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Planting a wildlife food plot sounds straightforward until you look at your setup and realize you do not have half the gear most guides recommend. No tractor. No drill. Maybe just an atv a mower, a bag of seed and a bit of determination. Here is the truth. You do not need perfect equipment to grow a productive food plot. You need a workable method that fits what you already own and the ground you are working with. Food plots, whether you are single varieties or a mixed blend, respond more to

Acorns dropping from oak trees and fall food plots often receive a lot of attention from deer, and anything that draws the attention of deer will certainly be of interest to deer hunters! Oak trees and their acorn crops are great to have as part of deer habitat, but sometimes they receive too much emphasis. They are great to have around as a “dessert” for deer and a commercial timber product, but the presence of oak trees is not a prerequisite for an effective deer management program. In fact

For many hunters, time in the woods doesn't end when deer season closes. We spend the fall chasing whitetails, the winter scouting and reflecting on the past season, and the spring pursuing gobbling turkeys. Then, almost overnight, turkey season comes to an end, and many of us find ourselves staying out of the woods for a while. The excitement of hunting season seems distant, and life gets busy. But during those quiet months, mature bucks aren't standing still. As summer approaches, mature bucks

Planning for the next waterfowl season begins with letting the water off of last year’s crops in order to dry out the ground. Getting soil samples ensures the right balance of fertilizer required for whatever the next crop will be. Ordering seed and balancing one’s budget are the next decisions, coming in quick succession. A repetition of planting is a gamekeeper’s friend when it comes to attracting migratory waterfowl, and learning to adjust those plans to the climate conditions each year is a

Few things stir the heart of a turkey hunter like the final march of a gobbler within gun range. The boom of a shotgun echoes across the landscape, and you quickly make your way to a bird that finally met his match. And regardless of whether it’s your first bird, or 100th, you stand there staring at your prize in disbelief that it happened like it did. When the adrenaline finally settles a bit, and the high-fives, phone calls, text, and photos have been sent, it’s time to get your bird and gear

Over the past 25 years of turkey hunting, I have noticed that everyone has unique tips for their success while hunting. These tips often include what types of calls to use, when to use them, decoy tactics, and what time of the day is most effective for calling in a mature tom. Often, when talking to veteran turkey hunters about the best time to call a gobbler, I hear them mention mid-days. Then I wondered, is mid-days their preferred period because of being more successful, or do they not like

Decoys are visual aids used to draw attention, give birds and animals a reason to close the distance, and to add realism to a hunting ambush setup. Decoy placement, posture and movement (or lack of motion) can all be important. When hunting waterfowl, positioning of your decoys in relation to the hunters’ locations and considering the wind speed and direction is vital for consistent success. As migrating birds move south, they look to flock with other birds. We hope that our fake offering of

Duck season is winding down and the ducks have been hunted since September, when they start getting shot at in Canada. If you are still using the same calling routine and decoy spread that you were in November, it can be costing you a full limit on your duck strap. Let’s go over a few tips, tricks and strategies to help you kill more ducks this late in January. Tone Down the Calling. By this time of year, most ducks can tell if you are blowing an RNT, Echo or Zink duck call. If you are blowing a

The more you know about whitetail behavior, the better your odds of reducing one to possession. Included in that behavior is the local whitetails’ social structure, not only how males and females, young and old interact, but also how those interactions change throughout the year. Many a novice hunter sees a bachelor group of bucks feeding on a field edge, and then returns a month later expecting them to waltz past his stand at sunset, only to be sadly disappointed. What follows is a general

The whitetail rut, that magical period when deer are actively breeding, is the pinnacle of hunting season for many. It's a time of heightened deer activity, unpredictable encounters, and opportunities galore. Yet, amidst the chaos and excitement, hunters face a crucial decision. Should they focus on pursuing a specific target buck or embrace the rut's free-for-all dynamics? A couple of years ago, while hunting near my home in southern Missouri, I got to experience a little of both scenarios