Trophy Bucks

A Deer Hunter May Be First to Tag a Minnesota Timber Wolf

Online Editors — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:33:34 -0400

by Scott Bestul

The first Minnesota timber wolf killed during a regulated hunting season may fall to a deer hunter. According to this story in the Brainerd Dispatch, the DNR is taking public comment on a proposed two-part wolf season, with the first hunt coinciding with the deer opener on Nov. 3. The second season—which will include both hunting and trapping—will take reopen in late November and close in mid-January, unless a quota of 400 wolves is reached earlier.

This fall’s wolf season will be the first in Minnesota’s history. Prior to 1974, when timber wolves were placed on the endangered species list, wolves were an unprotected species. Unlike the other Great Lakes and western states, wolves were never extirpated from Minnesota, and current estimates place the population at around 3,000 animals. Federal damage control trappers have consistently removed an average of 170 wolves annually.

The DNR’s proposed season—which it calls “very conservative”—calls for 6,000 licenses split between the two hunts. Both residents and nonresidents are eligible to apply for a hunting tag, with proposed fees at $30 and $250, respectively. Nonresident hunting licenses will be limited to 5 percent of the total, or 300 tags. Only residents will be allowed to trap or snare wolves during the second season.

I view this hunt as a huge and important milestone for midwestern wolf management, as well as Minnesota sportsmen and residents. I’ve always been a little confounded that our state has not been allowed to manage a wolf population that has been thriving for many years, and I’ve talked to federal trappers who’ve noted that they’ve removed (read “euthanized”) as many as 200 wolves in a single season here.

This is a waste of an incredible resource, and the fact that Minnesota hunters and trappers can now help regulate the harvest of this fantastic predator finally puts things right. Hopefully, Wisconsin and Michigan (where reintroduced wolves are also thriving) will follow the Minnesota DNR’s lead and model a season that will allow sportsman a chance to harvest surplus animals and, perhaps more importantly, give farmers at least some buy-in to managing wolf numbers. Finally, the return of wolf management to these states can hopefully serve as an example that the Endangered Species Act has its success stories, too.

Essential Skills: How to Hoist a Deer by Yourself

Sarah Smith — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:38:29 -0400

by T. Edward Nickens

I used to dread the backbreaking task of getting a buck up and over the truck tailgate solo. Until I discovered this trick.

Step 1:
Throw one rope over a branch. Tie one end to the rack and the other to the trailer hitch. Tie a second rope to the rack and toss the tag end over the branch.

Step 2:
Pull the truck forward to lift the animal off the ground. Secure the free end of the second rope to the tree or another object strong enough to hold the deer.

Step 3:
Untie the first rope from the vehicle. Back up under the animal. Untie the rope from the tree and lower the deer into the truck.

From the May 2012 issue of Field & Stream magazine.

Illustration by Robert Prince

Essential Skills: How to Hoist a Deer by Yourself

Sarah Smith — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:38:29 -0400

by T. Edward Nickens

I used to dread the backbreaking task of getting a buck up and over the truck tailgate solo. Until I discovered this trick.

Step 1:
Throw one rope over a branch. Tie one end to the rack and the other to the trailer hitch. Tie a second rope to the rack and toss the tag end over the branch.

Step 2:
Pull the truck forward to lift the animal off the ground. Secure the free end of the second rope to the tree or another object strong enough to hold the deer.

Step 3:
Untie the first rope from the vehicle. Back up under the animal. Untie the rope from the tree and lower the deer into the truck.

From the May 2012 issue of Field & Stream magazine.

Illustration by Robert Prince

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...

World Record Muley Divides Family for Decades

Sarah Smith — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:15:43 -0400

by Scott Bestul

For those who think antler envy is a recent phenomenon, the Broder family may beg to differ. They’ve been dealing with it -- over a single, magnificent mule deer -- for decades. According to this recent story in the Calgary, Alberta Herald, the Broder’s fight centered on the reigning world record nontypical muley, a buck shot by Ed Broder way back in 1926. The chocolate-horned buck carried a whopping 355” of antler, and has reigned—without serious challenge—atop the B&C books for 85 years.

The problems began when Ed Broder died in 1968, leaving no will. Broder’s oldest Don had the rack in his possession, but as the years passed siblings contested his right to the world record deer. Legal wrangling and intense sibling rivalries ensued, culminating in Don finally losing a court battle in 1997. He was jailed for ten days for failure to turn over the antlers. Trouble was, relinquishing the rack was something impossible for Broder to do, as he’d sold the head to a Montana collector for the tidy sum of $325,000.

The saga reached another -- and perhaps final -- chapter when Don Broder died this week. Hopefully this embattled family can start to heal after years of feuding over one of North America’s greatest trophy bucks. Whenever I read a tale like this, I’m reminded of a conversation I had with antler collector Larry Huffman a few years back. Huffman (now deceased) was once one of the country’s top collectors of trophy whitetail heads.

Though Huffman made a bunch of money buying and selling deer heads, (he sold his collections to Bass Pro Shops), he was also a deer hunter who recognized that the greatest value of a buck was to the person who shot it. “When someone approaches me about selling a rack, my first advice is, ‘Don’t’” Huffman says. “But if you do, know exactly why you’re doing it and what you’re parting with.” Too bad Ed Broder didn’t have the benefit of Huffman’s advice back in 1926.

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

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.