By: Dan Schmidt. The Rompola Buck. If you’ve been around the deer world as long as I’ve been, a few names need no introduction. That one is perhaps the most infamous. Was it real or just an elaborate fake? And, if it were real, how could it just seemingly disappear almost as fast as it appeared? Let’s back this up. This story starts back in November 1998. The world was a lot simpler then. Relatively few people had computers (no, not tablets) with Internet access. Fewer had cell phones. Most of us were still … Read More
Active Scrapes, #1 Natural Hunting Location.
By: John Eberhart. As you likely know by now the Michigan NRC has banned baiting in 12 counties for the 2018 deer season and in Michigan’s entire southern Peninsula for 2019 due to issues with chronic wasting disease or better known as CWD. For at least a generation and a half (30 years) a pretty high percentage of Michigan bow and gun hunters have been introduced into the deer hunting world by exclusively hunting over bait and have known no other method for taking deer. Also many hunters that began hunting without using bait have … Read More
Venison – From The Field To The Table
By: Tom Lounsbury. Here in the agriculture-rich Thumb, it is pretty easy to say our local whitetails can be considered as being “farm-fed”. For a fact the deer in these parts feed pretty good, which means their venison is of the highest quality when everything is properly done from the field to the table. Good venison has a very succulent nature to it and it is a primary meat source for my family which we all enjoy. I was a state meat inspector for almost 12 years, working on various “kill-floors” in slaughterhouses, where I … Read More
Public Land Strategies – that actually work.
By: John Eberhart. Public Land Strategies Something that receives very little print or TV and video footage for the amount of hunters that do it, is hunting on public land. Hunters with private land options rarely gravitate to hunting open to hunting public lands simply because no matter how much hunting pressure private parcels in a given area receive, nearby public lands will typically receive much more and be far more difficult to hunt successfully. In Michigan however and even in our heaviest populated areas, there are public land gems that can provide somewhat consistent … Read More
Freelance Scouting
By: John Eberhart. Grabbing my bow, backpack and freelance pack I set off through the public land timber to a patch of white oaks I’d hunted the previous season. To my disappointment none of the oaks had acorns, the two scrapes from the previous season were inactive, there were no nearby rubs and the heavily used runways from the previous season were barely noticeable. It was late October and the mature bucks were beginning to break their nocturnal habits in search of early estrus does which I term as the pre-rut and because of that … Read More
Mistakes Are Part Of The Learning Curve
By: John Eberhart. 10 Common Mistakes Mistakes are part of the learning curve in every aspect of life, including hunting and it’s our option to either learn from the mistakes we make and become more proficient, or ignore or not realize they’re being made and keep making them. Another option is to gain the trust of someone to the extent that you accept their experiences and learn from the mistakes they made in hopes that you correct or don’t make the same mistakes moving forward. It boils down to a matter of trust when accepting … Read More
Scout Smart For Early Season Opportunities
By: John Eberhart. I don’t get it? There were several deer coming out into the soybean field every evening like clockwork all summer, and one of the bucks was a shooter. Then shortly after the big guy rubbed out he seemingly dissipated into thin air and I never saw him all season. If I had a 5 spot for every time I’ve heard a similar story I’d have enough to buy a tricked out new bow. Nobody can read a deer’s mind and studies done in captive environments or in areas where hunting is nearly … Read More
Getting Kids Involved In The Great Outdoors
By: Tom Lounsbury. One of my greatest pleasures in life as a parent was getting my three sons involved with the various pursuits in the great outdoors, and mentoring them, one on one through the process which is truly the joy of sharing, and of course “passing it on”. As a grandparent, I’m even further pleased seeing my sons doing the same in passing it on with their children. This is something we humans as hunter/gathers have been doing since the beginning of time, although in today’s high-tech society, this fact in reality can become … Read More
One fine big game cartridge for Michigan hunting – the .450 Bushmaster
By: Tom Lounsbury. When the Michigan Natural Resources Commission passed the Limited Firearms Deer Season into law five years ago, it opened up a whole new avenue for southern Michigan deer hunters, allowing an array of straight wall cartridges (.35 caliber are larger, with a minimum case length of 1.16 inches and a maximum case length of 1.80 inches) in rifles during the regular firearms deer season (not to mention the Liberty, and early and late antlerless deer seasons as well). The new law is very well written, easy to understand, and it truly uses … Read More
Find Those Primary Rut Spots Now And Give Thanks To A Gobbler
By: John Eberhart. Proper location preparation can make the difference in whether or not you have success stories to tell. While your on-foot scouting only required the use of maps and or a notebook, location preparation requires specific tools and a great amount of physical labor. I finished drywall for 14 years and like any trade job, the more prepared you are concerning tools, more thorough and expedient the job will be done. The ideal scenario is to be able to pack in and carry the necessary tools to totally prepare a location yet be … Read More