By Dave Hurteau

Bestul and I are writing a book on deer hunting. Want to help? In an attempt the prevent readers from tiring of us too quickly, we figured we’d mix in someone else’s opinions. Namely, yours.

Right now, we are writing about the phases of the rut. While chatting about this yesterday, we wondered: If you could hunt any phase of the rut all the time, which would it be? We both picked the same phase but agreed that certain biases might play into that. [ Read Full Post ]

By Brandon Ray

The sun was setting to the west over black skeletons of dead mesquite trees. Daylight was dying and time was running out. It was just before Christmas in north Texas, the night air cold enough that I could see my breath in frosty plumes each time I took a breath.
 
Twenty-five yards from my hideout were three whitetail bucks. Two of them were youngsters with small eight-point racks. The third buck was a fine 140-class 10-point, but because I was a guest on this well managed Texas ranch, I couldn’t take him. I was looking for a mature 8-point. The Hoyt bow would have to wait to get its chance. [ Read Full Post ]

By Brandon Ray

Overall Activity Status: The rut is basically over in the northern half of the region, except for a few very isolated reports of a buck seen chasing a doe. Meanwhile, in the brush country of South Texas, activity levels are ramping up daily. Friends who hunt that hotspot every year report that the time frame from Christmas to New Year’s is always a top week for seeing bucks on the prowl.
 
Fighting: None to report.
 
Rubs/Scrapes: A friend in north Texas recently snapped the accompanying photo of this massive rub. For a buck to rub a tree that big around, you can bet he’s got an equally impressive rack. [ Read Full Post ]

By Brandon Ray

Overall Activity Status: A change of scenery has a way of sparking new energy into a tough deer season. I spent the last three days hunting a friend’s place near Abilene, Texas. Three of us hunted each morning and evening, and we saw between 3 and 10 bucks each every time. Most of the hunting was from elevated tower blinds near corn feeders. The bucks were really focused on the free food, refueling now that it is post rut in that area. The landscape there is comprised of mesquites, prickly pear cactus, yuccas and abundant broom weed. The area has no oaks and thus no acorns, making corn feeders effective in the late season. There is not much native feed for deer between December and March, so ranches in that area that supplement or have food plots will hold and grow healthier bucks. [ Read Full Post ]

By Scott Bestul

I live in southeastern Minnesota and do most of my deer hunting here. For the last three seasons, hunters in this corner of the state have been under an Antler-Point Restriction (APR) that requires us to identify four points on one side of a buck’s rack before shooting that buck. I was initially skeptical of APRs, but after living with them for three years I’ve come to like them and hope they continue. Here’s why: [ Read Full Post ]

By David Draper

Let’s all welcome newcomer Travis Miller to Food Fight Fridays. This is Miller’s first submission and he created an account just to get it in on the action. I do feel a little bad throwing Travis into the ring with a great cook and frequent Food Fight contributor Levi Banks, but I think he has a fighting chance. No matter how the battle turns out I’m sure we all agree any of us would be happy to tuck into either dish after a long day in the field. [ Read Full Post ]