You shoot a buck with your bow and get on the trail. At first the sign looks great. But if you see the buck’s running trail--blood spraying out onto leaves and grass--slow to a walking trail—smaller and smaller droplets of blood that fall straight down to the ground--stop and back out immediately! That deer is NOT double-lunged and on death run; rather, he took off but now is slowing down and likely looking for a place to lie down. Back out and give him time (2 to 5 hours) to do just that. Chances are when you come back, you’ll find him dead in bed not too far away. Most bowhunters get overly excited and don’t wait nearly long enough [...]

If you haven’t tried a fixed-blade knife with a gut-hook, you should this season. Roll a buck or doe onto its back and use the knife point to make a small incision in the white hair and abdominal wall of the lower belly. Turn the knife over, insert the sharp hook into the slit and zipper the animal open up to the sternum. With a hook, there’s no exposed knife tip to pierce a deer’s paunch and make a mess, or clip your finger. Be careful and wear rubber gloves. Once you’ve finished the incision and rolled the big bubble of innards out of a deer, you can put leverage on a sturdy fixed knife, which is typically 8 inches [...]

The first days of your bow season in September or October are second only to the November rut for best time to kill a big deer. Right now, the bucks have not been pressured for a year; they’re using small home ranges; and they’re walking predictable bed-to-feed patterns. A gnarly 8- or 10-pointer might be in your future if bowhunt hard and smart in a few weeks. Food is the Key Hang a couple of tree stands on the edge of alfalfa, corn or beans where you’ve been seeing some bucks come to pig out the past few weeks. You have been scouting and glassing right? If not, get out there. You’ve still got time. Watch a field from several [...]