By Scott Bestul

Lower Hamburg Bend Conservation Area
Location: northeast Missouri
Size: 2,265 acres
ZIP: 51640

Catastrophic floods in 1993 and 1995 caused private landowners to sell out, creating new public lands along the Missouri River north and west of Columbia. Lower Hamburg Bend, in Atchison County near Hamburg, Iowa, is one of the larger ones. The thick stands of cottonwood and willow that have taken over these fertile bottomlands make deer less vulnerable to hunting pressure, and mature bucks are starting to feel at home in these relatively small areas. The challenge is finding them in the dense cover. "It's tough hunting," Hansen says, "but deer numbers are high and the potential is there for some good bucks."

Woodson K. Woods Memorial Conservation Area
Location: central Missouri
Size: 5,616 acres
ZIP: 65559

One of the state's most scenic public lands, Woods is also among the best archery-only deer hunting areas. The Meramec River and Dry Fork Creek flow through rugged Ozark hills, which are about 80 percent oak-history forest, and the state-owned conservation area near St. James also features some open bottomlands and a generous amount of food plots. Hunting pressure is significant, but the prohibition on firearms hunting means plenty of good bucks... [ Read Full Post ]

By Scott Bestul

Panther State Forest
Location: southern West Virginia
Size: 7,810 acres
ZIP: 24872

"It's not great deer habitat, like you'd see along the Ohio River or southern Illinois, that makes these deer big," says Keith Krantz, a wildlife biologist for West Virginia Department of Natural Resources. "The main component of deer size in southern West Virginia is age." Much like R.D. Bailey, Panther's oak-hickory hardwoods are draped across extremely rugged terrain in McDowell County. Drops and rises between ridges range from 500 to 1,200 feet on average, and by all indications deer have taken advantage of the daunting climbs to live long and prosper.

Bluestone Wildlife Management Area
Location: southern West Virginia
Size: 18,019 acres
ZIP: 25951

To be legal here, bucks must boast a minimum 14-inch spread. The antler restrictions started last year and drastically reduced the firearms harvest of immature bucks from 60 per year to 16. The steepest terrain borders the Bluestone River, with the bulk of the acreage made up of rolling uplands and flat bottomlands. In addition to food plots, 400 acres of forest openings and old fields are cut back to maximize browse. A late frost and a down year for mast suggest that the new crop of... [ Read Full Post ]

By Kim Hiss

      One of our recent gear winners, Tracy, just emailed me a discussion topic idea. She said:

      Darn it! I'm already addicted to hunting, do I really need to become addicted to blogging about hunting?

      Then she suggested we talk about:

      Bad habits. For example, I have been repeatedly accused of violating all sacred scent control laws. I try, I really do, but I'm guilty of cross-hunting my wardrobe and have gotten lectured for wearing my “deer bibs” on a very cold rabbit hunt (or worse - a pheasant hunt with the dogs!). Tips? Experiences? Ideas? Anyone tried the at-home scent control pointers in F&S (was it October or September maybe?)

      I'm going to expand Tracy’s topic by talking about hunting habits in general — good, bad, whatever. We’ve been touching on the subject a little lately anyway. Dana mentioned reading a romance novel in her ground blind, and ANewMe2B said she’s been known to listen to audio books and work on her grocery list. 
      For myself, I’ll admit to the habit of eating all my food way too early. It’s a silly weakness, but if there’s a snack close... [ Read Full Post ]

By Bill Heavey

Actually, I observed it. I watched a hunting buddy as he finished practicing before heading out for an afternoon hunt. He took the release off his wrist and then buckled it around a limb of his bow. This act was so simple, so effective, and so obviously something I never would have thought of that I felt like one of the last members of a rival hominid sub-species watching a homo sapiens flaking a spear head with which he planned to hunt me later that day.

Strapping the release to the bow means that all you have to do from now on is find the bow. And bows, being bigger than releases, are proportionally easier to find. (Not that they can’t be lost, too. Trust me.)

There is another piece of gear you never want to lose: yourself. If you head up into the trees, I personally recommend an exceedingly unglamorous bit of gear, the safety harness. You can kill a deer without one, of course. You may also kill yourself.

Every year, a few guys choose this option. They tend to be younger men, mostly because such fellows are immortal. There is an old fable about this in the military in... [ Read Full Post ]

By Kim Hiss

      Two winners again! Both of these women are long-time contributors to the blog, who have added even more in the last two weeks. I’ve been meaning to name one of them as a winner for awhile, and when I couldn’t decide—once again—which to choose, I figured I’d spread the wealth and announce both today. (Okay, okay, I’ll come clean and admit I’m clinically indecisive—it’s one of my worst faults. You should see me scrutinizing blog comments every week to pick a gear recipient—it takes forever for me to decide!)
      So first is Lou Alexander of Wichita, Kansas. Yes, today turned out to be Lou Alexander Day. She’s been reading the blog from the beginning—providing recipes, commenting, and before the blog was located on the F&S home page, she wrote letting us know it was too hard to find. Lou will be getting a Big Foot camo bag courtesy of Big Foot (it’s a great, tough cargo bag. I have one too).
      Second is Dana Von Haden from Wisconsin! We know her as Wild WoodsWoman, and she too has been contributing a lot to the blog, including that great recent discussion topic on... [ Read Full Post ]

By Scott Bestul

Scott asked us to post this short article, originally published in the September 2007 issue of the magazine, in response to the following question from reader Gina;

My new boyfriend is a big hunter and uses tree stands. Just want to know how to keep him from breaking his neck if he falls. I've heard too many horror stories ... any input would be helpful!

Gina, we hope this helps! --The Eds.

I didn’t even realize my mistake--of confusing a small dead branch with a tree step--until I lay flat on the sodden ground, gasping for breath, with fat raindrops slapping me in the face. Only luck and a well-stuffed daypack that cushioned my landing saved me from serious injury, or worse.

The majority of tree-stand falls--more than 800 reported each year, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission--occur during climbs or descents. Ironically, most hunters (like me on that November day) don’t attach their safety harness until they’re in the stand. 

Instead, protect yourself from the instant your boots leave the ground until they touch down again by using one of the products below. It just might save your life.

Integrated Safety’s FallGuy Retractor
($40; 866-477-6723; integratedsafety.us)
This... [ Read Full Post ]