Great story from Joe in NJ: Hi Mike: My son, Luke, got his bow for Christmas last year and practiced with it all year. He took and passed his bowhunter’s education course in October. Unfortunately he had to wait until his 10th birthday to get his "official" hunting license (one of those laws that I never understood). Luke was very excited to start hunting and we went as much as possible in the few weeks since his birthday. He had a great encounter with a 9-pointer and a 7-pointer, but he was not able to get a shot within his 15-yard effective range. After a few more hunts he was able to get a shot at a 7 pointer. Unfortunately [...]

David sent me this link and asked what I thought of it. First, I’ve seen a lot of live turkeys attack dead gobblers on the ground, but I have never seen a buck do it. I attribute it to the craziness of the rut—testosterone-addled bucks do weird and unexplainable things. This attacking buck is also an especially aggressive young deer (I believe bucks have “personalities” like people do; some are bold and aggressive, others more passive). Second, those guys took the encounter way too flippantly. This was not a joking matter. At any minute that wild and rut-crazed buck could have pounced and attacked with lowered rack and flailing hooves. As fired-up as that deer was, it could have been [...]

Mike, I have attached a picture of an eight pointer that I took on December 20th in Amherst County, Virginia with my .50 cal Knight muzzleloader. He stepped out of a thicket to feed in some red oaks right around 12:15. Just wanted to show that there still are some big ones out there late season! Best regards, Brad Carner Love this VA buck and love Brad’s message. December and January hunting is tough, man, no matter where you hunt. Stick with it and hunt long and hard like Brad did if your season is still on. Brad shot his buck at 12:15, you would not have anticipated that in December, but ya never know.