By Scott Bestul

Before I left for an Iowa bowhunt last week, my friend and host Sam called to tell me how perfectly I’d timed my visit. “Things are just popping now,” he said. “When bucks are behaving like this, you could tag a big one in three or four days.” Unfortunately, Sam doesn’t realize the dramatic cool-down effect I can have on a hot rut, and of course I remained true to form. Saw a giant deer chasing a doe the first afternoon, and then…nothing but small bucks for the better part of 5 days.

Despite my black-cloud persona, I remain totally jazzed about this deer season. I’m in the process of tracking down several good deer stories, which I hope to post in a day or two. In the meantime, here’s some eye candy: This live-buck photo was sent to me by a deer expert whose identity will remain a secret, largely because this amazing whitetail is still walking. And, my expert (a B&C scorer who’s measured thousands of whitetail racks) feels that, if this buck is shot this fall, it would likely break the world record for a hunter-harvested, non-typical whitetail.

The natural assumption is that this is a pen-raised deer, but... [ Read Full Post ]

By Bill Heavey

On Wednesday, the deer that will make or break my year were formally introduced. Both he and the doe he was dogging appeared under my stand without so much as a crunched leaf, the kind of physical impossibility at which whitetails excel. They came, of course, from behind me and downwind. So either I was well and truly scent-proofed or they were just too focused on each other to care.

He was probably a big eight. I knew he was just outside the ears and heavy, but it was over too fast to count points. I remember the instant of contact and my brain registering "Shooter." I remember his body, which either was or seemed huge. Above all else, I remember the way he moved. Like a linebacker. Big yet compressed. A swollen neck and an abundance of muscle not meant for show. Every ounce of his form focused and available to his will. Facts of which he was fully aware. He was, in short, the Man.

I tried to swing on him and found, as in a bad dream, that I couldn't. It was my harness tether. I'd had to guess which side of the tree when turning to... [ Read Full Post ]

By Scott Bestul

I’ll start this column with a confession: if there were mule deer in my area, I’d probably ignore whitetails. Not sure why I’m so obsessed with mulies, but I’m completely taken with their beauty and size, as well as the rugged and beautiful habitats they occupy. I’ve hunted mule several times with a bow and never been lucky enough to tag one, a situation that’s become my life’s goal to remedy.

With that in mind, I had to send in a photo of my friend George Ruther and his latest buck. George lives in Vail, Colorado, and I spent some time with him last September as my cousin, a friend, and I were in the area on an elk hunt. George literally runs up mountains to get in shape for hunting season, and he spends weeks scouting the Rockies for good deer and elk. He guided my cousin to a B&C mulie last fall, and George has a monster buck in his home that nets over 190” B&C. In addition to being a great guy, Mr. Ruther is a one-man wrecking crew on big game, so I was pleased when he sent me this photo last week. Hunting on Colorado’s rifle... [ Read Full Post ]

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!
[ Read Full Post ]

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 ]