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The November rut, the annual breeding season for whitetail deer, is a highly anticipated time for hunters. It's when mature bucks are on the move, actively pursuing does for breeding. Traditionally, most hunters focus their efforts on the golden hours of dawn and dusk. However, a fascinating and often overlooked aspect of this period could be a game-changer for your hunting success. That aspect I am referring to is mature buck activity during the midday hours. During my "rutcation" weekday

Oh, sweet November! For deer hunters, the month of November is what we have spent the entire year waiting for. The month of November is primarily the time in most regions that the whitetail deer have their breeding season or what is more commonly known as the rut. The rut is a particular time of year when deer, more specifically bucks, fall out of their everyday routine. During this time, a buck's travel routes or daily patterns are unpredictable, leaving deer hunters on the edge of their seat

The diverse flora of North American provides land managers with a variety of options for growing hard mast producing species. While often attention is placed on selecting red or white oaks that are appropriate for different sites and soils, it is important to recognize that there are other suitable hardwoods available. Sweet pecan is an important hardwood species that provides unique foraging opportunities for deer, squirrels and other species. Because of the widespread use of pecan in nut crop

Getting ducks within reach of your shotgun can be tough. Everything has to go just right to get ducks to drop their feet and glide into your decoys. More times than not, something will go wrong. The slightest flaw in your presentation will send ducks back in the sky and headed south. There’s a number of things that tend to flare ducks from your hide, but we’ve narrowed down some of the best of the worst. Here are 10 reasons ducks flare from your blind. 1. YOU CALL TOO MUCH Some say it’s not

Of all of the great variety of tree species that we have been blessed to be able to select from, when you consider the diverse values for timber and for wildlife, it is not surprising to recognize that most of us exhibit a definitive preference for oaks. Few other trees exhibit such an influence on the composition of wildlife species that are drawn to an area. However, given the great genetic diversity in our own native oaks and the unique habitats to which different oak species are best suited

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

My summer scouting efforts have revolved around supplemental feeding sites for several years. Due to CWD concerns, feeding has recently become prohibited in certain areas in my home state of Missouri. In legal areas, all feeds or baiting must be cleaned or removed at least ten days before hunting season begins on September 15th. The Missouri Department of Conservation regulations state that an area is baited for ten days after the complete bait removal. I agree with the MDC regulations of

As a student of the game, I am always picking the brains of those I know who are foresters or wildlife biologists on how we can better manage our timber and wildlife. A conversation with my good friend Will Dixon, a forester for Larson & McGowin Forestry Consultants in Lower Alabama, turned me on to the concept of a late season prescribed burns as a means for setting back undesirable woody stem encroachment in pine plantations. By woody stem, (in our region) we mean sweetgum, gallberry, yaupon

A few years ago a friend called and asked me about his idea of attracting more ducks to his farm. “All we need to do is build a levee across that little slough near Pine Creek,” he said. Drawing more mallards to his land sounded like a good idea to me, but I told him there may be a hoop or two to jump through. What he didn’t know was that you cannot dam or block a creek that is marked on a USGS map as a “blue line stream.” That’s because any work occurring in the floodplain of a stream

Bucks are easier to pattern during the early season, so in theory, harvesting a mature buck should be no problem. Yet deer do not want to move when the daytime temperature rises to ninety degrees during the summer and at the beginning of fall. Indeed, a summer or early-season travel path for a mature whitetail buck is much easier to pattern due to limited movement. As the fall nears, bucks remain patternable. Three main factors sum up a deer's life at this point in the season: food, water, and