By Bernie Barringer

In the lives and “careers” of most deer hunters, a process takes place over time as the desires of a hunter mature. At first, just shooting a deer, any deer is satisfying. Then shooting a number of deer becomes a priority and the third stage of the process takes place when the hunter desires to bag a unique specimen of the species. That might mean holding out for a true giant, or it might mean travelling in order to have a chance at bagging a subspecies. Or it might mean the desire to collect a whitetail buck while it’s in velvet stage.

Whitetails across North America tend to shed their velvet during the first week in September. Sometimes the fuzz can come off during the last week of August, but the majority will become hard-antlered between September 1st and 7th. There are a handful of locations across North America where you can legally have a great chance of shooting a velvet buck at this time. These opportunities offer several positive aspects to the hunts. Not only does the season open early when the majority of the bucks have not yet shed their soft antler covering, but these bucks are in some of their most consistent and predictable patterns of the year. They are quite visible at this time of the year, plus they are focused on bedding and feeding every day. These bucks follow a daily routine that makes them very patternable.  Shooting one is about as close to a slam dunk as you can get in whitetail hunting. Here are my top five picks for getting a velvet buck for your trophy collection.

photo by Timothy Nebel

Public Land in North Dakota

North Dakota is a gold mine for the Do-it-Yourself bowhunter. Public land is abundant and there are still places where hunting permission will be granted on a handshake. Tens of thousands of acres of US Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) land surrounds the Missouri River and its reservoirs, and all of them are open to public hunting. Much of it is grassland, but food plots, shelterbelts and oak groves left over from century-old farmsteads attract whitetails.

Lake Sakakawea is a huge reservoir 125 miles long and almost the entire shoreline is ACOE land. You could spend a lifetime poking around looking for whitetails. Much of the area has a very low human population and little hunting pressure during archery season.

North Dakota also offers a program known as PLOTS: Private Land Open to Sportsmen. Landowners allow public access to their land through this program. The good news about PLOTS land is that no access by any type of vehicle is allowed. It’s walking only. The vast majority of this land is prairie that attracts bird hunters, but the hunter who does his homework can find small pockets of great whitetail habitat that rarely get hunted. Because it is walking access only, anything that is a mile or so from the nearest road may never see a deer hunter. Most locals have a place to hunt where they don’t have to hoof it so far. Surprisingly, few nonresident hunters take advantage of North Dakota’s whitetail opportunities. You will have to do your homework and be willing to work hard to bag a buck in North Dakota, but if you like the challenge of a DIY Road-trip, this could be the hunt for you.

A nonresident deer license is only $215. The archery season opens the Friday closest to September 1^st each year.

Southeastern Montana

While the Northeastern part of Montana gets a lot of publicity for whitetail hunting, the Southeastern corner of the state has quietly been producing some really nice bucks. Because the season opens September 1^st, there is a short window of opportunity to bag a velvet buck. This area has escaped the plague of Blue Tongue disease and winterkill that has caused a crash of the deer population in Northeastern Montana.

Look to the lowlands along the Powder River and Tongue River watersheds for numbers of whitetails and a quality of deer that will surprise even the seasoned bowhunting road-tripper.  This is arid country with river bottoms surrounded by sagebrush-covered hills. The deer bed in the cottonwood groves during the day and move out into the irrigated alfalfa fields to feed. Their patterns are very consistent and the sheer numbers of deer are striking. It is not unusual to see 50-plus deer per sitting. The first week in September last year I saw nine Pope & Young bucks in velvet during a four-hour evening sit in 90-degree heat.

The majority of the properties with good deer populations are leased by outfitters. Most outfitters offer hunts for whitetails and mule deer, plus antelope if you want to combine the two into one hunt. This is one of those hunts that every serious bowhunter should put on their “Must Do” list. It’s that good. I bagged a great 10-pointer in 2012 with Blue Rock Outfitters and I can’t wait to get back there.

Montana is proud of its nonresident hunting tags. The tags and licenses will set you back $552 for the any-deer tag. This allows you to shoot a whitetail or a mule deer. You must apply by March 15, but for this area you will draw every other year and sometimes in consecutive years. You can spring for the more expensive Elk/Deer combo license which guarantees you a deer tag; then if you do not hunt elk you can apply for a refund of the elk portion of the tag.

Forest Fringe Area of Alberta

Alberta has long been known to produce trophy whitetails due to its low hunting pressure the cold northern climate that dissuades all but the hardiest hunters during the frigid rifle season. But for bowhunters, Alberta is not at the top of their destination list. It should be on your list because of the opportunity to take a whopper in velvet during the first week of September. In fact, there some large areas designated primitive weapons only.

The licenses and fees are very reasonable at $196.57, but the catch is that nonresident hunters must be “hosted” by an Alberta resident. Unless you have a friend or family member in Alberta that has access to good hunting land, you must go with an outfitter. One other option is to trade a trip. You might find an Alberta resident that would be willing to host you in exchange for a hunt in your home area.

Southern Alberta is prairie land, the North is boreal forest, and the western part of the state is mountainous. Nestled between those areas is the “Forest Fringe”, commonly called the “Parkland” by Alberta residents. This combination of farms, open prairie and patches of “bush” is where you will find the best early season hunting. The deer tend to bed in the heavy cover of the timber blocks and feed in the open fields. They are quite visible and patternable in this flat country. Whitetail numbers are not high here but the quality makes up for the lack of quantity.

Occasionally, bucks will bed for the day in open fields and can be taken by spotting them in the morning, watching them bed, then putting the sneak on them when they have settled in. This is not a high percentage tactic but it is exhilarating and it sure beats sitting around camp all day. Bagging a mature whitetail this way is one of the most rewarding feelings in deer hunting.

Northeastern Wyoming

Much like southeastern Montana, this area in no way resembles typical whitetail country to the Midwestern or Eastern hunter. But the water and fertility of the land associated with the riparian areas produces whitetails in significant numbers, and the scarcity of local whitetail hunters allows them to get mature. This part of the west is not much of a secret any longer so outfitters have grabbed up the majority of the best ground. There are a few places where you can get permission to hunt but most of the landowners have figured out that people will pay to hunt the whitetails that they consider vermin. If you are willing to put in the time and knock on a lot of doors, you can find a place to hunt on your own.

Cottonwoods and alfalfa are the two main keys to whitetail location in the early season, although the bedding areas may be in a pine grove a mile or more from the feeding areas. It is common for whitetails to cross large areas while they make their way to the fields to feed in the afternoon. They commonly walk even two miles or more. This makes them very visible. A spotting scope is an essential tool for locating them. But once they are found, it’s a simple matter to get in position for their morning or evening trek that mostly takes place during the first two hours and the last two hours of daylight.

Wyoming’s archery deer season opens the first of September but you must apply for your tag each year before March 15. Drawing odds are very good and you will find a deer tag in your mailbox most years.

Western Kentucky

The western half of the state of Kentucky has earned a well-deserved reputation for being a quality whitetail destination. In the last two decades, the numbers of mature deer being shot by residents and nonresidents has been steadily rising. Offering an archery season opener that falls on the first Saturday in September, this Midwestern gem offers yet another opportunity to bag a great velvet buck and it’s a bargain at $190 for over-the-counter tags and licenses.

Adam Jablonski of Linesville, Pennsylvania travelled to central North Dakota and put an arrow through this great velvet 10-pointer on September 5, 2012. If you want to put your tag on a velvet-clad antler, North Dakota is one of the top five places to do it. Photo by Timothy Nebel

For hunters without the budget to spend on a fully outfitted hunt, this area offers an abundance of public land open to hunting. Western Kentucky features two expansive public areas in the 100,000-acre Land Between the Lakes Wildlife Management Area, and the 65,000-acre Peabody Wildlife Management Area. In addition to that, there are several smaller WMAs ranging in size from less than 1,000 acres to more than 8,000 acres. The area is well populated and you will not be alone on this public hunting ground, but if you are willing to do your legwork–get a mile or more off the road–you will find minimal hunting pressure.

Landowners are generally somewhat open to allowing bowhunters access to their property. Not so much for rifle hunters. While there are a handful of outfitters operating across the western part of the state, there is no shortage of private land that is not bound up by hunting leases.

Patterning these big woods bucks in September is not nearly as easy compared to what you’ll find out west.  Much of the acorn crop is on the ground and natural foods are abundant and spread out across the landscape. This is often thick and steep country so you will need to work hard to get your buck, but if you have a good plan and execute it well with hard work and determination, you will see some great deer.

The unique trophy of a velvet-antlered whitetail is one that can be found in only a handful of places. If you start your planning now you have a chance to get yours.

Kentucky

Season opener: First Saturday in September

Licenses and tags: OTC – $190

Website: http://fw.ky.gov/

North Dakota:

Season opener: Noon on the Friday nearest September 1.

Licenses and tags: OTC – $215

Website: http://gf.nd.gov/

Alberta

Season opener: September 1

Licenses and tags: Hosted – $196.57

Website: mywildalberta.com

Wyoming

Season Opener: September 1

Licenses and tags: Apply between January 1and March 15 – $338.50

Website: http://wgfd.wyo.gov/web2011/home.aspx

Montana

Season Opener: September 1

Licenses and Tags: Apply between January 1and March 15 – $552

Website: http://fwp.mt.gov/

In what can be characterized as an attack on nonresident deer hunters, the organization South Dakota Bowhunters, Inc. (SDBI) has petitioned the South Dakota Dept of Game, Fish and Parks to limit the number of nonresidents and increase tag fees to discourage nonresident hunters. The specific proposals are as follows:

1. “Eliminate Non-Resident (NR) Unlimited Archery permits.  Cap the NR archery permits at 8% of the resident archers.  In 2015 23,507 archery tags were sold to residents, 3,180 sold to non residents. By limiting to 8% it would drop the tags to 1,880 tags for nonresidents.  Also, implement a point system with a nominal point fee.  Other states charge $30-$50 for a deer point.  This is primarily geared to assist resident bowhunters who are often outnumbered on our public lands during archery seasons.  We continue to get reports from areas in eastern SD, along the Missouri River corridor and on public lands like the Custer National Forest about non-resident bowhunting pressure and it’s significance to the quality of experience resident bowhunters reap.  With growing media attention from outdoor media and television featuring SD and a burgeoning ‘outfitting’ industry our great state is seeing a significant increase in NR bowhunting pressure.  It’s widely known by traveling NR’s that if they don’t draw in another western state that they can simply drive to SD and pick up a deer or even antelope combination hunt on short notice.  This has a significant negative impact on SD Bowhunters in many areas of our state.”

I will address each of these issues separately. First of all, they are correct in assuming that the number of nonresident hunters is growing anywhere good whitetail deer hunting is found. Bowhunters, especially, are mobile and many have the money and the time to travel and hunt new areas. The rise in outdoor TV over the past 20 years has shown many hunters in states with poor quality deer hunting that there are greener pastures. South Dakota has been mostly insulated from this, as states like Iowa, Illinois, Kansas and Missouri get a lot more air time. Most states have welcomed the nonresident hunters because of the significant tourism dollars they bring to the states. Some even actively promote these nonresident hunting opportunities because of the influx of money brought into the states. The small increase in nonresident hunters in South Dakota is a fraction of what is seen in many other states that are known as “destination” states for deer hunters. What South Dakota hunters see as high pressure is nothing compared to what hunters see on public lands in Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri. If you want to see hunting pressure, visit the public lands in those states during the first three weeks of November. It will make South Dakota look deserted by comparison. Adding a drawing and a point system might actually increase pressure in the more desirable areas. The statement that the pressure is great along the Missouri river corridor is true because that’s some of the highest population areas and where most resident hunters also hunt. The average direct economic impact of a nonresident hunter is about $1,500, plus there is an indirect impact through jobs. With 3,180 nonresident deer hunters, that’s a direct economic impact of $4.77 million per year.

New World Record Animals And Historic Moments Highlighted The Pope And Young Club 30^th Biennial Convention

The Pope & Young Club held its 30^th biennial convention in St. Louis, Missouri, April 5-8, 2017 at the Union Station hotel. A stunning location, informative seminars, breath-taking mounts, new World Records and historic moments were the hallmarks for this P&Y gathering. The convention is always a great time to reunite with old friends, make new ones and celebrate of our shared love of bowhunting. The three-day celebration, held every two years, is where the Club honors the top big-game animals taken in North America over the past two-years and recognizes new bowhunting World Record animals.

The high point of the conventions Awards Banquet was the recognition of four new P&Y World Records;

Typical Coues deer, taken by Terry Edwards of San Carlos Arizona

Desert bighorn, taken by Tony Loop of Appling, Georgia

Shiras moose, taken by Bobby Hebert of Golden, Colorado

Typical American elk, taken Steve by Felix of Seeley Lake, Montana

The Recognition Banquet included a highlight of historic proportions with the induction of Kathleen Gardner and Anna Vorisek into the Club’s Fred Bear Society. Kathleen and Anna are the first female bowhunters ever inducted into this prestigious group. The Fred Bear Society was established in 2012 to recognize people who have made sizeable donations to the Pope and Young Club’s Trust Fund. Fred Bear established this fund in 1985 when he made the first contribution to begin the process that would ensure a long-lasting future for the Club from one generation to the next.

The large midway included many vendors of archery equipment and hunting outfitters offering attendees a chance to see the latest developments in gear and possibly book a hunt. Archery gear manufacturers in attendance included a few of the industry’s big names like Sitka, FeraDyne, Kuiu, Bear Archery and Lumenok, just to name a few.

Proceeds raised during the Convention through ticket sales, the Silent Auction and Live Auction benefit the Club’s Conservation, Education and Outreach fund. At the end of the final evening, the Pope & Young Club announced the next convention would be held in Omaha, Nebraska in 2019.

The Pope and Young Club is a non-profit North American conservation and bowhunting organization dedicated to the promotion and protect
ion of our bowhunting heritage, hunting ethics and wildlife conservation.  The Club also maintains the universally recognized repository for the records and statistics on North American big game animals harvested with a bow and arrow.

Contact the Pope & Young Club office at:

www.pope-young.org or P.O. Box 548, Chatfield, MN 55923, Ph: 507.867.4144

Media contact Rick Mowery at: rick@pope-young.org, Ph: 989.884.3800

Chances are you have been a believer in at least one of these myths. Here is some scientific evidence and common sense to debunk them. 

By Bernie Barringer

Some information has been passed down through the generations at hunting camps and in the pages of magazines. Today’s internet forums cause misinformation to be available to anyone at any time and sometimes it has the ring of truth. Here are six commonly-held beliefs that can be dismantled by using a little common sense and in some cases, new scientific findings.

Bucks only travel into the wind

You’ve probably heard variations on this one. Obviously, bucks cannot only travel into the wind otherwise they would be unable to go to food, water and secure cover when the wind is wrong. In some cases I have heard that bucks will put their nose into the wind when fleeing danger. In my experience, bucks are more likely to put distance between themselves and danger no matter what the wind direction. Once they feel the danger is past, they may head for secure cover.

Bucks will often travel with a tailwind. I have seen this behavior when they are moving out into an open field to feed. In several cases, a bachelor group of bucks I watched could be seen entering an alfalfa field in early fall each evening, and most times, they approached the field where they could see what was in front of them and smell what was behind them.

I have also see, and have scouting camera photos of bucks who prefer to approach their bedding area with a wind at their back. Bucks are individuals and will do what they have learned makes them feel safe. In many cases, that’s quartering into the wind, having the air currents hitting the side of their nose. Many bucks prefer this, but it’s not possible all that often, so they will do what they need to do to feel secure in their movements, using the wind direction in whatever way they can.

Big-racked bucks father big-racked bucks

A giant buck can be produced by the mating of a big buck and a doe with big antler genes. The doe has more to do with producing a giant than the buck’s father.

Clearly, this is partially true, but having the genes for big antlers in the father is only a small part of the equation. Bucks pass antler genes onto their doe fawns, which then pass them on to their male offspring. So a big buck is more likely to come from a doe that was descended from a big buck.

I have a friend who raises deer and I have learned a lot about antler genetics from him. He tells me that he can predict when a buck will blow up into a giant based on the genetics of the buck fawn’s mother. When he breeds a doe with big antler genes to a buck carrying big antler genes, that’s when the buck fawn is likely to become a giant because he has the genetics to do so from both sides.

Also keep in mind that big antlers are the result of age and nutrition. The buck’s mother is responsible for keeping the fawn fed and teaching it to search out quality food and minerals. She is also responsible to teach that buck fawn the survival strategies that will allow him to reach 5-6 years old when his rack can fully develop. So both in the genetics and in the behavior that creates a big antlered buck, a doe has much more responsibility than just the genetics of the  buck’s father.

White-tailed Deer do not see colors

This is a long held myth that seems to have trouble dying. I suppose it has so much traction because deer do not respond to hunter orange the way we expect them too. While florescent orange virtually glows to humans, deer seem to have hard time picking it out. This has led many hunters to believe that deer just see black, white and shades of gray.

Research began in the 1980’s that seemed to indicate that deer do see some colors. More recent research by the University of Washington and the University of Georgia began to reveal some very specific facts about what deer see. By dissecting a whitetails eyeball and putting it under a high-powered microscope, scientists were able to analyze the color vision in whitetails by looking at the rods and cones on the retina.

Rods collect light and cones interpret colors. By analyzing the specific kinds of cones in the deer’s eye, scientists discovered that deer do not see the red end of the spectrum visible to humans, but they see the blue end significantly better than we do. Colors like orange and red are subdued, but greens and blues are very visible to deer.

Humans have a UV filter on our eyes, which blocks out much of the blue light that can harm our eyesight over a lifetime. Because deer live much shorter lives, they do not need this filter. Between the lack of a UV filter and the number of cones that interpret blue light, a whitetail deer can see blue about 20 times better than humans can. If you are in a deer’s view wearing an orange vest and blue jeans, the orange would be a subdued color but the blue jeans would be extremely visible.

This buck spent most of its time miles away, but each October, it would show up on Rod Owen’s Missouri farm. He shot the buck when it arrived in 2015.

Mature bucks are homebodies

There’s been plenty of research using telemetry and more recently GPS tracking that seems to indicate that bucks stay in an area they know well, sometimes called a “home range” and many bucks have a very small “core area” where they spend the vast majority of their time. Some studies have shown that some bucks, as they age, tend to decrease their movements and their core area becomes smaller.

This sounds logical on the surface, and to the degree that the studies were carried out, it’s hard to argue with good scientific evidence. However, there are some significant problems with these generalizations. While a buck in ideal habitat may have everything he needs close by—secure cover, food and water—not every deer lives in such a utopia. Coyotes and wolves may run deer long distances. Hunting pressure may become so intense that a buck must move. Some bucks seem to have a wanderlust while others have a tendency to hunker down under pressure.

It’s easy to over generalize and forget that bucks, like humans are individuals, with individual “personalities.” We would like things to be simple so we could hunt them as if they are all the same, but that’s rarely how things are in the real world.

For many years I have done dozens of articles for national magazines on big bucks that have been shot. There are some surprises that come from all that data. Before the advent of scouting cameras, it was rare for a hunter to shoot a big buck of which he had prior knowledge. Most of the time, it was the first time he laid eyes on the giant. Upon interviewing these hunters who shot outsized trophy bucks after the woods became filled with scouting cameras, some things began to take place that changed my opinion.

I was surprised how many times I was hit with statements similar to this one, “I would never get a photo of that buck until the first of October then he would just show up on my property.”  Or this one, “After I shot the buck, a guy sent me a bunch of photos of the deer that were taken five [or six or seven] miles from where I shot it. He had been hunting it hard on his property.

I have become convinced that bucks like to settle into an area where they feel secure but as conditions change—be it food sources, predators, hunting pressure, etc.—they simply pick up and move out. Do they have a secondary home range? It would seem to be so. Could that secondary home range be the natal area where they grew up? Stands to reason that it might be since they spent the first year of their life learning it and all the security it offered. The more we know about home ranges the more we have to learn.

Get into your treestand well before daylight

Is it better to approach your stand in the dark of the morning or wait until it’s light enough to see? The author believes the latter is better.

My bowhunting mentor in the 1970s while I was in high school would always take me to my treestand two hours before daylight in the morning. It would give my scent time to dissipate was his reasoning. I followed this advice for many years.

But I started to become concerned that I was filling the area with scent for two hours rather than allowing it to dissipate. Plus, I was spooking a lot of deer on my way to the stand in the darkness. When travelling to and from my stand in the daylight it was much easier to use available cover to avoid being seen. Could it be old Jim was wrong about this?

I have started entering my stand site at first light, when I can see to make a quieter approach without artificial lighting. I can avoid stepping on noisy ground cover, and if I see a deer on the way in, I can stop and avoid spooking it. I often move to within 75 yards or so of my stand site in the dark, then wait until I have just enough light to close the final distance with much more stealth.

Bucks only visit scrapes at night

Here’s another one where science tells a small part of the story and has misled many hunters. There have been several studies done by placing scouting cameras at scrapes and analyzing the data on the times the scrapes were visited by bucks and does. Each of these studies showed that the photos of deer taken at scrapes were primarily at night, in fact, in most studies, 80 percent of the photos were taken under the cover of darkness.

Bucks will avoid exposing themselves to approach a scrape during the daylight unless they smell something that causes them to hook around and come right to it.

These studies miss one important component to the way bucks visit scrapes. During darkness, bucks feel comfortable strolling about checking scrapes as they go. They walk up to a scrape, take a sniff while getting their photo taken and then move on.

Not so during the daylight. Many primary scrapes—the ones that are likely to get checked several times by multiple bucks—are on the edge of fields adjacent to an open area such as a crop field or clearing. These primary scrapes will have an overhanging branch and be the center of attention until the chasing and breeding begins in earnest.

Bucks do not like to expose themselves to those open areas during the daylight, but during the last week in October and the first few days in November, when the scrapes are being checked, and the bucks are on their feet at any hour of the day, will they just abandon those scrapes until night time? I don’t think so. Whenever possible they will stay 20-40 yards back in the cover and scent-check the scrape from downwind. They will only hook around and approach the scrape if something compelling hits their nose. Only then do they get their photo taken. I have seen this behavior in person often enough to believe it is common.

So there are my opinions on why these six beliefs are myths. You are free to disagree. Comment below if you have something to add.

By Bernie Barringer

A look through the Boone & Crockett Record books reveals some interesting patterns about your chances of shooting a true giant black bear.

Outdoorsmen go through a progression of sorts during their lifetime. Most beginning fishermen, for example, are happy to catch a few fish and enjoy the excitement that comes with it. But as time goes on, they are not satisfied with a few bluegills, they want to catch a lot of fish. Then the progression goes to catching large fish of a particular species or trying more difficult methods of catching fish such as fly fishing.

Hunting is the same way. A deer hunter is thrilled to shoot his first deer, but sooner or later he finds that he has a fascination with shooting a mature buck, or with trying to shoot a deer with a bow rather than a rifle.

It stands to reason that bear hunters would go through the same progression. Many experienced bear hunters are either in search of color phase bears or a monster specimen. This article is for those of you who have a hankering to shoot a real whopper.

I have been fascinated by black bears all my life and I have been pursing them with a passion for more than a dozen years. I have put together a list of the top 10 places to shoot a really big black bear. I realize that some of you reading this will disagree with me, and have a place that you think should be included. I’ll certainly allow that you may disagree, but my list is backed up by the Boone & Crockett Club (B&C) records, so I at least have that going for me. Keep in mind that the total number of B&C bears produced in an area is not necessarily a good indicator of trophy potential. The percentage of B&C bears in the overall harvest is a better indicator of the area’s potential to produce a monster.

The B&C minimum score for a black bear is 21 inches. Of course it goes without saying that when booking an outfitter in one of these locations, you want to pick one that has a history of producing truly big bears. And you have to be willing to pass up a few big bears to have a chance at a true Boone & Crockett black bear. That’s not something everyone can do, but if your goal is a B&C black bear you have to be able to let the 20-inchers walk!

So here’s my list, and a little background on each location.

Top 10 Best Bets for Big Bears 

1) Prince of Wales Island and Kuiu Island, AK

These two islands produce whopper bears every year. They are remote and only a handful of outfitters take bears off these islands each year. Hunters here can afford to be selective. There is not a B&C bear around every corner, but you can expect to have a reasonable chance to sight one on your trip if you go there. These bears get big because of low hunting pressure, good genetics, a long feeding season and abundant food. If you want a chance to kill a B&C bear, it’s hard to beat these two islands off the coast of southeastern Alaska. The hunting here is primarily spot and stalk hunting on the beaches, although some bears are taken over bait.

2) Vancouver Island, Graham Island and Queen Charlotte Islands, BC

Our number two location has all the qualities of number one except that it gets a little more hunting pressure. Vancouver island in particular produces a lot of monster bears each year, and is more easily within reach of civilization, so access is a little better than number one. There are big bears on these islands and there are several outfitters who know how to put you on them. This is primarily spot and stalk hunting in logging cuts, and to a lesser degree on the beaches.

3) Northern Wisconsin

The sheer numbers of bears found in Northern Wisconsin are responsible for making this number 3. While the numbers are high, the actual harvest numbers are low due to a very limited number of bear permits each year, which means there is a good ratio of mature bears in the population. Prepare for a long wait if you want to hunt here: it normally takes 8-10 years of applying to draw a tag in the best zones. Most big bears are killed over bait, although a few are tracked down with hounds. Some of the best counties are Bayfield, Price, Sawyer, Marinette, Barron, Oconto, Rusk, and Langlade.

4) North Central Pennsylvania

This will come as a surprise to many people who do not consider Pennsylvania a bear hunting destination. But there are really big bears in this state. Baiting and hounds are not legal, which makes it very difficult to harvest a bear. Success rates are very low: the percentages some years can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Most bears are either shot incidentally by deer hunters or on large group drives. If you look at the list of the top end bears entered in the B&C record book, the letters PA come up a lot; more than most people would ever dream. Five of the top 10 and nine of the top 20 all-time record bears came from the Keystone state. The counties in the North Central part of the state are the best bets, with Lycoming having produced the most.

5) Riding and Duck Mountains, West Central Manitoba

The Western Part of Manitoba has a couple ranges of mountains that produce a large number of bears including some real monsters. Now these mountains are not what people from Colorado or Montana think of as mountains, but in a part of Canada that is mostly flat as a pancake, these are mountains. In addition to the large bears, they produce good numbers of color phase bears. This area offers great habitat for bears and it produces a lot of big bears because of the sheer overall numbers of bears taken. Outfitters here have huge exclusive territories and if they manage them well, their clients will bag a couple B&C melon-heads each and every year. When sitting over a bait in this part of Manitoba, you never know when a B&C bear is going to walk in. It can happen at any moment.

6) East Central Saskatchewan

The mountains in West Central Manitoba also reach over into Saskatchewan. So the same situation found in Manitoba is found in Saskatchewan. Lots of bears, and big bears too. There just isn’t quite as much of this near-perfect habitat on the west side of the shared border so Saskatchewan ranks slightly behind Manitoba in this area. Both of these provinces offer spring bear hunts which occur during the bear’s breeding season. Mature male bears will visit baits in the spring more readily when searching for females.

7) Peace River area of Alberta

This area is remote and very difficult to access. A small number of outfitters guide clients to bears here each year and the chances of laying eyes on a B&C bear are pretty good if you go to the time and expense it takes to put yourself in this area. Harvest is low not because the numbers of bears–the population is actually quite high and many areas offer a two-bear limit–but because the number of hunters is low. Mature bears are the norm not the exception. Most people come to this area with several tags in their pockets, since moose and elk are also popular targets. Hunters going to the area targeting these antlered species are well-advised to carry a bear tag because a really big one is liable to show itself at any moment.

8) North Western California

Once again low hunting pressure puts a spot on the map for big bruins. A long growing season helps too. There is a small pocket in the northwestern part of the state that produces a good number of big-headed bears, specifically Humboldt, Trinity and Mendocino Counties. It is an overlooked area for huge gorilla bears. Lots of color phase bears too; cinnamons, chocolates and blondes are common.

9) East Central Arizona

Some really big bears have come from the mountains of Central to East Central Arizona. Gila County produces quite a few of them and in fact ranks second all time in the number of B&C bears entered into the record books (46). That will surprise a lot of people but not those who live and hunt in that area. Nearly a year-round feeding season and lots of food is responsible for the exceptional growth, plus a low harvest.

10) Remote Northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba

The remote areas of these Central Canadian provinces produce some big bears. Much of this part of Canada is not accessible by road, so there is little hunting pressure. The bears get big because they have a chance to get old. You will most likely have to fly into a camp to encounter one of these bears, but you are also most likely to be the first human being they have ever seen. Many outfitters only kill one bear per bait each year in these remote areas, and they continue to produce monster bears year after year.

“Data for this article was compiled with assistance from Boone and Crockett Club’s on-line trophy database.  For information about this very valuable information service and other Boone and Crockett Club activities, please visit their web site at www.booneandcrockettclub.com or call 406/542-1888.”

B&C bears by state/province rank – Top 20 States/Provinces

Top 20 B&C bears of all time

Counties producing the most B&C bears – top 20

You want to know what deer you have using your property well before the hunting season begins in the fall. Placing cameras at these three locations will assure you get photos of the deer using the properties you hunt.

By Bernie Barringer

The deer season opens and you pick a stand in a great location for your opening day hunt. You have confidence in this spot so you climb in with optimism that you are going to see a buck. And you do. A buck approaches, but is it the buck you want to shoot? How does it compare to the other bucks on the property? If you are going to make a decision on what’s a shooter and what’s not a shooter, you need to have an inventory of all bucks likely to present you with an opportunity during the season, or you are just hunting blind.

Game cameras have changed the way we scout for deer. They not only reveal patterns of movement and habits, but they offer us an insight into the potential of any property to produce the buck on which we would be thrilled to pull the trigger. You can learn a whole lot about virtually every buck that is using a piece of property by the placement and monitoring of just three locations.

The Bedding Areas

While whitetail bedding can seem random at times, they do have certain bedding areas they prefer for the various weather variables. For example, in hot weather, they tend to seek out low, thick cover near water. At times, bucks like to be in the thick stuff and at others, especially when it is windy for example, they like to bed just below the crest of a hill so they can use their nose to protect them from behind and their eyes to see what’s in front of them. Learn the preferred bedding areas and get a camera or two on the trails that lead to these areas.

Avoid checking these cameras too often. I suggest once a month, because your ground scent and the possibility of spooking the deer out of the bedding area has the potential to undo what you are trying to learn in the first place. Check cameras right before a rain whenever possible.

Feeding Areas

Deer will feed in predictable locations in the summer. They love lush soybeans and will feed on them daily until the stems get large and woody, and then they will still feed some on the leaves but become less consistent. They relish green alfalfa and many other legumes and brassicas. They eat corn early when it just starts to come up, and then feed heavily on corn again when the ears are growing. A camera on an isolated fruit tree growing in an abandoned farm yard can produce some spectacular photos of late-summer bucks. Find the feed and you will find the deer.

Consider putting a camera with a plotwatcher feature on the edge of a field so you can monitor the entire field, not just the area right in front of the camera. Once again, do not check these cameras too often, but often enough to keep tabs on the deer’s feeding patterns. This camera location will give you a lot of clues about where to hunt during the early bow season.

Mineral Sites

I have saved the best for last; this one benefits your knowledge and the overall health of your deer. Start the mineral sites as soon as the antlers start to grow in the spring. Quality minerals will be sought out by both bucks and does. Good mineral has ingredients that benefit lactating does and antler growth, so all the deer benefit from it. A camera placed on a site with good mineral supplements will take a picture of every buck using the property at some point during the summer.

Replenish your minerals often to keep them coming back and change out the cards in your cameras each time you do. I guarantee you’ll feel like the season can’t come soon enough once you start seeing pictures of the bucks using the minerals.

By Bernie Barringer

My first bowhunting road trip was in 1993. I was living in Iowa and I travelled to northern Minnesota to bowhunt. Figure that one out. Iowa didn’t even have a nonresident deer season at that time. Today, about 20,000 applicants vie for the 6,000 nonresident Iowa buck tags each year. Being in the fishing business, I moved from Iowa to northern Minnesota in 2001, which set in motion a passion for travelling to bowhunt in other states.

I have since bowhunted whitetails in nearly a dozen states, some multiple times, and I have some favorites. I’ve had some great successes and some crushing failures, but along the way I have learned a lot and my passion for seeing what’s over the next hill burns as strong as ever. These days, I hunt from one to three other states every year. It’s hard to pick a short list of places I love hunting, but I would like to share with you my top five, and I will put them in no particular order, because your mileage may vary—the things that make one trip exciting for me may not mean as much to you.

Kentucky – Early Season

The archery season in Kentucky opens the first weekend in September. This offers a bowhunter the chance to get the jump on the seasons of most other states. The weather can be hot, but the deer are accustomed to it. They are typically in their late summer feeding patterns, often in loose bachelor groups and can be quite visible. These factors add up to some fantastic hunting opportunities. Tags are available over the counter.

Public land can be found in Kentucky, in fact there are some very large blocks of public land in the western third of the state, all of which offer good deer hunting. But some of the best hunting during early September will be found on private farms where the bucks are entering the soybeans and alfalfa fields in the evenings. Finding those bucks, then knocking on a few doors may get you permission to bowhunt a great place.

If you go, research the public land first so you have a backup in the event that you can’t find much private land to hunt. It’s not a bad idea to arrive a day or two before the season and spend evenings and mornings glassing. Hit the ground running, get some scouting cameras out, then get to hunting when you are ready.

Kansas

No list of top bowhunting states would be complete without Kansas. The state produces great bucks every year and has enough public hunting land to spread out the hunting pressure. Kansas recently reduced the number of nonresident tags, so you may not draw every year, but when you do have a tag in hand, there are plenty of places to hunt.

Kansas offers a Walk in Hunting Access (WIHA) program that adds lots of private land to the hunting opportunities. This land is primarily open which appeals to upland bird hunters, but there are some fantastic deer hunting spots if you take the time to do the research.

The majority of the whitetails are found in the eastern half of the state, which features the more traditional farmland habitat. But don’t overlook the prairies of western Kansas, some really big bucks live in out-of-the-way places.

Apply for Kansas tags in the spring. Most zones offer about a 75% chance of drawing. The best time to go is during the rut, but late season hunts offer excellent action as well.

Nebraska

You will find another early season opportunity in Nebraska, in 2015, the state moved its archery opening day to September 1, which offers a chance for bowhunters to take a buck in velvet. The state has been coming on with regard to the quality of the bucks found there, and it has escaped the worst of the disease outbreaks that have plagued other Midwestern states. Numbers are good and size is good as well.

Like Kansas, the eastern half of the state is mostly farmland, while the western half is open prairie, mixed with center pivot irrigation fields. Whitetails are found throughout the state, but numbers are highest in the east and along major rivers. Mule deer mix with whitetails in western Nebraska wherever habitats overlap. And here’s some great news. Your deer tag allows you to shoot either species.

Deer tags are available over the counter, and in addition to being good for either mule deer or whitetails, you can purchase two buck tags in most zones. Talk about options; there is a lot of opportunity. Public land is abundant enough to keep you busy, but getting permission to hunt private land is easier than you might think.

Iowa

Everyone has Iowa on their list of places they want to bowhunt, and for good reason. Iowa offers so much opportunity for excellent deer hunting and there is quite a bit of public land. Because the state only allows 6,000 nonresident tags, and the majority of those go to hunters who hunt with an outfitter, the hunting pressure on public land is well spread out. The state keeps cranking out big bucks year after year. While most of the world class B&C deer that come out of the state each year are shot off private land, the chance to shoot a 150 on public land is a real possibility for the hunter who works hard.

The best areas of the state for big deer are the southern third of the state, basically everything south of I-80 and then northwesten corner of the state. The Mississippi River corridor, along with the major tributaries, produce some giants each year too.

Here’s the real drawback for hunting Iowa, the cost and the wait. It will take 3-4 years of applying for a tag in the more desirable zones before you will be selected. Then the tag is going to set you back more than $550. The state would like you to send that money up front, but don’t take the bait. For at least the first two years, just pay the $50 for a preference point, then only send the entire amount when you have a realistic chance of drawing the tag. With licenses, fees and preference points, you are likely to have about $700 in tags lining your pockets when you finally hit the woods.

But it’s worth it. The first two weeks of November in Iowa is a magical time and place. At any moment, the deer of a lifetime may stroll within bow range.

Missouri

Missouri is a bargain for nonresident deer hunters. For about $250 you buy a deer tag over the counter that entitles you to two deer and two turkeys. Public land is abundant and well managed. Large blocks of public hunting land offer excellent hunting opportunities. The Department of Conservation plants food plots and makes habitat improvements. Most of these areas are large enough to offer seclusion for hunting pressure by getting a mile or more away from the roads. Several public hunting areas are managed as bowhunting only.

The one drawback about all this good news: It’s no secret. The state gets a lot of pressure from nonresident hunters, especially in the counties right along the Iowa border. The public hunting lands in the northern tier of counties see a lot of bowhunters hauling stands into the woods each year.

The northern half of the state produces the best hunting for mature bucks, but it has been hit by disease the past few years. It’s in the recovery process now, and hopefully will get better.

Those are my top five picks, all of which I have hunted extensively and I plan to go back again and again. Maybe I’ll bump into you out there. For more detailed information on DIY bowhunting road trips, check out my book The Freelance Bowhunter.

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