Got this email from Dann in New York one time and thought you might find it interesting: Mike, I’ve been watching your show for years now and I have to admit: I always thought it was a bit cheesy when you would regularly end a kill, in the heat of the moment, saying, “That’s why we do this,” or one of your tag lines of “hunt hard.” But now let me commend you for what you have done for my hunting I was always a whitetail guy who grew up hunting in New York with my dad and uncles. It eventually grew to dove, ducks, geese and most recently my first elk hunt. My previous deer hunting experiences were great… but never [...]

I took this photo a few years ago at a hunting camp in Georgia. The camp boss uses it to show their guests which young bucks to pass (sets 1 and 2 top) and which to shoot (3 maybe, 4 for sure).  The board is a good visual, it really does simplify "trigger finger management." I believe in deer management, though I will never preach to anybody that you MUST hold out for a fully mature monster. Maybe you only have a few days to hunt one season. Maybe you lost your job, are going through a divorce or had some other bad experience, so you just need to get in the woods and shoot a deer, get your hands dirty and clear your mind. If you are hunting [...]