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Scott Bestul

An archery opening-day giant out of southeastern Minnesota

Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting /

It’s one thing to get a trail cam pic or two of a mature buck, and quite another to have the buck’s sheds, assemble a library of photos of the deer, and then have that buck walk into bow range on the opening day of archery season.
Yet that’s just what happened to Rochester’s LeRoy Purrier last week when he tagged a giant 6-by-5 that stands an excellent chance of making the Boone & Crockett (B&C) record book as a typical. Purrier became aware of the buck back in January, when he purchased a 90-acre property in the Lanesboro area of Fillmore County.

An archery opening-day giant out of southeastern Minnesota Read More »

Early-season whitetails: Here are four food sources to target in late September, early October

Featured, Featured, Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

The rut gets all the attention, but if I know where a big buck is living, I’d rather hunt him in late September or early October than any other time of season.
In September his world is small. He’s found some bedding cover where he feels safe. He hasn’t worried about hunters in more than eight months. His world consists of sleeping, eating as much as possible and avoiding the occasional predator. If you can get even basic intelligence on this buck, I’m convinced the first few weeks of fall are the absolute best time to tag him.
Of course, you’ll need to know what he’s eating, and here are four of the best early-season deer foods to check out.

Early-season whitetails: Here are four food sources to target in late September, early October Read More »

Small tracts, big bucks: Helpful tips for hunting whitetails on small properties

Featured, Featured, Featured, Featured, Featured, Featured, Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

The buck had to have dropped from the sky. That was all I could think of, since I had just looked at the scrape he was standing in only seconds before.
Spotting nothing there, I shifted my body to look the other direction and, then in one of those weird senses that old bowhunters learn to trust, I felt a hunch telling me to glance back to the original scrape. The tall-racked 8-pointer working the licking branch made me catch my breath and reach for the bow. I shouldn’t have been surprised. The tract I was hunting was no more than 15 acres, and bucks use it as a travel corridor during their November quests to find does.

Small tracts, big bucks: Helpful tips for hunting whitetails on small properties Read More »

Pre-season deer stand tweaks: A little work now means safe and silent hunting later

Featured, Featured, Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Some bucks you remember forever.
The Iowa 9-point was one I’d been after for weeks and, while he wasn’t one of the giants the Hawkeye State is known for, I wasn’t much of a bowhunter, either. Barely 19 years old and trying to figure out public-land whitetails, I’d decided most any deer wearing antlers was good enough for me. I’d spotted the white-racked buck – a broad-shouldered wraith that lived in a tangle of Mississippi River bottomland – once or twice and wanted him badly.

Pre-season deer stand tweaks: A little work now means safe and silent hunting later Read More »

Beat a buck’s nose: A look at new-age scent control options

Featured, Featured, Featured, Gear & Gadgets, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

When I first got serious about bowhunting, it didn’t take me long to figure out I smelled pretty bad to deer. Bucks would hit my walk-in trail and do an about-face. Does would wander into my scent stream and spend long minutes blowing and snorting to announce the presence of an intruder. Even a downwind fawn could bust me.
How things have changed since I bought my first bow tag.

Beat a buck’s nose: A look at new-age scent control options Read More »

Here’s what to understand about legal deer attractant options for hunting in Minnesota

Featured, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting, National News, News /

It’s long been believed that congregated deer can be a vector for chronic wasting disease, and the Minnesota DNR has enacted several measures to reduce that scenario in recent years. While baiting deer for the purpose of hunting has long been illegal in the Gopher State, the ban on that practice has been extended to recreational feeding as well.
In addition, the DNR has made illegal some popular practices that hunters use to attract deer.

Here’s what to understand about legal deer attractant options for hunting in Minnesota Read More »

Can rubber boots really trick a deer’s nose? Tests with police dogs help answer that question

Featured, Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Rubber boots have long been part of a bowhunter’s “uniform.”
While farmers and others have been using vulcanized foot coverings to do chores for decades, those knee-high green boots really didn’t hit the hunting scene hard until the 1990s.
Of course one of the fundamental selling points of wearing rubber on your feet was that it allowed a waterproof, scent-free trek to and from your stand or blind. But do rubber boots actually live up to those claims?

Can rubber boots really trick a deer’s nose? Tests with police dogs help answer that question Read More »

Summer stream trout fishing with jigs? Absolutely. Here’s how to do it

Featured, Features, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Home Page News, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Fishing, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

My friend Mike Jeresek retired from teaching and coaching a few years ago. Since then, he’s devoted his considerable post-career energy to at least two outdoor pursuits: shepherding area bluebird populations and catching trout.
Jeresek gave the bluebirds a rest and invited me along for a morning of trouting. Never one to turn down a chance to fish with an expert, I readily agreed.

Summer stream trout fishing with jigs? Absolutely. Here’s how to do it Read More »

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