When it’s hot in the early season, in the mid-80s or even 90s, you should hang at least one tree stand over a fresh water hole. This is an obvious tactic if it’s been a hot, dry summer, like out in the Dakotas this year. But try it even if there are full creeks and rivers where you hunt. “You might have 5 miles or more of river or creek frontage on your property, lots of water for the deer, but mature bucks often drink at hidden little spots they like, where they feel safe and comfortable,” says expert archer Lionel Strong, who hunts whitetails along the famed Milk River in eastern Montana. While Strong has access to more than [...]

Standing in the backyard and burning arrow after arrow into foams target is the best way to get your bow and arrows tuned, your shooting muscles toned and your release and follow-through down pat. But along about August it’d time to raise your game and shoot from an elevated platform like you’ll do when buck season rolls around in a few short months. Why Get High? On the ground you stand fence-post straight, plant your feet in a baseball hitter’s stance, stare across at your target, draw with ease and let an arrow fly. Pretty simple. In a tree stand, you have to turn and contort your body, sometimes wildly so, and your footing is trickier. Leaning left, right, back [...]

Here is a tip of the day you might never have thought about: Whenever you set a tree stand for bowhunting, scan the ground around it out to 50 yards or so, and look for a good-size log, brushy treetop or similar barrier that might block a buck from walking within 30 yards of your stand on natural movement. It amazes me how many hunters fail to do this. They end up sitting and watching deer after deer skirt a log or treetop and veer 10 to 30 yards away from their stand, and out of bow range. If you’re able, drag a log or fallen tree away from the area and stash it 80 yards or so downwind. Better [...]

Every year you plan to scout like a wild man, but then come work deadlines, kids’ ball games, chores around the house… Sound familiar? If so, don’t worry that you won’t get your buck because you don’t have time to do your homework. Squeeze a little “speed scouting” into your schedule and you should do all right. Whether you’ll hunt new ground or a familiar place. begin scouting from your den. Spend a couple of evenings studying topographical maps and aerial photographs, zeroing in on four “deer activity zones” (DAZ): Openings—crop fields, food plots, pastures, rights-of-way, clear-cuts or burns--where bucks feed and commingle with does. Security zones—large thickets, swamps, overgrown fields, etc.—where mature bucks go when the guns start booming. [...]