Bowhunter brings you expert advice from legendary Bowhunters! Each issue is filled with updates from major bowhunting organizations, coverage of bowhunting locations across North America, complete coverage of the sport and much more.
THERE’S an old saying, “It’s better to be lucky than good.” Like any bow-hunter, I’ll take all the luck I can get, and there’s no doubt I’ve enjoyed more “luck” in November than any other month. Take, for example, my first Iowa hunt back in November 2015. After waiting five years to draw my non-resident archery tag, I drove 1,000 miles from my Pennsylvania home to hunt rutting Hawkeye State bucks with my friend John Dudley from Nock On Archery. During the drive out, John shared a gallery of trail-cam images that featured a number of impressive bucks, including a wide, tall-tined, mainframe 10-pointer that immediately caught my eye. As I told John, I’d be thrilled if the hunt yielded an opportunity at any mature buck; seeing that particular deer…
SWEET NOVEMBER! Nothing inspires a bowhunter’s passion quite like the sights, sounds and smells these precious few days of the year offer. Although I have called Colorado home for more than three decades and have spent countless hours bowhunting out West, truth be told, sweet November is what I look forward to the most. Last fall, I was tightening the grip on my bow as I witnessed a Kansas brute doctor a scape just a stone’s throw away, reminding me once again why November is marked off on my calendar every year. Putting a mental tape to his antlers, he wouldn’t be the most impressive buck I had ever killed, but his bull-sized body would certainly ride well in the back of my truck. As the deer scraped the ground…
YOU’LL COME ACROSS various articles at this time of the year discussing how to determine the exact timing of the deer rut. This annual article phenomenon is often based on the Earth’s orientation to the moon’s position and phase in your area. Well, if you believe in the moon theory, best of luck to you this year. Perhaps gazing at the moon during the hunting season and rut will work for you. I, however, believe that boots-on-the-ground experience is the best way to successfully hunt deer, regardless of what’s happening in the sky. From the perspective of a deer biologist, there is absolutely no correlation between the moon and the timing of the deer rut. Millions of data points from radio-collared deer, collected across many peer-reviewed research studies, provide concrete…
THE 47th ANNUAL meeting of the Southeast Deer Study Group was hosted by the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources in February. The top deer researchers, professors and graduate students were in attendance and presented 35 papers on the latest deer research. And as always, Bowhunter was there. Space won’t permit me to summarize all the papers presented, so I’ve selected those I believe you will find most interesting. There were several interesting studies related to deer bedding. The first was done by Blaise Newman, a graduate student at the University of Georgia, but the study was conducted in Florida. A lot of what she and her co-authors found would apply everywhere. Newman followed 15 GPS-collared adult bucks and found where every day and night bedding area was located. A…
THERE HAVE BEEN volumes written about Hoyt bows over the years, much of it by yours truly. When I think back over the dozens of Hoyt models we’ve tested, a couple points come to mind. First is quality craftsmanship, material selection and consistent manufacturing. There is no disputing the excellent reputation Hoyt has built in the archery industry, and quality is a big part of that. Second is continuous innovation that has repeatedly raised the bar for hunting-bow performance. Both of these are important, not only to Hoyt’s success but the success of bowhunters who trade their hard-earned cash for one of the company’s rigs. The new-for-2024 Carbon RX-8 sits at the head of the class for Hoyt, showcasing the company’s best-in-class Hand-Laid Hollow Carbon Tube riser, along with a…
IF THERE’S ONE THING I’VE LEARNED through many years of bowhunting, it’s that success often comes in streaks, and failures, if allowed to fester, can lead to slumps. In many ways, bowhunting is no different than other sports. Take baseball, for example — even the best hitters struggle with slumps. When they do, they refocus on fundamentals and eventually swing their way back to form. Each hit restores confidence, and back-to-back hits build momentum. Momentum is a strange, unquantifiable force, yet its impact on performance is undeniable. A loss of momentum results in diminished confidence and impaired ability to focus and execute. Striking out once is fine. Strike out a few times in a row, however, and it’s difficult to keep your confidence from waning. Once that happens, focus suffers, and…
