Elk are primarily grazers, and grasses make up the bulk of their diet for most of the year. They round that out with forbs (flowering plants), sedges, shrubs, tree seedlings, and bark, shifting with the seasons: fresh grasses and forbs
Yes, Solar Panels Still Work in Winter, But Only If You Set Them Up Right Yes, solar panels can work on deer feeders in winter, but only if you have enough sun hours and you mount the panel where snow,
Pick One Based on Your Goal, Not the Label on the Bottle. If you want a drag rag scent to pull a cruising buck 20 to 80 yards off a line during the rut, I pick Tink’s more often. If
Pick One: If You Hunt Wet, Cold, And Walk A Lot, LaCrosse Wins. My answer is this. If I am deer hunting wet ground, creek crossings, or late-season cold, I grab LaCrosse more often than Muck. Both brands kill deer
Pick One Boot Before You Spend $260 Twice. If you want a light, fast boot for early-season hikes and warm sits, I would buy the Irish Setter Vaprtrek. If you want a stiffer, tougher boot for long miles, sidehills, and
Make One Decision First: Fix It Before You Cook It The fastest way to get rid of gamey taste is to cool the deer fast, keep it clean, trim the fat and tallow hard, and soak the meat in salt
Pick Your Goal Before You Touch a Saw To plant a hinge cut bedding area, I hinge cut low-value trees at waist height so they tip over but stay alive, then I stack the tops to make a tight, nasty
Decide If You Actually Need a QDMA Cooperative If you want bigger bucks and better hunting on small or pressured ground, join a QDMA-style cooperative by getting 2 to 6 neighbors to agree on harvest goals, habitat work, and basic
Pick the blind that keeps a kid still, warm, and safe. The best two person blind for a parent and child is a hub-style ground blind that is truly 70 inches wide or more, has a silent dark interior, and
Pick Lithium, Or Plan on Dead Cameras The best lithium batteries for trail cameras in winter are Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA for most AA cams, and VARTA Professional Lithium AA if you want a cheaper second option that still holds
Pick One. Kenetrek Or Crispi. If you want max ankle support and a stiff platform for sidehills with heavy weight, I pick Kenetrek. If you want comfort out of the box and a boot that feels a little more “athletic”
Paunch Shot vs Liver Shot. What I Look For First. A paunch shot smells like a gut bucket and the blood is thin, greenish, or watery, and the deer usually hunches up and walks off slow. A liver shot gives
What I Think Is Really Happening When Deer Circle Downwind Deer circle downwind of stands because their nose is their security system, and they want your scent before they commit. Most of the time it is not “random movement,” it
Make the Call Right Now. Are Big Bucks Leaving, Or Just Hiding. Big bucks do not “disappear” during gun season. They slide into the nastiest cover they can reach without crossing open ground, and they move at times you are
What Score Is “Good” for a Typical Whitetail? A good typical whitetail score is 120 inches for most hunters, 130 inches is a legit bragging buck, and 140+ is a hammer almost anywhere. If you are on public land in
Pick Bibs That Stop Wind First, Then Worry About Warmth. The best cold weather hunting bibs are the ones that block wind, stay quiet, and let you walk a half mile without sweating through your base layers. I have frozen
Pick a Broadhead That Punches Two Holes, Not Just a Big One The best broadhead for pass through shots is a sharp, tough fixed blade in the 100 to 125 grain range, like the QAD Exodus, Magnus Black Hornet, or
Pick Your Stabilizer Length Based on Where You Hunt, Not What Looks Cool The best stabilizer length for most hunting bows is a 10-inch front bar. If you hunt tight timber or a hang-on stand, I like 8 to 10
How Long I Wait Before Tracking a Liver Shot Deer I wait 4 to 6 hours on a liver-shot deer before I take the first step on the track. If it is the last hour of daylight, I back out
Start With the Hard Truth and Make a Choice. If your deer only move at night, you are either hunting the wrong spot, hunting it at the wrong time, or walking in like you own the place. My fix is
Pick One: My Honest Answer After Watching Both Work For most deer hunters, I would pick the 350 Legend. I pick the 450 Bushmaster only if you want a bigger hole, more blood, and you are fine with more recoil
Decide If You Are Using the ATV To Hunt, Or Just To Get There I hunt deer from an ATV or UTV only when I can keep it boring, quiet, and predictable. If I need to “drive and spot” like
Pick the winch based on deer weight and where you hunt. The best winch for loading a deer on an ATV is a 2,000 to 2,500-pound synthetic-rope winch with a handlebar switch and a simple snatch block. If you are
Stop Guessing, Start Measuring, And Don’t Lie To Yourself. The biggest mistakes guys make scoring their own buck are measuring too soon, using the wrong tape, and “rounding up” when nobody is watching. If you want a score you can