Field and Stream - Deer Hunting Season RSS

The 35 Best Photos From Field & Stream's 2012 Spring Trail Cam Contest: Round II

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:15:02 -0400

Who says trail cams are only fun in the fall? Set yours out this spring, then send us your best photos. You could win a new Bushnell Trophy Cam HD (MSRP $323.95).

Here's how it works. This contest will have three rounds. The first, Round I, began, March 12, and closed on April 12. Round II ran from April 12 to May 12, and Round III from May 14 to June 14. We're giving away three Bushnell Trophy Cam HDs (MSRP: $323.95) in each round, one cam each to the top three entries, as chosen by our editors.

Congrats to users luna, mod70 and Semibald, who each have won a Trophy Cam for their shots in Round II.

So go set your trail cams up already. And have fun! --The Editors

Click here for more info on the prizes.

Click here to enter ROUND III of the 2012 SPRING TRAIL CAM CONTEST

Release of Next Twilight Movie Postponed to Re-Shoot Hunting Scenes

Sarah Smith — Mon, 07 May 2012 11:20:06 -0400

--Chad Love

I'm willing to bet that (for the male readers, anyway) whatever knowledge you may have of the "Twilight" books and/or movies was gained through the reluctant and incidental osmosis of a wife, girlfriend, sister or daughter. It's about clowns, right?

At any rate, it seems the release of whichever film is next up on the schedule has been delayed because the director had to re-shoot some important hunting scenes, apparently because he wanted to get the scenes of deer-hunting vampires as close to reality as possible.

From this story on shockya.com:

Kristen Stewart has revealed that the recent reshoots for ‘Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2′ were focused largely on the romance drama’s hunting scenes, Cinemablend is reporting. The news comes after director Bill Condon announced last month that he was bringing the cast back to Vancouver to do some reshoots for the final film in the successful franchise...Stewart also said the main reshoot she worked on was her character, Bella’s, first hunt as a vampire. She said “The first hunt is always so important. I just wanted more of it. We all wanted more of it.” The reshoots came after Condon’s first entry in the ‘Twilight’ series, last year’s ‘Breaking Dawn Part 1,’ received the worst reviews of the franchise. They were done because Bella’s transformation into a vampire is a major part of the story. As seen in ‘Breaking Dawn Part 2′s trailer, Bella hunts in the woods for animals to feed on, as she wakes up after her transformation into a vampire hungry for blood.

We all knew this was coming, didn’t we? The reintroduction of benevolent, good-looking vampires to our western states is going to absolutely decimate our deer and elk herds. Do you know how many elk the average vampire takes in a year? But the pro-vampire groups don’t care. They falsely portray these killing machines, with their strong cheekbones, flawless skin and smoldering good looks, as kind and gentle souls who reluctantly take only the weak, old, and infirm ungulates so that they may live in harmony with us, their bipedal sunshine friends.

Not only is that a gross mischaracterization of the vampire's true nature, but what about the animals that are attacked and bitten, but get away? Not only will our deer and elk herds decline, but the ones that remain become undead themselves, and have you ever tried to shoot a Nosferatu elk? Let me tell you, it 'aint easy. We better mobilize and get all over this one before it gets all over us. I'm not necessarily anti-vampire, mind you, but I do think they need to be controlled and managed just like any other crypto-zoological game animal. They've been doing it for centuries in Europe, and they don't have issues with their vampires...

The 50 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos from April 2012

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:25:49 -0400

Each month, Field & Stream editors review the hundreds of photos submitted by readers to our Trophy Room. If your photo is chosen to be printed in the Game Faces section of the magazine, you’ll win a Rapala Fish ‘N Fillet knife!

Submit your photos here!

Here are the other best reader photo collections from this year:

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

Unlicensed Brooklyn Hipsters Shoot Out-of-Season Deer While Filming Movie

Online Editors — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:42:13 -0400

--Chad Love

You may as well just call this next story "Clash of the Zeitgeists" because it has it all: indie film, ironic urban hipsters, backwoods survival, an Apocalyptic event and slow food. It's like someone took a snapshot of Google Trends and decided to make a movie out of it. Now if someone could get that Gotye dude to score the soundtrack and then throw in a zombie attack it'd be perfect.

From this story on DNAinfo.com:

The actor who illegally gunned down a deer on camera for Tribeca Film Festival entrant "First Winter" has been charged for killing the animal. Paul Manza, a yoga instructor who played a main character in the film, admitted to shooting a pair of deer without a license and outside of hunting season for a scene in the movie where at least one of the animals was skinned, cooked and eaten on camera...

The kill was part of a 23-day film shoot for director Ben Dickinson's debut feature about naive Brooklyn hipsters learning to survive on an upstate New York farm after an apocalyptic event. It took them several days to find a deer, he said, and they had started to think they would have to revise the script to drop the scene.

But here's the money quote...

"We are idiots. We didn't know how to do this [hunting] stuff," Dickinson told DNAinfo before the film’s premiere at the festival on April 19.

Now that's irony any hipster worth his skinny jeans would be proud of: a bunch of naïve Brooklyn hipsters unknowingly committing deer hunting violations while out in the woods making a movie about a bunch of naïve Brooklyn hipsters deer hunting out in the woods. I don’t know about you, but this movie just rocketed to the top of my "must see" list...

Make Mock Scrapes in Spring to Score Big Bucks in Fall

Dave_Maccar — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:31:53 -0400

by Scott Bestul

Knowing that bucks visit scrapes year-round, savvy hunters often make mock ones well before the rut. Now is not too early. In fact, early spring is an ideal time because the lack of foliage, compared with late summer or early fall, makes your fakes more visible to bucks.

Make sure the licking branch is obvious; it should be living, 5 to 6 feet high, have a bent or broken tip, and be located at the edge of an opening or near a pond or stream.

An active mock scrape will pull velvet bucks to a trail camera placed nearby all summer long, and it can start a buck-movement pattern that can help you score in fall.

Make Mock Scrapes in Spring to Score Big Bucks in Fall

Dave_Maccar — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:31:53 -0400

by Scott Bestul

Make sure the licking branch is obvious; it should be living, 5 to 6 feet high, have a bent or broken tip, and be located at the edge of an opening or near a pond or stream.

An active mock scrape will pull velvet bucks to a trail camera placed nearby all summer long, and it can start a buck-movement pattern that can help you score in fall.

Best Ground Blind Ever?

Online Editors — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:40:06 -0400

by Scott Bestul

After three decades of hunting from elevated stands, I’m learning to come down from the trees. I’ve been using ground blinds for deer — with varying degrees of success — in the last few seasons, mainly when taking my kids with me to the deer woods.

While I love the portability and easy setup of most pop-up blinds, they have their drawbacks. In my experience, the blind has to be out there for a while so deer can get used to its presence. Otherwise, they can get pretty jumpy. Or the setup has to be near perfect: Plenty of brushing in and other prep to camouflage the game-spooking silhouette of most blinds.

So I perked right up when a bowhunting buddy from Alaska tipped me off to the Nature Blind. Designed by a Hollywood set designer, the Nature Blind mimics a gnarly old tree trunk that, I’m convinced, would hoodwink any whitetail. The thing looks darn comfy (it has a carpeted floor, insulated walls, plenty of shooting windows, and can hold 2-3 people comfortably), appears weatherproof, and seems to have all the hunter-friendly features you’d expect in a quality blind.

Of course, no product is perfect. The Nature Blind weighs 300 pounds, which means that moving the thing requires at least a couple helpers and — at minimum — an ATV with a trailer. Oh yes, and then there’s the $3,500 price tag. The only way I’m going to own one of these is if Hurteau gives me a massive raise, or if I find that wealthy, ailing uncle we’re all searching for. Sigh … Guess I’ll just keep zip-tying branches to my pop-up model.

The 50 Best Photos From Field & Stream's 2012 Spring Trail Cam Contest: Round I

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:22:02 -0400

Who says trail cams are only fun in the fall? Set yours out this spring, then send us your best photos. You could win a new Bushnell Trophy Cam HD (MSRP $323.95).

Here's how it works. This contest will have three rounds. The first, Round I, starts today, March 12, and closes on April 12. Round II runs from April 12 to May 12, and Round III from May 12 to June 12. We're giving away three Bushnell Trophy Cam HDs (MSRP: $323.95) in each round, one cam each to the top three entries, as chosen by our editors.

Congratulations to users Kim Doucette Kelly, Isham C. Shelby and Stephen Schimacher who each will receive a camera for their entries in Round!

So go set your trail cams up already. And have fun! --The Editors

Click here for more info on the prizes.

Click here to enter ROUND II of the 2012 SPRING TRAIL CAM CONTEST

The 50 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos from March 2012

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:00:43 -0400

Submit your photos here!

Here are the other best reader photo collections from this year:

January 2012

February 2012

March Madness: The Final Four of All-Purpose Deer Rifles

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:20:35 -0400

by Dave Hurteau

So far this tourney has been like hanging with Gomer Pile: “Surpise”—the Kimber 84M gets booted in the first round. “Surprise”—the Ruger No. 1 makes the Final Four. “Surprise”—the Remington 700 obliterates the great Savage 99. I expected the 700 to win the last matchup, but not by such a wide margin?

Anyway, with the 700 and 70 predictably moving on, the Savage squeaking past the Weatherby, and the No. 1 upsetting the X7, our Final Four is set. So let’s tip it off. As usual, check out the bracket (you can click here to print out a copy if you want to fill it out by hand). Then vote for your preferred all-purpose whitetail rifle in each matchup below to begin the Final Four round and see which two guns will go head-to-head for the F&S All-Pourpose Whitetail Rifle Championship.

Division I Final Four
(1) Winchester Model 70: The rifleman’s rifle is back better than ever, and the Featherweight version is both easy to carry and deadly at long ranges. Jack would approve.
(2) Savage 11/111: One of several modern successors of the classic Model 110, this one features Savage’s proven AccuTrigger, the new AccuStock, and is nicely priced.

Division II Final Four
(1) Remington Model 700: Perhaps the most popular American bolt action ever made, even though it’s a push feed. Its time-tested accuracy has only been enhanced by the new X-Mark Pro trigger.
(7) Ruger No. 1: If you’re a really good hunter, this single-shot is all you need. A compact killer that looks as good as it shoots.

Kentucky vs. Indiana: A Sweet 16 Record-Buck Showdown

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:50:39 -0400

Bona fide hoops junkies circled this game with the glitter pen the instant this year’s NCAA tournament brackets were revealed: Kentucky versus Indiana.

This pair of college basketball bluebloods squares off Friday night in the marquee matchup of the Sweet 16. Featuring two of the most hallowed traditions and rabid fan bases in the college game, the Wildcats (with seven NCAA championships) and the Hoosiers (with five) have claimed the tourney’s ultimate prize a combined dozen times. Judging by their thrilling battle in December (which Indiana won on a three-point buzzer beater), the rematch could go down as an instant classic, with the winner well on its way to hoisting the Wooden Trophy in April.

But that’s not the only trophy competition represented by this heated border-rivalry: Both states are big buck strongholds that vie for bragging rights in the deer woods as well as the hardwood.

So let’s take a look at Kentucky and Indiana’s all-time top tines, as recorded in the Boone & Crockett Club record book through the 2010 deer season, the most recent year for which complete stats are available. Here are the top four typical and top four nontypical bucks from each state—truly a Sweet 16.

Three Generations of Sander Family Claim 2011 WI Ethical Deer Hunter Award

Online Editors — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:57:48 -0400

by Scott Bestul

Say what you will about modern deer hunters, the Sander family understands ethics and lives that way. Last fall, they not only allowed a young man to track a wounded buck onto their hunting property, they sacrificed hunting time to assist in the recovery. For their unselfish efforts, David Sander, his 16-year-old son Colton, and David’s uncle James, were awarded the state’s Hunter Ethics Award for 2011.

Dan McQuire, who nominated the Sander’s for the award, told this story to the Wisconsin Outdoor News, the bi-weekly outdoor newspaper. “My son, Jacob, 15 shot a buck about 8:15 on opening day. This would be his third buck, his largest. The hit was a little too far back to put the buck down immediately.

The buck left our hunting property and ran onto David and James Sander’s land. They were hunting there with David’s son, Colton. Colton was the first person we approached. He came down from his treestand to talk to us. He then talked to his father and uncle, who gave us permission to search the property. Their reaction is the reason we nominated them for the award.

“These three hunters, in one way or another, gave up part of opening day to help us track the wounded buck. Everyone then agreed it would be best if we left the deer and came back the next day to continue the search. The Sanders said they would stay out of the area for the rest of Saturday and they would help us search the next day, too.

“About 11:00 a.m. Sunday we continued the search and found the deer, dead, in the area where the Sander’s said it would most likely be. Putting all that together, these hunters gave up five hours of their opening weekend, which no doubt reduced the chances of them seeing and getting deer themselves.”

The Wisconsin’ Hunter Ethics Award is given annually to a hunter (or group of hunters) who demonstrate highly ethical behavior during the season. The honor was created in 1997 by retired DNR warden Steve Dewald, and retired La Crosse Tribune outdoor writers Bob Lamb and Jerry Davis. Since 2000, there has been a youth category as well. For more information on this unique and notable program, visit the Wisconsin DNR website.

Enter The 2012 Spring Trail Cam Photo Contest to Win a $323 Camera from Bushnell!

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 10:59:09 -0400

The 2012 Spring Trail Cam Photo Contest

Who says trail cams are only fun in the fall? Set yours out this spring, then send us your best photos. You could win a new Bushnell Trophy Cam HD (MSRP $323.95)!

Here's how it works. This contest will have three rounds. The first, Round I, started March 12, and closes on April 12. Round II runs from April 12 to May 12, and Round III from May 12 to June 12. We're giving away three Bushnell Trophy Cam HDs (MSRP: $323.95) in each round, one cam each to the top three entries, as chosen by our editors.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER YOUR PHOTO IN ROUND I!

Meanwhile, click through this gallery of the best photos from last year's Spring contest.

Sarah's First Deer

Online Editors — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:27:01 -0500

by Sarah Smith Barnum

Editor's Note: Sarah works for both Field & Stream and Outdoor Life, and wanted to share the story of her first hunt with both websites.

In May of last year I was packing up my dorm room for the last time, getting ready to graduate college, and wondering how my summer internship would go—and where I was going to find work afterwards. I probably would have called sitting in a treestand, shivering my butt off and training a shotgun at a deer with a camera in my face a very unlikely possibility.

I grew up in suburban Connecticut with no idea what hunting was really like. All I had to go off was Disney and television stereotypes. If you are unaware of the power Disney movies can have to mold young minds, let me inform you—it can be disastrous. I was raised on these movies, like so many other girls. They not only made me believe I would, one day, get a fairy-tale ending , but even worse, that hunters killed animals and that made them all evil.

I started working at Outdoor Life back in August. The atmosphere here is unlike any other. Who else can say that they often hear turkey calls at work, or that their coworker was sharpening his knives at his desk again, in a non-threatening fashion, of course.

The majority of my coworkers are avid outdoorsmen, and coming into this job fresh out of college with no previous knowledge of hunting or fishing (unless you count a stick, string and some gum fishing) definitely made me feel like an outsider. I listened to people’s stories. The joy they got from the outdoors was palpable, and I wanted in.

So, when I informed my friends and family that I would be going on a deer hunt at Craig and Neil Dougherty’s property upstate with some guys from work (Michael Shea, our video editor, and Alex Robinson, our web content editor) this past December, the common responses were:

“You won’t be able to do it.”
“You would kill Bambi! You’ll be a Bambi killer…”
“You are so going to cry.”

One way to get me to do something: tell me I can’t do it. I had no idea how I was going to react when the time came, but come hell or high water, I was going to try.

We walked up to the stand at 2:30 p.m. From far away, the treestand didn’t look too bad, but when I got up close and saw how the wind shook it and that the ladder was pretty rickety, I started having second thoughts. I’m not afraid of heights, but I am really bad with ladders. After a less-than-graceful ascent, Mike set up the video camera and Alex took his tree climber and picked a tree in a location that let him serve as my backup in case I really messed up.

When I was in the stand, I just sat and listened. The wind whipped tears out of my eyes, and my nose ran like crazy. The treestand was swaying with the tree to which it was attached as the sun crept across the sky, the only indicator that time was running out. Usually, my mind runs wild with thoughts and daydreams, but out there—everything fell silent. Like a puzzle, the pieces all fit. That’s when the deer, a doe and her fawn, cautiously slipped into sight.

From afar they were magnificent moving targets that took my breath away, and made me a little bit crazy. The desire to shoot the deer was slightly overwhelming, but not unwelcome. I made my first shot, and thought I’d missed. I took another shot at what I thought was the same deer and it went down with a kick and a flick of its tail about 100 yards away. The sun quickly faded into the hills as we walked toward the place where we thought they’d been hit.

It was dark at this point and we needed flashlights. Neil Dougherty joined Mike, Alex, and I in our search. We walked up on the doe first. On her feet, she had seemed snooty, arrogant even—you could see it in her walk. On the cold, snowy ground all her personality was gone. She was empty.

The other guys, who are unfazed at this point by a dead deer, handled her in such an easy, nonchalant way—or so it seemed to me. I kneeled down next to her and pet her swollen belly. Probably a stupid thing to do because she was dead, but it was the only thing I could think to do to say, “thank you” while in the presence of all these stoic outdoorsmen.

The urge to cry was overpowering, but I wouldn’t let myself—not in front of my coworkers at least.

If that wasn’t hard enough, we soon found the second deer and I realized it was a fawn. When I saw how much smaller it was compared to its mother, I thought I must be an idiot to not be able to tell through the scope that this wasn’t the one to shoot. If I had known it was only a yearling, I wouldn’t have taken the shot. The lump that sometimes creeps up your throat and grips your tongue and tonsils with an iron fist slid up mine, threatening to choke me or force me to cry; but I held back.

When we dragged them in, I tried not to look at them. I watched how easy it was for the guys to haul them and hoist them up. Every stick and rock we swept the doe over added another knot to my stomach on our way to the shed and out of the biting cold.

Apparently, when someone has grown up hunting, they think differently than a non-hunter. They know that Mother Nature can be cruel and has a will of her own. They know that we are just a small part of the big picture, and that it’s natural to do our part. Animals die, and that’s OK. Fawns die, and that’s OK, too.

As a non-hunter who has just started hunting, I’m still grappling with the guilt I feel about the fact that I “killed Bambi” even though I know that the meat is not going to waste, and that I was helping manage a property that was overpopulated with deer.

I feel like I’m finally starting to see things, as they really are. It’s going to take some time before I come to terms with killing a yearling; and I will probably always feel sad when I see a dead animal, but that’s OK. It will take a while before I feel comfortable calling myself a hunter, but one thing I know for sure is that even if I feel sad; I don’t want to go back.

The 45 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos of February 2012

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 10:46:15 -0500

Submit your photos here!

Here is the gallery of the best reader photos from January 2012.

Shed Poaching Jeopardizes Antler Drop Hunting

Online Editors — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:48:07 -0500

At the tag end of a balmy week in March that finally began pushing the snowpack off the southern Iowa landscape, Steve Snow was driving a back road bordering his farm, planning to go shed hunting, when he spotted the parked rental car. Boot tracks led from the vehicle onto his property. Snow followed but lost the track. Frustrated, he called the police, who traced the license plate, and with the man’s name, Snow bombed back into the woods, shouting: “I’m coming after you, Larry!*” “I know what you’re doing!” “I’ve got the cops, Larry!”

With no response, Snow went back and waited by the car for hours. Cold and exhausted, he eventually asked his son to relieve him—and 20 minutes later, a figure came slinking out of the darkening woods, lugging a pack loaded with shed antlers. When Snow returned, livid, the trespasser confessed to a strange but fascinating plot: Two days ago, he’d flown in from another state, rented a car, and booked a motel with plans to spend his vacation hunting for sheds—on land he never intended to ask permission to enter. Snow insisted he lead him to the motel, and there, covering the entire bed, was hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars’ worth of whitetail bone.

Bone Collectors Gone Mad
The incident speaks to a fast-growing problem widely referred to as shed poaching. While that’s not literal (poaching is usually defined as the illegal killing of a game animal), the practice of trespassing to find sheds is becoming such a serious issue in some areas that poaching seems an apt descriptor.

On deer hunting websites, there are threads devoted to foiling or catching shed poachers. A recent post, for example, advised landowners to hang a trail camera 8 to 12 feet high in a tree and place a dummy shed in the frame “so you can get a photo of the scumbag and prosecute him.” A week later, on the same site, a new problem popped up: “So I have my cameras out and I’ve got a photo of a guy…but he’s wearing a ski mask.” Some landowners have taken to posting trail-cam pictures of shed poachers on the Internet or in storefronts, in hopes that someone can provide a positive ID.

Who Are These Guys?
None of this surprises Glenn Sanders, a recently retired warden with the Illinois DNR. “Trespassing for sheds in my area got serious about 10 years ago and has only gotten worse,” Sanders says. “It’s like a spring migration that follows the melting snowline north.” According to Sanders, the offenders typically fall into one of three categories: those (like the man on Snow’s property) who do it solely for the money, selling sheds on eBay, Craigslist, or at auction; unscrupulous outfitters who use big sheds found on others’ property to advertise their own business; and a comparative handful of taxidermists who use them to make and sell shoulder mounts.

I’d add a fourth category from my own files: a new breed of whitetail fanatic who sees shed hunting as a sport unto itself. Some don’t even chase deer much with gun or bow. But come late winter, they hunt hard for bone—often ignoring property lines.

Solutions
The knee-jerk remedy is to ban the sale of antlers. With whitetail sheds fetching exorbitant prices (the current auction record is over $19,000 for a matched set), making antler sales illegal would end some of the activity. But in a recent survey on fieldandstream.com, respondents voted overwhelmingly (66 percent) against such a ban. The consensus was that honest shed hunters and sellers shouldn’t be penalized for the actions of crooks. I agree.

The only approach that can work is a combination of things. First, trespassing penalties, hopelessly inadequate across much of whitetail range, need to be stiffened. Second, extra fines should be added for trespassers in possession of antlers—perhaps commensurate with the market value of the bone taken. Finally, we are in desperate need of a shed hunting ethic. It’s a tall order, I know, but it is possible to effect a change with a few simple slogans repeated loud and often. Here are my suggestions:

#1 - “Trespassing is trespassing.” Many in the shed hunting community figure, It’s only a horn. It’s not the same as trespassing to hunt deer. It is the same. So this phrase should top every shed hunting website, in bold, and be chanted at shed hunting events.

#2 - “Give deer a break.” Ultracompetitive shed hunters start pounding turf as soon as the hunting season ends, which can be extremely stressful to deer when they’re already at a weak point. That’s why several western states have a shed season to protect animals until the worst of winter has passed.

#3 - “Respect your fellow hunter.” Most of us already do this during hunting season. You see someone else legally hunting “your” spot, you move on, right? It should be the same with shed hunting. None of this will stop the worst offenders, but the shed hunting community at large could benefit from a few simple rules to mitigate the mania.

Note: *Name has been changed.

Shed Poaching Jeopardizes Antler Drop Hunting

Online Editors — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:48:07 -0500

The spring hunt for cast antlers has turned ugly--even criminal. Here's what needs to change.

Poll: Is Hunting Deer Over Bait Fair Chase?

Sarah Smith — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:13:46 -0500

by David Hurteau

There is a difference between ethical hunting and fair-chase hunting. Fair-chase is typically ethical. But ethical hunting is not always fair-chase. For example, there is nothing unethical, as far as I can tell, about baiting deer.

You lure them, you shoot ’em, you butcher ’em, you eat ’em. From an ethical standpoint, this meat is far better gotten than our morally acceptable (by most) supermarket meat.

And yet, there remains a lively debate about whether baiting is fair-chase. I know we’ve asked this question before. But bear with me; I’m going somewhere with this. So: Is hunting deer over bait an example of fair chase?

The 199-Inch Wisconsin Buck of Patience

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:21:31 -0500

Bill Hedl, 44, of Pennsylvania headed to Wisconsin’s famed Buffalo County for his annual bowhunting trip with friends. He spent a majority of the time patiently waiting on his tree stand, passing up shots on does and small bucks. Hedl was waiting for a trophy buck and he finally got a chance almost two weeks into his hunt. Here is his story.

The 50 Best Shots From The 2011 Field & Stream Fall Trail Cam Contest

Online Editors — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:03:25 -0500

Here are the editors' picks for the 50 best entries in our 2011 Fall Trail Cam Photo Contest. Congrats to KSwhitetails who took first place with his "Bobcat catches a turkey in flight" shot and will receive the grand prize: a pair of Steiner 10x42 Predator Xtreme binoculars.

Congratulations to all this year's winners and thanks to everyone for the hundreds of great submissions.

You can check out the top photos from each round of the contest here:
ROUND I
ROUND II
ROUND III
ROUND IV

Likely The Biggest Pure Kentucky 8-Pointer Ever Measured

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:08:22 -0500

Eleven days after an Illinois hunter tagged the pending Boone & Crockett world record 8-pointer, 32-year-old Kevin Peak shot another great 8 that should take the title as the biggest Kentucky 4-by-4 ever officially measured and recorded in the Boone & Crockett record books.

Trail Cam Photo Trips Up Kansas Poacher

Online Editors — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:35:32 -0500

by Scott Bestul

Two weeks ago I received a photo of this giant whitetail rack, which was brought to the Monster Buck Classic, a Kansas deer show held the last weekend of January. According to buzz, the huge antlers would threaten the Sunflower state’s record in the typical category; no small stuff when you consider that mark sits at 198-2/8”. But details on the buck’s harvest were sketchy so I decided to sit on the story until further details emerged. Yesterday I learned that waiting was the right call.

According to this report from the Wichita Eagle, Topeka resident David Kent—the man who brought the antlers to the MBC show—has been charged with at least four violations, including killing the deer with a rifle during a closed season and spotlighting the animal.

Kansas wardens confronted Kent after viewing a trail camera photo of the buck taken in Osage County in early November of this year. Osage lies in east-central Kansas; Kent claimed he killed the buck in the northeastern part of the state. Kent confessed to poaching the buck after an interview, and the antlers have been confiscated. Interestingly, this is the third potential state-record buck that has been poached in recent years.

The 180-Class Pending B&C World Record 8-Point Buck!

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:46:12 -0500

On December 1, 2011, on the opening day of the second shotgun season in Illinois, Jason Sanders tagged what will likely be the largest 8-point whitetail in the Boone & Crockett record books. Sanders, a 38-year-old farmer and veteran deer hunter, was hunting on his home farm when he set his sights on this world-class buck of a lifetime.

The Best Field & Stream Reader Photos From January 2012

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:06:52 -0500

Submit your photos here!

Here are the monthly Best Reader Photo Galleries from last year:
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November

Giant Illinois Buck Is Potential World-Record 8-Pointer

Sarah Smith — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:11:41 -0500

by Scott Bestul

The term “world-record whitetail” gets tossed around so much these days that it’s easy to ignore. But the buck pictured at left may well be the real deal.

On December 1st of this year, Illinois hunter Jason Sanders shot this gorgeous, high-tined monster, a deer that will likely appear in the B&C record books as the largest main-frame, typical 8-pointer ever shot by a hunter. Sanders’ buck nets 183-1/8 inches; the current world-record typical 8 (actually two are tied at the top) scores 180-3/8.

I learned about this deer through my good friend and veteran B&C measurer Tim Walmsley, who has measured some truly giant whitetails in his lifetime and readily admits that he can get pretty numb to big deer. This buck, however, has Tim truly pumped up. For more, check out his blog at Heartland Outdoors. To be honest, this picture, taken from above, does not quite capture the enormity of this buck’s rack. But stay tuned, as we will be covering this tremendous whitetail in greater depth soon.