The biggest typical whitetail ever to walk the earth?
By Bernie Barringer Hundreds of factors must come together in one shining moment for a buck to reach world record caliber. A long line of big antler genetics must funnel down through the generations into one female deer. This doe must have hit the genetic lottery with a series of big buck sires in the […]
Lessons Learned From a Bear Den
By Bernie Barringer My buddy Rick called me one day in December and said he had found a bear in a den along a river bank. He’d been setting snares for fox and coyotes when he came across a set of large bear tracks in the snow, so he followed them and discovered the den. […]
New Archery World Record Black Bear
Pope and Young Club Names New World Record Black Bear During Special Panel Chatfield, MN – On Saturday, February 8th, the Pope and Young Club convened a Special Panel of Judges in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during the Great American Outdoors Show, for a potential P&Y World Record Black Bear. Jeff Melillos’ massive bear scored 23 5/16 […]
Whitetails of the Northern Mississippi River
The “Big Muddy” is producing big whitetails and there’s plenty of public land to hunt them. By Bernie Barringer Take a look at the areas of the Midwest which consistently produce big whitetail bucks and you’ll find some similarities. Winona and Houston counties in the far southeastern part of Minnesota have produced more Pope & […]
Top 10 DIY Whitetail Hunts
These 10 destinations offer great public land hunting and a chance to bring home something to make your taxidermist happy. By Bernie Barringer Everyone who travels to hunt whitetails seems to have a favorite place to go. I’ve bowhunted whitetails in more than a dozen states and I have some places I just can’t wait […]
Smoking a venison ham
This not just another venison recipe, it’s a new way to look at cooking an entire hindquarter of venison. Check it out. By Bernie Barringer My wife shot her first deer in 32 years. But she shot a deer in the first half hour of hunting this fall. A trophy is in the eye of […]
Late Season Hunts: Why Ground Blinds are Great
Late season deer hunting is often characterized by harsh conditions. Ground blinds are the perfect solution in so many ways. By Bernie Barringer My son Dawson sat close beside me as we watched two does feed out into the hayfield 40 yards out of range. Dawson was 12 years old and in his hand […]
Late season bucks
The rut and the gun seasons are over, and gone with them is the helter-skelter buck movement. Now the deer are focused on the available food; they need to replace fat reserves. In the opinion of many deer hunters, it’s the best time of the year to shoot a big buck… if you can take […]
5 Tips for All-Day Sits
Sitting all day during the peak of the rut can be very productive, but very boring. Here are five tips to make it more bearable and improve your odds of being ready when the big one shows up. By Bernie Barringer I’m a pretty high strung person. Sitting still for long periods has always come […]
3 Dynamite Decoy Set Ups for the Rut
By Bernie Barringer Many hunters have a negative view of using a decoy in their deer hunting. There are a couple reasons this is the case: It’s a lot of extra work to haul it to your hunting area and set it up. Many people have used decoys and had a negative response from deer […]