Hunting the second rut Use these tactics to fill your tag Hunting the second rut. When Hunting the second rut, food sources are still the best place to spend the last hours of daylight. BY STEVE BARTYLLA It had already been an amazing morning. I’d passed on two very mature bucks within easy [caption id="attachment_844" align="alignright" width="244"] Hunting the second rut[/caption] shooting range in under a half-hour. With firearm season a…

 Holding deer on your land [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="250"] Holding deer on your land[/caption] By Steve Bartylla It didn’t exactly start off as a good afternoon for bowhunting. With the November temperatures in Schuyler County, Ill., hovering in the low 70s, I figured most of the rut activity would be taking place at night. Making matters worse, I needed to mark the trail in to the stand. Sugar Creek deer…

  A Needle in a Haystack   By Steve Bartylla In an instant, I went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. I’d watched the huge 10-pointer for about 10 minutes while the doe he followed stood in my shooting lane. As the monster buck put on an impressive display of sapling trashing and dirt-clod kicking, I knew the odds were high that he’d give me a…

Big Woods big woods bucks By Steve Bartylla As the big woods buck stood on the ridge, nose held high, it inhaled the alluring odor of the estrous scent I had placed well above its reach. It took several steps forward and began to scan the bedding area below for the hot doe. Within seconds, a blast of scent placed closer to my stand caught the big woods buck’s attention.…

By Steve Bartylla When hunters go to Alberta to chase whitetails, they expect to be in for a good hunt. Tom Nitterour was no exception. Though he’d hunted with a rifle for 16 years, this was only his second year of bowhunting. Having yet to unleash an arrow at a deer, he hoped this trip would change that. However, in Nitterour’s wildest dreams, he never expected to have a hunt…

Best stand locations How to Attack New Hunting Property - Part 2   By Steve Bartylla In part 1 of this article, I wrote about the initial stages of setting up to hunt a farm for Schuyler County, Illinois’ Sugar Creek Outfitters. You read about the sanctuaries, four water sources, alfalfa, corn, beans and clover. With the food, water and cover taken care of, all that remained was to get stands in the…

Hunting bedding areas Scoring in Bedding Areas – By Steve Bartylla [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] Hunting bedding areas[/caption] BOWHUNTING WORLD October 2006 Scoring in Bedding Areas by Steve Bartylla Is Hunting Bedding Areas Too Risky? Not When You’re Armed With The Right Tactics [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="490"] Hunting bedding areas[/caption] I was in a jam. Intending to spend much of the season on the property, I’d invested several weeks into…

Bowhunting Tactics That Deliver Trophy Bucks [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300"] Bowhunting Tactics That Deliver Trophy Bucks[/caption] See larger image Share your own customer images I own the rights to this title and would like to make it available again through Amazon. 19 used & new from $11.40 See All Buying Options Have one to sell? Sell yours here Tell the Publisher!  I'd like to read this book on Kindle Don't have a Kindle?Get your Kindle here,…

Using aerial maps and toposBetween working as a consultant for outfitters and scouting properties for my own hunting endeavors, I can honestly say that nothing helps me locate killer stand sites as much as aerial photos and contour maps. They can tell you so much about a property before one even steps foot on it, minimizing the amount of deer disturbing activity needed to get stands in place. Every bit…