Category: Deer Hunting
Hunting Hit List Bucks During the Late Season – Episode #422
New Video
The GrowingDeer Team has had multiple encounters with hit list bucks! Learn our hunting strategies for late season buck hunting as we close in on Southpaw, Hitch, Herman and Cactus Jack.
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new weekly blog:
We’ve changed our hunting strategies for the late season and are now focusing on food. Find out how we have prepared for this time of the year by protecting standing soybeans!
Short VIDEO:
Grant takes questions and gives answers to deer hunters after a successful hunt. “Live” at the skinning shed!
Tip of the Week:
A screwdriver is a great tool for holding the spring and setting a dog proof trap!
December: Get the Most out of Deer Hunting
December is a very special time of year for deer hunters. We’ve changed our tactics from the rut phase to get bucks into range. Deer are really hitting food sources right now. For that reason, we’ve opened the gate where the Hot Zone fence is protecting standing beans. These were strategically placed so that with the gate open, deer would be in range of our stands. Standing beans are one of the best attractants for the late season.
But more importantly, I want to invite you all to join the Woods family in truly celebrating Christmas this year. Not the gift giving and all the ceremonies we have, but the reason Christmas was first started; the reason we do it is to remember the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without that tremendous gift from God, we’d have no chance of knowing eternity, of knowing salvation or even enjoying Creation that we all enjoy today.
Enjoy Creation,
Grant
Taking Pops Hunting!
Normally I pass along hunting and habitat management tips, but in this blog I wish to share some tips for an even more important topic — I want to talk about taking my dad hunting.
Pops, as I affectionately call him, is my 87-year-old father. He’s the guy that taught me how to hunt, and took me hunting when he could have been hunting with his buddies.
I clearly remember the first time Pops took me deer hunting. I was 6 years old and in first grade. We went on a primitive weapons (muzzleloader) deer hunt on public land near Caney Mountain in southern Missouri. It was during October and I got to skip school! Many of Pops’ buddies went and I was the only child in our camp.
While Pops’ friends walked deep into the woods to hunt, he couldn’t go far from the road with me tagging along. When we’d sit behind a log or against a tree, I’d pretend that his muzzleloader’s ramrod was a gun and “shoot” at every squirrel and bird in sight. I constantly waved the ramrod like a flag!
Of course, we didn’t see a deer. I was fidgeting, “shooting” squirrels and asking about lunch. A few of Pops’ buddies tagged deer, which was a huge accomplishment during those days. Pop must have not been mad because he kept taking me hunting. Click here to read more.
Another Massive Buck for the Martins! – Episode #420
New Video
Lindsey Martin has a crack at a hit list buck named Twin Towers! Plus, GrowingDeer interns get in on the action as they help our doe management goal and remove predators at The Proving Grounds!
SPECIAL OFFER:
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Short clip:
Watch an awesome Reconyx video of a bobcat stalking its prey!
new weekly blog:
Grant shares his post rut hunting strategies and tips for tagging a buck!
Tip of the Week:
Cold weather gear can make it hard to maintain shooting form. Practice wearing those layers, so that you will be prepared for that next encounter!
How to Hunt Whitetails during the Post Rut
If you were unable to fill a tag by the end of the rut, it can be easy to get discouraged. Don’t give up! Post rut hunting can be very productive. Similar to the pre rut, it comes down to predicting when the deer are going to move and being in your stand when they do.
We are currently in one of the first real cold fronts of the season here at The Proving Grounds. This seasonal, colder weather will impact deer movements after several weeks of warmer than average temperatures. It’s also “post rut” so our hunting strategies have changed. We’re hoping to close the gap on a hit list buck. Cactus Jack and Swoops seem to be on a regular pattern. We’ll be hunting stands in their home range given the right wind direction. In the meantime, the does and fawns will be going to the plots to feed along with bucks that are trying to replenish calories lost during the rut. Chances are most of the does will already be bred but there is one variable that’s still in play: the “fawn rut.” This is the time frame when doe fawns have reached approximately 70 pounds and enter puberty making them receptive for breeding.
When this occurs depends heavily on the food sources available. A doe fawn that lives in ag country where there are plenty of crops to eat will come into estrus sooner than a doe fawn living in heavily forested areas. In our area, typically the “fawn rut” will occur during late December to early January. However, due to the wicked drought in our area body weights are down and fawns may reach puberty later than average this year.
In years past we’ve used this strategy successfully: find food plots frequently being used by does and fawns, then hunt those plots where a hit list buck might follow in one of those receptive fawns. This is exactly what I did during December 2013 when “The Trashman” went down (watch episode 163 here).
Whether you’ve already filled a tag or not, don’t let the post rut blues take you out of the hunt!
Enjoy Creation,
Grant
Hunting the Rut: Tactics for Tagging Head Turner – Episode #419
New Video
It is the rut and Grant’s hunting a mature buck! Learn how Grant adjusted his hunting strategy specifically for the rut. The plan worked and Grant tagged one of our top hit list bucks, Head Turner!
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new weekly blog:
Wanting to spice up your meals and try something different? Here
is a standard recipe for jambalaya with a few modifications to make
it work with venison!
Tip of the Week:
Cat food is a cheap, meaty-smelling bait that works great for trapping nest predators such as raccoons and opossums.
Why deer hunters should never give up – Episode #418
New Video
Sitting it out and being patient are often the keys to harvesting a good buck. See Daniel tag a doe then patiently stay in the stand to let that doe lure in a buck. This bonus buck hunt ends with a bang, antlers and fresh venison! Then watch as Pro Staffer Jeff Therrell has multiple heart-sinking encounters with a hit list buck he calls “Wrecking Ball.” The story has a great ending as Jeff sticks it out and finally harvests this Kansas brute!
Short clip:
Do you send your deer meat to a processor or do it yourself? Here’s a short (less than 30 seconds) video showing how we clean up a backstrap before vacuum packaging and freezing.
sPEcial offer:
Our partners at BoneView are offering a special, limited time discount* just for GrowingDeer subscribers: 20% off! This special offer is valid through Thursday, November 30, 2017. Take advantage of this offer by using code GDTV20 at check out.
new weekly blog:
Venison calzones are easy to customize to your family’s tastes. Here is a simple recipe that is sure to please!
Tip of the Week:
Using a cart is a great way for hunters to easily pack out their deer. Carts also help protect the cape should a hunter want to mount their harvest.
The Best Homecoming: Harvesting A Buck – Episode #417
New Video
Watch as the GrowingDeer Team harvests two bucks and three does! First up: Pro Staff member Heath Martin hunts “home ground” in western Arkansas where he tags the big “hard work pays off” buck! Then Raleigh returns home from college to hunt the opening morning of Missouri firearm season! Watch as Raleigh and Grant both punch tags…one is a fine Ozark Mountain buck!
new weekly blog:
Busy at work and slipping a hunt in when you can? Don’t let your busy schedule keep you from enjoying your recent harvest! Here is an easy recipe for a great marinated venison roast!
Tip of the Week:
Keeping your knives sharp (even replacement blades) makes cutting venison safer and quicker.
Hunting Strategies For The Rut: Bottlenecks, Pinch Points And Travel Corridors
This year has been the best for hunting the pre rut that we’ve seen in several years! Hunters in a wide range of states (Kansas, Arkansas, Kentucky, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, and more) have shared how they are seeing more deer than previous during the pre rut.
This most likely will change in a matter of days. Bucks don’t need to move much during the peak of the rut. This is when the highest percentage of does are receptive and bucks don’t have to travel far to pair up with a doe. Once with a receptive doe bucks often tend her for 24-36 hours. Often, neither the buck nor doe will travel far during this time.
Southpaw, a 6 year old buck, is on our hit list.
During the chase phase of the rut bucks aren’t following a food/cover pattern. They are moving throughout their home range in areas they believe they have the best chance of finding a receptive doe.
Hunting stands that were placed overlooking scrapes will not be my first choice at this time. Why? Because bucks or does rarely use scrapes during the peak of the rut.
Bucks and does tend to abandon most scrapes during the chase phase of the rut. It seems bucks don’t wish to spend energy checking and/or maintaining scrapes when checking the wind often yields much better results of finding a receptive doe.
During the rut bucks will focus primarily on checking scrapes that are in a travel path between areas they will be seeking does. If I find scrapes that are maintained during the chase phase of the rut that can be a key stand location!
It is important to think about how bucks will be traveling during the rut. Research has shown that bucks will be up and on their feet, moving up to 4X more than the “normal” distance. This is the time to hunt bottlenecks, pinch points and travel corridors.
As always, there’s usually more deer activity just before and after a strong cold front so I’m always watching the weather forecast!
Enjoy Creation,
Grant
Putting pre-rut hunting tactics into action! – Episode #415
New Video
Watch as Pro Staffer Daniel Stefanoff self films his hunt where an incredible Oklahoma buck hits the red dirt! Grant and Daniel punch tags and have to make a tough decision from the stand. Plus, the deer were moving during Missouri’s youth season and we captured some incredible pre-rut buck behavior on video!
Short Clip:
Decoying can be a very effective hunting tactic! Grant shares his decoying techniques for getting a buck within range and broadside!
new weekly blog:
Do you enjoy eating deer backstraps? Tracy shares tips for preparing and cooking this choice cut of venison!
Tip of the Week:
Practicing throughout the season helps shooters know their bow is tuned and has not been damaged during a hunt!
