Why Fall Scouting is Better Than Summer Scouting

Many hunters believe that summer scouting is the best way to find where the deer will be during hunting season. While summer scouting certainly has its advantages, fall scouting can be even better in many ways. Here are a few reasons why in-field fall scouting can give you an edge come hunting season.

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Tom Zandstra
Saddle Hunting: Expectations vs. Reality

Over the past few seasons, the saddle hunting craze has swept the hunting world. Initially tree saddles were only used by a small group of dedicated hunters. Now, tons of people looking for a viable mobile solution had flocked to saddle hunting, finding it easy, safe and comfortable.

I first heard of saddle hunting in college. From what I could tell at the time, saddle hunting didn’t make any sense. Straps hung everywhere, one wrong move and you’d fall out of the tree and there was no way hanging in what looked to be a tree diaper could be comfortable at all. I decided to stick with my 20lb steel climber. Sure I couldn’t use it on a ton of trees and yes it was loud. But it was safe.

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4 Easy Steps to Improve Archery Accuracy

Before ever stepping into the field every bowhunter must be sure that their bow is as accurate as possible for a couple of reasons. First, having the trust and confidence in your equipment is paramount as the mind can have a huge effect on your overall accuracy. Secondly, it’s our responsibility to swiftly, effectively, and humanly kill the animals we hunt.

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How to Choose the Best Turkey Load

There are many different shotgun loads for turkey hunting and there’s more to turkey hunting than just shooting a bird with a shotgun. To be the best turkey hunter you can be, it starts with knowing the capabilities of your gun, the pattern of your gun, and knowing the different turkey shell loads and their effective ranges.

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How to Choose a Shotgun for Turkey Hunting 

Choosing a shotgun for turkey hunting can be a decision that most people have never made before. They may have been handed down a relative’s shotgun, or have just gone out and bought one. If you are in the boat I am in, then you’ll want some guidance in the process before you make the big purchase. Here are a few things to consider when choosing a shotgun for hunting turkeys.

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Is It Safe To Eat Roadkill?

For those of you who were unable to harvest a deer this year or who need some supplemental meat for their freezer, roadkill might be solution you didn’t know you needed. The thought of eating an animal you find on the side of the road might make you squeamish, but it can be perfectly safe and legal if done right.

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The Best Venison Loins You'll Ever Try

I think we can all agree that, for most people, the venison loins (backstraps) are the best cut of meat. There are tons of ways to prepare it and, as long as you don’t over cook it, it’s really hard to do it wrong. That being said, we’ve been hard at work in the kitchen and may have come up with the best venison loin recipe you’ve ever had. Don’t believe us? Give it a try and let us know what you think!

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RecipesTom Zandstra
Smoked Deer Eggs

Ever heard of a deer laying eggs? Us either. But the combination of deer meat, bacon, jalapenos, and cheese makes you wish they would. These tasty bundles of venison awesome are perfect for any occasion, and are a sure thing to knock the socks off any other dish at the party!

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RecipesJared GortsemaComment
How to Hunt the Pre-Rut

We’re rounding out October, which means most whitetail hunters have one thing on their minds: rutting bucks. Near the tail end of October and through the first two weeks of November (at least where we hunt in the Great Lakes Region), rutting activity start to increase and bucks become all the more killable. It all starts with the pre-rut.

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James Zandstra
Find Early-Season Success in Staging Areas

Like thousands of other hunters in Michigan (and around the country), I was able to hit the woods for the first time this past weekend. I picked an area that I had lightly hunted over the past few years and decided to jump right into an area I believed would be great during the early season. I hiked back in a mile and slowly crept into my spot - a location I believed to be situated right outside of a bedding area on public land. As I began to get set up, I heard crashing through the swamp… and coughing… and metal clanking. Someone had blown up my area and walked right through the bedding area.

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E-Scouting Made Easy

The best e-scouting strategy for hunting deer doesn't have to be hard or confusing. We aren't using magic, hunting private or high fence areas. Its a basic strategy that we've used to be successful scouting whitetail deer using escouting maps like Huntwise

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Deer ScoutingJared Gortsema
The Ultimate Whitetail Layering System

I spent the majority of my early years uncomfortable while I was out hunting. My clothing “system” was made up of assorted gear from the Army surplus store, a sweat suit and hand-me-downs. As the temps would drop, I’d add another layer of cotton clothing (in no particular order) and sweat my butt off as I walked out to my stand. Within an hour, I’d be slightly damp and freezing.

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The Ultimate Summer Traditional Archery Set Up

It takes hours of practice to become proficient with a recurve or longbow in hand. For all you traditional archers out there, these next few months will be critical for your success in the woods this fall.

However, not all of us live in areas where we can step outside our back door and let a few arrows rip. I’ve recently moved out of my house in the woods and into a condo, which means I’ve had to rethink my traditional archery practice set up. I wanted a simple set up that I can toss in my car or in my backpack whenever I have a few minutes to sling a few arrows.

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Gear List: Continual Improvement

Gear list planning isn’t rocket science… but it does come with experience.

I can still remember arriving at our 2019 deer camp in Wisconsin on a late Sunday morning in November. We had all agreed to leave early enough from home in Michigan so we would arrive on location with enough time to set up camp and eventually head out to conduct some scouting in preparation for the following morning hunt and the days following. When we arrived the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Sunshine, clear skies, calm winds and temperatures hovering around 55 degrees. As hunters, we know the weather can have a major impact on animal movement and is one of the metrics we tend to monitor the most. Our initial weather forecasting projected a cold front to move in during mid-week so we expected colder weather than what we arrived at. But on that Wednesday morning, we woke up to a blunt surprise.

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