time, but most of us have no idea what it actually is. As if things weren't confusing enough, sometimes you see it spelled “ragú,” and sometimes “ragout.” There’s even a ...
Shed Hunting Tips From Connor Clark: How to Rule the West
The annual antler drop — a remarkable few months when antlered critters drop their headgear — is a time period that’s as eagerly anticipated as the mule deer and elk ruts. For many shed hunters, the time of year is all about family and friends; large ...
Wildlife Scientists Lead the Charge in Montana’s CWD ‘Zombie Deer’ Fight
Most sportsmen who travel to Montana head almost immediately for its wilds to fish and hunt. On this trip to Big Sky Country, the mission is whitetails — chronic wasting disease–infected “zombie deer” specifically, but our first stop is a veterinary ...
Hunter Ed: Piebald Deer and Other Whitetail Genetic Anomalies
Any whitetail hunter knows that deer can move through the thickest brush or crunchiest leaves without making a sound, appearing or disappearing like smoke. Stealth is what helps that wobbly fawn eventually become a 4 1/2-year-old stud. Not so for ...
How to Make Country-Fried Deer Heart
Country- or chicken-fried steak is one of those things I can’t pass up if it’s on the menu. If you can deny yourself a tender slab of fried beef, then you’re a better person than I am. I don’t care if it comes on a sandwich or with a side of mashed ...
How a Pennsylvania Whitetail Hunter Arrowed a Public Land Booner
As a Pennsylvania whitetail hunter, you just don’t expect to shoot a Boone and Crockett deer. Pennsylvania is far from both Iowa and Wisconsin, but since the state implemented an antler point restriction in 2002, it feels like that distance has ...
Hunter Tags Two ‘Albino’ Deer with One Arrow in Texas
When David Santini spotted the doe from his stand, he knew immediately that it was the “albino” deer the property owners had seen numerous times on the adjacent lot. The rare blond-colored doe had successfully eluded hunters on this Texas ...
Get a Little Classy With This Venison Wellington Recipe
Beef Wellington is an iconic British dish that lends itself well to a wild game adaptation. In fact, plenty of you will probably prefer the venison Wellington you're about to learn how to make, and that's a good thing. In the traditional recipe, a ...
Montana Deer Season Extended to Combat CWD, Booming Population
Whitetail hunters in the Big Sky Country have received an early Christmas present: the Montana deer season has been extended through Feb. 15, 2022, in several southwestern districts. This is good news for hunters who ate tag soup during the ...
Police Officer Busted Spotlighting Deer From Patrol Vehicle
An off-duty Louisiana police officer and three buddies picked the wrong night for some after-hours illegal deer-slaying. Officials said today that the four men were busted with a spike, an 8-point deer, and three rifles — one with night vision ...
Rare Deer Shot In West Texas Is Headed for the Record Books
Cibolo Creek Ranch in West Texas was established in the mid-1800s by Milton Faver. Legend has it that Faver fled Missouri for Texas after gunning a man down in a duel. Only 45 miles north of the Mexican border and an hour south of Marfa, the ...
Antlered Doe: Missouri Hunter Shoots Huge, Rare 16-Pointer
Shooting a 16-point buck isn’t exactly an everyday occurrence, but it’s not exactly unusual either. It is decidedly rarer to encounter a whitetail doe sporting 16-point headgear. That’s precisely what Missouri hunter Samuel Perotti shot just before ...
Idaho To Hold CWD Deer Hunt, Joins 26 States Battling Disease
In late November, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game reported the discovery of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in two mule deer that were killed in October by hunters in the Slate Creek drainage near Lucile in Idaho County. Now, wildlife officials ...
Buck Turns to Prayer, Busts Into Church on Michigan Deer Season Opener
Millions of parishioners gather in fellowship on Sunday mornings, turning to prayer for their salvation. Fortunately, the Grace Sturgis non-denominational church was mostly empty the morning of the Michigan deer season opener. It seems that one ...
COVID Deer Update: Wisconsin Tells Hunters to Mask Up
In true, mountain-out-of-a-mole-hill government fashion, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services recently released updated COVID-19 guidance, urging hunters to wear a mask when field dressing any whitetail they’ve killed. Wisconsin deer hunting ...
Chronic Wasting Disease Outbreak: Wyoming Collects 1,000s of Samples
A year after approving a new chronic wasting disease (CWD) management plan, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) is on track to collect the most lymph node samples ever in a single year. Since identifying its first cases of CWD in ...
Where Are The Deer Hunters? Michigan Hunting Licenses Down by 250K
A quarter-million hunters is a lot for one state to lose, but that’s exactly the deer-hunting license deficit Michigan is currently facing, based on the latest statistics. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reported deer hunting ...
Classic Venison Osso Buco Is Stupid Simple and Guaranteed to Impress
Osso buco is one of those cliche wild game dishes that’s actually worthy of the hype. Traditionally made with veal shank, this Italian classic has found a devoted following among hunters using deer, elk, and other wild game — venison osso buco comes ...
Most Important Piece of Hunting Kit: Stay Warm in a Treestand
When I first started whitetail hunting, being cold was the No. 1 thing that’d get me out of a stand early. It didn’t matter how heavy or warm my clothing was; I still froze during November and December hunts. Every Hunter’s Ed test has the same ...
5 Keys to Pulling Off an All-Day Sit During the Whitetail Rut
Hunting the whitetail rut is a fucking grind. It's the time of year all hunters look forward to, full of lows with a few highs sprinkled in. During the rut, anything can happen at literally any time. You can go from having a season full of ...
Birria-Style Venison Tacos: A Delicious Way to Prepare Tough Cuts
If you spend any time on social media, you've probably salivated over at least one video of Birria-style tacos. Birria tacos are like the Mexican equivalent of a French Dip Sandwich, and it turns out, it's an outstanding way to make venison ...
Three Late-Season OTC Western Hunts You Can Do Right Now
Didn’t draw a tag this year? Perhaps you just couldn't plan a 2021 Western hunt in time, or maybe you just weren’t sure you could get away from work or family. You must be feeling some major FOMO right now as you scroll through the socials, liking ...
Deer Ribs: A Foolproof Bone-In Recipe That Never Fails
Deer ribs are a highly underrated and often disrespected piece of wild game. At best, most deer ribs end up deboned and ground into burgers and sausages. At worst, they are discarded with the gut pile. While they may not be as thick and juicy as pork ...
How to Hunt Public Land Whitetail: A 3-Year Strategy
Hunting public land whitetails can be frustrating, to say the least. Going into a new area and figuring it out can make a deer hunter go crazy with second guesses. It’s extremely difficult to make all of the right decisions on an unfamiliar piece of ...
Public Land Whitetail Hunting Tips: The 5 Things to Keep in Mind
Every year, I find myself with a mixture of new and old hunting areas in my hunting plans. Hunting the places you’ve always hunted provides you with years of insightful knowledge of the landscape and animal movement. Hunting new areas provide you ...
World Record Whitetail: The Top 5 Non-Typical Archery Bucks
No big game animal causes more American hunters to burn vacation days and abandon all adult responsibilities than whitetail deer. From New England to Florida, New Jersey to Montana, and in all the bread-basket, rust-belt, and Great Plains states in ...
So You Want to Shoot an Archery World Record?
Potential world record big game animals exist no matter your home range. (There’s a freak in every crowd.) But some regions are just downright better than others when producing archery world-record animals. What makes these places so unique? No one ...
How to Score Whitetail and Mule Deer Trophies
After you’ve taken down a giant whitetail or mule deer there’s a moment when the adrenaline subsides, your hands stop shaking, and you’re able to start forming complete sentences again. As you take hold of the rack with both hands, the siren song of ...
World Record Whitetail: The Top 5 Typical Archery Bucks
There are non-typical whitetail deer with racks that are mind-blowingly massive, almost alien sculptures of bone. Typical whitetails are not that. Typicals are the clean, symmetrical, even “ideal” headgear that most hunters imagine when they think of ...
