By Scott Bestul

This photo comes to us from Moultrie County, Illinois and features hunter Joe Matheson. Joe found the sheds from this 22-point buck last spring. Fast-forward to October 29, when Mr. Matheson encountered the same toad on a farm 1-1/2 miles from where he found the dropped antlers. Unbelievable mass and character on this whitetail, especially that incredible left side. OK Buck Tracker readers….any guesses what this monster will score? It’s not a trick question, as I have no idea!
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By Bill Heavey

You don't want to move into a new old house in November. The furnace fan comes on, but the burner doesn't. You deal. Last night, in a room with unsteady towers of cardboard boxes, I tucked Emma inside my sleeping bag. We'd had hot dogs and lima beans for dinner, passing the single spoon back and forth to cut the dogs.

The vinyl window guys showed up at dawn, beating the walls from within and without. By 3 p.m., I'll have 14 new windows: solid vinyl, double-glazed, and argon-filled. That sucking sound is $8,400 leaving my Visa card account at the speed of light.

Meanwhile, my fishing buddy, Greg, is rebuilding the porch. He's a carpenter, quieter than the window guys but with a greater potential for danger. Every so often he calls me out to show another example of mind-bogglingly shoddy work by whoever built the thing 50 years ago. "They ran untreated posts right into the dirt," he says incredulously, shaking his head and exhaling cigarette smoke. "The whole thing's so rotten you could pull it down with your bare hands!" He has special ordered hemlock from a lumber yard 100 miles away.

I nod. I know nothing of carpentry, of vinyl... [ Read Full Post ]

By Kim Hiss

      I was approached a little while back by a young documentary filmmaker here in New York named Cathryne Czubek. She was working on a project about women and firearms and wanted to know if I could share my experiences. We filmed two interviews, and she just asked me if I could post a message on the blog asking for any other women hunters who might want to be involved to contact her.
      Even if you’re not interested in a budding film career, the following post she provided is a neat description of what she’s been up to.
      The photo is, from left to right, her cousin Whitney, NRA past president Sandy Froman, and Cathryne at a Babes With Bullets ladies handgun camp in Tucson, Arizona last Fall. Here’s Cathryne! –K.H.

I am an independent documentary filmmaker/photographer, and I have been exploring the subject of women and guns for the last several years. I have traveled around the country to document the diverse stories of women involved with guns for shooting sports and for self-defense. I have interviewed women... [ Read Full Post ]

By Scott Bestul

Well, November is here, my friends. And to borrow the beat-to-death phraseology of our whitetail video heroes…”it doesn’t GET any better than this!” Had a wonderful morning yesterday, and I didn’t even hunt. After getting two friends into their stands, I headed home to get some work done. Fifty yards off the road I spotted a doe feeding in some alfalfa. When I stopped to look at her, I saw her boyfriend; a 140-class 8-point with a massive body. They stared at me awhile, then decided they didn’t need inspecting any longer and ran off.

I smiled, drove 30 feet, then noticed another doe crossing the road in front of me. Behind her was a 12-point buck I’m confident would make the B&C book. As I glassed him, I noticed the doe stop, hunch up, and wait for the buck. And, unbelievably, he sniffed her tail, then mounted her as I observed the show through 10X40’s. Only in November!!!

The great buck pics just keep coming in, and I encourage you to send yours. The photo below is awesome, and it's not just the size of this buck’s antlers. Check out the buck’s right eye, and you’ll see a smaller antler dangling... [ Read Full Post ]

By Scott Bestul

Well, BuckTracker friends, I'm just back from an Illinois bowhunt, where I was re-taught that you can hunt some of the best whitetail ground in the country and still have your tail handed to you. I did see one “shooter” buck (a 3-year old 8-point) in five days of hunting—certainly nothing to cry about—but when I saw the sheds our host had in the lodge, I knew the farms we hunted weren’t showing us their best deer. Still, I had a wonderful time with a great camp full of friends and whitetail nuts. It sure beat working!

Though things weren’t happening in west-central Illinois, the southern tip of the state was extremely kind to at least one hunter. Check out this incredible typical buck below, taken near the town of Pinckneyville. No word on the hunter’s identity as yet, but the buzz on this deer is extremely hot. Apparently, the green typical score is 198”, but the early gossip hinted that the deer might eclipse Mel Johnson’s P&Y world record of 204-4/8”. That buck, a goliath 13-point, was also an Illinois deer (Peoria Co.) and was shot in 1965. You’ll note that the hunter (or a friend) had the sheds from this... [ Read Full Post ]

By Kim Hiss

     Reader Amanda Krupp sent me this story of her first hunting experience. I thought it was a nice tale of rookie triumph, and figured I’d share it on the blog. Here’s Amanda! –K.H.

      I was raised in a family that never invited the females to hunt, so I was excited when my new boyfriend invited me up to his cottage for his friends' annual grouse hunt. I had always been friends with guys and had never gone hunting before, so I never thought twice about attending (or in the friends' mind, invading) a traditionally all-male hunting/bonding weekend. I'm sure most of you can guess that I wasn't warmly welcomed. I walked in first to the cabin and none of the guys even raised their head fully to acknowledge me, let alone to greet me. That first night was filled with drinking and games, none of which I was invited to participate in.
      The next morning we headed out for our first hunt. Everyone hunted in groups of 4-5 people and walked in a line through the woods. As I had only shot a shotgun once, and was trying to figure everything out, I found the... [ Read Full Post ]