#Wyoming Whitetail Hunts

[limbless-art]

Drawing Deer Species 37/50

Mule Deer

Mule Deer share much of their distribution map with Whitetail Deer, and look quite similar. Mules tend to be a little larger, have tines that diverge off their antlers' main beam then diverge again in forks, and have their signature small tail with a black tip. Hybrids of the two are quite common, given the rarity of natural hybridization.

Found all throughout the Rocky Mountains and great plains, the mule deer is so named for it's large floppy ears.

These deer seem partial to a movement common in gazelles, leaping in the air with all four legs, keeping the legs still and straight while airborne. This is called Stotting. It's assumed to be a display to predators that this deer is ready to run and isn't worth hunting.

Mule Deer travel from low altitudes to higher in mountains for Summer. They will take the same routes every year if they can. In Wyoming, a notable herd travels 150 miles between seasonal ranges.

[cecilraybaker]

Best U.S. States for Hunting

Best U.S. States for Hunting https://cecilraybaker.org/best-u-s-states-for-hunting/ When it comes to hunting in the United States, the abundance of game species, diverse landscapes, and rich hunting traditions make it a premier destination for outdoor enthusiasts. From the rolling plains of the Midwest to the rugged mountains of the West, each state offers unique hunting opportunities and experiences. Here’s a closer look at some of the best U.S. states for hunting:   Alaska Known as the “Last Frontier,” Alaska boasts some of the country’s most pristine and untouched wilderness areas. With abundant populations of big game species such as moose, caribou, Dall sheep, and brown bear, Alaska offers unparalleled opportunities for adventurous hunters seeking an authentic wilderness experience. From remote backcountry hunts to coastal bear hunts, Alaska offers something for every hunter.   Texas Everything is bigger in Texas, including the hunting opportunities. With vast expanses of private and public land, Texas is home to a wide variety of game species, including white-tailed deer, wild hogs, javelina, and exotic species such as axis deer and nilgai antelope. With liberal hunting regulations and a thriving hunting culture, Texas is a favorite destination for both resident and non-resident hunters alike.   Montana With its rugged mountains, vast forests, and abundant wildlife, Montana is a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts. Known for its large populations of elk, mule deer, whitetail deer, and antelope, Montana offers a diverse range of hunting opportunities for hunters of all skill levels. Whether you prefer spot-and-stalk hunting in the mountains or still-hunting in the dense forests, Montana has something for everyone.   Wyoming With its wide-open spaces and diverse habitats, Wyoming is a top destination for hunters seeking trophy big game species such as elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, and bighorn sheep. Wyoming’s extensive public lands, including national forests, BLM lands, and state wildlife management areas, provide ample opportunities for DIY hunts and backcountry adventures.   Colorado With its towering peaks, dense forests, and vast expanses of high plains, Colorado offers many hunting opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts. Known for its large populations of elk, mule deer, black bear, and mountain lion, Colorado attracts hunters from across the country in pursuit of trophy game. Whether you prefer hunting in the high country or the foothills, Colorado’s diverse landscapes provide endless opportunities for adventure. Conclusion   The United States offers many hunting opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts of all skill levels. Whether you’re seeking trophy big game species in the rugged wilderness of Alaska, the wide-open plains of Texas, the majestic mountains of Montana, the vast expanses of Wyoming, or the diverse landscapes of Colorado, there’s something for everyone in the best U.S. states for hunting. So pack your gear, grab your rifle or bow, and head out into the great outdoors for an unforgettable hunting experience.   via Cecil Ray Baker | Outdoors https://cecilraybaker.org August 10, 2024 at 06:59AM

[ms-rampage]

Eden's Gate: Left Behind Chapter 4 - Bonding

Warnings: Some swearing, slight cuteness between Kate and Wheaty, slight angst

Word count: 1.8k

Alissa (FC: Rhea Ripley)

Sarah (FC: Toni Storm)

Morgan: (FC: Kathryn Newton)

Ashley (FC: Chloë Grace Mortez)

Layla (FC: China Anne McClain)

Becky (FC: Taissa Farminga)

Ryan (FC: Ryan Potter)

Kevin (FC: Evan Peters)

Ivan and Isaiah (FC: Dylan & Cole Spouse)

Dylan (FC: Joe Keery)

********************************************

5 YEARS EARLIER

March 2013

Payette National Forest

McCall, Idaho 

18 year old Paige and 14 year old Kate drive down the quiet lonely roads of Idaho. Working a case on a potential "animal" attack. 

Paige driving, and Kate searching the attack. 

"So what's the case?" Paige asks keeping her eyes on the road, Kate clears her throat and reads the report from her laptop. "4 people 2 male, and 2 female go camping one night, they hear an unusual sound, typical teen werewolf movie, the 2 guys and 1 of the girls are attacked, and killed. 

The other girl gets away bruised but uninjured" she stops reading the report. "Sounds like an animal attack to me" Paige says 

"That's what the coroner's said, but they examined the bite marks and they don't look like bites from a bear, wolf or a mountain lion. They said the bones were broken, and the flesh was torn clean off". 

Paige thinks for a moment "So a Werewolf? Vampire? Leviathan?". 

Kate shrugs, and says "Possibly the bite marks look like ones of a werewolf". 

They drive down the road, and stop at a gas station, Kate goes inside the market, and Paige fills up the Impala, as she’s grabbing snacks and drinks, the TV behind the cashier plays the news "In local news the McCall police department have found two more bodies at the Payette National Forest, the identities of these bodies are of George Fillman and Robert Peters". 

Kate pays for their stuff and leaves the store, Paige is done filling up the car. "Well they found 2 more bodies in the forest". 

Paige sighs as she puts the pump back "Son of a bitch" she says frustrated. They get into the car and drive to the forest.

END OF FLASHBACK 

__________________________

Kate is with her friends Morgan, Sarah, and Alissa hanging out in the grass area of the quad of their college campus. During their mandatory 1 hour lunch break from work. 

Talking to their friend Sarah about what happened at the diner the day before. 

“Yeah for real. Holly was pissed” Morgan says to Sarah. 

Kate and Alissa, laugh at this. 

“Yeah, she was pissed off because this guy. I guess him and Holly had a thing in the past. He was flirting with Kate” Alissa adds.

Sarah turns to Kate “For real?!?”

She nods her head “Yeah. I felt his eyes on me the whole time”.

“I told you. He wants to fuck you!!” Morgan exclaims. 

Kate shrugs, and says “Well he did ask me out”.

They all stare at her in shock, “Yep, he definately wants to fuck you” Alissa says.

“When are you two going out?!?” Sarah asks.

“Tomorrow. After work, he’s gonna take me for a ride in his plane” she replies.

They all gasp at the same time. “Are you sure that’s not code for something else??!” Morgan asks.

Kate shrugs as a reply. Unsure but kinda hoping it is.

“Well maybe, he does wanna have sex with you!!” Sarah says.

“What was his name?!” Morgan asks.

“John. I didn’t get his last name, but he also mentioned he’s a lawyer” Kate replies. 

“Damn girl, going after the rich ones” Sarah jokes. 

They all laugh. None of them don't know of the Cult that’s growing in Hope County. They’re all new to the whole town, and its residents. 

Kate has known Sarah, and Alissa for 4 years, they met in University back in Wyoming. Morgan, she’s known her pretty much her whole life, she’s a hunter as well. Their mothers were childhood friends.

Alissa changes the subject to something else.

“So, about tonight?!. The get together!! The Whitetail Mountains!!!” she says.

“Yes, we’ll be there” Morgan says. 

“Kate are you going?!” Sarah asks.

Kate hesitates on her reply. Not sure if she wants to go after all.

“Of course, she'll be there. I’ll pick her up, and take her home” Morgan says before Kate could answer.

“Who else is gonna be there?!” Kate asks.

“Becky, and Ashley the Junior Deputies, Ryan, Kevin, Dylan and a few others” Alissa says.

Sarah checks the time on her phone, and immediately stands up. “Shit, my next class starts in 5 minutes. I’ll you guys tonight” she says, running to class. 

They bye to her, and head back to the diner. Having to deal with Holly for another 5 in half hours. 

*******************************************************

At Joseph’s compound, John enters the church, and sees his older brother sitting at one of the pews. He approaches him, and stands next to him as he remains sitting down. 

“The girl?” Joseph asks. His voice soft, and calming.

“I’m seeing her tomorrow” John replies. 

Joseph stands up, faces him, placing his hand on his younger brother's shoulder. 

“I’ve seen her. Make her a wife. A mother. God has plans for the both of you” he says.

He nods, “Yes, Joseph. I will".

“What do you know of her?” he asks.

John tells him everything he knows about Kate.

“Her name is Kate. She works as a waitress, she’s a student and from Phoenix. Lived in Jackson, Wyoming”.

“God was right. Make her a part of our family. The Lord knows. He knows what he’s doing. Don't let her go."

John nods again, “Yes Joseph”.

“She must not be harmed in any way. Tell my Children not to do her any harm. I don’t want her to be scared away. You must protect her” he adds.

He nods once more, “Yes, Joseph I'll tell them, and I will do everything to protect her".

*****************************************************

Several hours later, Kate, Morgan and Alissa leave the diner, finishing their shifts. Walking to their cars.

“I’ll pick you up at 7:30!!” Morgan yells out to Kate.

“Okay!!! See you then!!!” she yells back, and enters her car. Driving home. 

10 minutes later, Kate pulls into her driveway, and goes inside her house.

Dropping her stuff to the floor in a dramatic fashion.

Haley wagging her tail excitedly at her owner.

Kate lets out an overly exaggerated groan, “Fuck!!!!’ she says, tired. 

She drops herself onto one of her chairs. She really needs to get a couch in this house. 

After a few minutes, she gets up and takes a shower. 

The warm water feels fantastic against her skin, relaxing her muscles. After 15 minutes, she gets out, drys off and changes into some clean clothes. 

Jeans, high top Vans, and a flannel shirt. Her usual attire. 

She chills on her chair, watching tv, waiting for Morgan to pick her up. 7:30 rolls around, and she hears a honk outside her house.

She gets a message on her phone “I’m here!” - Morgan. 

Kate gets up, grbs her jacket, locks up her house and goes into Morgan’s car.

“Sup” she greets her, followed by a smile. 

“Hey” she responds, with a smile of hers. 

They drive to the Whitetail Mountains, catching up, laughing and reminiscing.

“Remember when we were 10, working a case with our moms in Rogers, Arkansas and we put a mix of horseshit, dog shit and cow shit in that racist old man’s gas tank of his car!?!” Morgan asks laughing. 

“Shit, yeah I remembered that, and we never got in trouble” Kate says laughing. 

“So how’s Paige doing?!. How did she react to you wanting to leave the hunting demons, and ghosts life behind?!” she asks. 

Kate stays silent for a moment, looking down, then out the window. Then back to Morgan. 

“She’s doing good. She wasn’t mad, but umm”. She goes silent for a moment.

“She-she was disappointed,” she says hesitantly, looking out the window again.

Silence fills the car once more. Morgan breaks the silence, asking her. 

“I don’t want you to take this the wrong way. But, you know I love Paige, I think she’s an awesome person. But do you think she holds you back?”. 

She stays silent again, looking down at her hands. 

“Sometimes” she mutters. “Sometimes” she says again, slightly louder.

“But she’s my sister. She basically raised me, protected me, and I know all the times where she held me back was because she wanted to protect me”.

*************************************

They make it to the campsite. The only bonfire in the dark wooded area. 

They get out, and approach the bonfire.

Alissa, and Sarah arrive at the same time they exit their vehicle. They stop and wait for them to catch up.

“So how do you feel about not hunting monsters anymore?” Morgan asks her, practically in a whisper. 

“It feels great. I’ve been wanting this for a long time now” she answers.

“You know, even if you call it quits. Those bastards don’t stay away” she reminds her.

Nodding her head, “Yeah, I know but I have faith that they won’t come around” she responds. 

Alissa and Sarah catch up with them, and they walk the rest of the way to the fire pit. 

They approach their group of friends, who are sitting around a bonfire near the lake. 

The moon shining off the water.

"Hey guys" Morgan says, approaching the group.

"Hey, it's about time you 4 showed up" Ryan jokes.

Their friends group is Hope County Junior Deputies Becky Taylor, Layla Michaels and Ashley Saunders. 

Classmates Ryan Cho, Dylan Paulson, Kevin Baker, and the Wren twins Isaiah and Ivan.

Lastly, Wheaty who is a member of the Whitetail Militia, and host of the Whitetail radio. Playing pirated music.

"Yeah, well I had to make a multiple detours to pick up Sarah because of some stupid redneck fucks" Alissa says annoyed, rolling her eyes.

Wheaty who is looking down, looks up and his eyes immediately go to the short brunette of the group, Kate. Staring at her, unable to look away from her.

"Wow, she's really cute" he thinks to himself.

The 4 of them sit around the fire with their friends, and Kate sits next to Wheaty. 

She gives him a little smile as she sits next to him, and his heart skips several beats.

"H-Hi" he says nervously.

"Hi" she replies with a smile.

"Are you new here?" he asks, trying to keep his cool.

"Yeah I just moved here last week" she answers.

"You go to the University?" he asks. 

She nods her head, "Yeah, I'm a psychology major". 

They talk for a few minutes, as well as everyone else, and Ashley steps away from the bonfire.

"That damn heat" she whines exaggerating, waving her hand in front of her face.

Morgan looks over at Kate and says. 

"Girl, don't say anything about heat, or hot weather around her" pointing her thumb to her.

Ashley looks at Kate with confusion, and a slight head tilt.

"Yeah I'm from Phoenix, Arizona. So if anyone knows hot weather it's me!" she jokes, chuckling.

"So you're from the desert?" Wheaty jokes.

"Yeah basically, I was born there in August, where it's literally Hell, and then my family moved to Jackson, Wyoming" she replies.

“How’s life in Wyoming?!” Ivan asks.

“It’s pretty boring” she jokes, “But it’s really peaceful, you get used to it after awhile”. 

Everyone talks, gets to know each other. Kate and Wheaty spend the whole time talking. Getting to know each other. Wheaty can feel his feelings for Kate grow by the second.

They even exchanged numbers, as well with everyone else. 

Wheaty has never had a crush on anyone until he saw, and met Kate. He got more information about her, than John did researching her. 

After 12am, everyone parted ways, said their goodbyes and went home.

Morgan dropped off Kate at home, and she practically passed out the second her head hit the pillow. 

[hoytarcheryofficial]

Hoyt Tagged Out

While some hunters are still waiting for opening day to arrive in their home state, many other states have already been open for a few weeks. You won’t believe some of the bucks and bulls taken so far. Check out more awesome hunting success on our social media pages @Hoytbowhunting on Instagram and Facebook.  Good luck to everyone who still has a tag in your pocket. Enjoy the inspiration below.

John Dudley - Alberta Mule Deer

Allen Bolen - Utah Mule Deer

Brendan Burns - NWT Dall Sheep

Vicki Cianciarulo - Alberta Whitetail

Nick Mundt - Alaska Moose

Ralph Cianciarulo - Alberta Whitetail

Randy Ulmer - Colorado Mule Deer

Josh Bowmar - Montana Elk

Rihana Cary - Oregon Elk

David Houser - Montana Elk

Tate Morgan - Montana Elk

Matt Bateman - Alaskan Caribou

Jon Silks - Montana Elk

Shelby Arman - Montana Antelope

Marlon Holden - Wyoming Mule Deer

Zach Nicholson - Colorado Mule Deer

Grant Foster - Utah Elk

Kendall Golightly - Tennessee Whitetail

Lee Ellis - Georgia Whitetail

AJ Kissel - Utah Mule Deer

Eric Chesser - Idaho Elk

Jason Wright - Montana Antelope

Cohen Stone - Alaska Moose

[galadrieljones]

A Funeral: Chapter 11 (Arthur Morgan x Mary Beth Gaskill)

Fandom: Red Dead Redemption 2 | Pairing: Arthur x Mary Beth | Rating: Mature

Content: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Touch-Starved, Humor, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Angst, Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Fake Marriage, Epiphanies, Backstory, Banter, Deep Emotions, Sharing a Bed, Swimming, Arthur to the Rescue, Forests, Abduction, Angst, Heavy Angst, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers

Summary: To help her process Sean’s death, Mary Beth asks Arthur to take her on a hunting trip, somewhere far away. He agrees, and on their journey, they find quietude and take comfort in their easy bond. In their desperate search for meaning together, they endure a number of trials, some small, some big—all of which bring them closer to one another as well as to the future, and to the unchecked dangers of the natural world.

Thanks @bearly-tolerable for the lovely banner!! <3

For the rest of this story, you can visit the masterpost or AO3, both linked in the replies to this post and also at my blog. ^_^

Chapter 11: Deer Cottage, Pt. 2

They got to the cottage in the early evening. It was good timing, as dark hadn’t fallen and so there was time to drum up and gather their supper. Arthur didn’t want them to be traveling or hunting after dark, and Mary Beth didn’t either. It was just too much risk after what they’d been through the night before. Their plans were to stay in the cottage that night, head north to hunt early in the morning, and then be back to the cottage by evening once more. They had no more plans to sleep in the tent outside, not until they left these more remote parts of the land, heading back to Shady Belle.

Deer Cottage was just as Hamish described it. Modest but clean, with a little garden of lavender and what looked like moss roses. There was some thyme growing around, too, and the moment they got there, Mary Beth began to pick a bunch and gather it into her skirts, and then she found a basket sitting by the green door and dropped it in, along with a selection of poppies and apple blossoms and lavender, too. Arthur fed the horses and made sure they were watered and then together they went inside.

It was small, one room, but it had a very nice and open look about it. The fireplace was clean, with wood chopped and ready, and there was a full kitchen with a basin and a stove and a bed and a table with two chairs. Nothing grisly about it, nothing unsightly or out of order. Hamish was a tender man, it seemed, when it came to keeping his spaces. There were even extra pillows and blankets in the armoire by the door. He noticed, too, there was a gramophone. A real one. It looked dusty and he didn’t know if it was working, but there it was, a fancy novelty item, sitting there by the end of the bed, on the floor.

“This is so quaint,” said Mary Beth, happy. She put the basket of flowers on the table. Then, she went through the cupboards till she found an empty pitcher. “We need water,” she said.

“I saw a working well out back,” said Arthur. “I’ll get it. I’ll see if I can’t shoot something for us to eat as well.”

“Be safe.”

“Don’t worry,” he said, smiling.

The cottage was up a narrow path off the valley road. He took his rifle off of Sarah and his shotgun, too. He didn’t have to go very far. He found a bunch of whitetail grazing in a patch of open grass, the sunlight spreading through like gold. With patience, he honed in on a small doe, took it down in the crosshairs, watched the rest of them scatter, along with several birds. He hauled the deer back to the cottage, flung over his shoulder, tossed it on the ground, real crude, to skin and carve it up. He wasn’t Mr. Pearson, but he could get the job done okay. It was a big score, a nice pelt, and a lot of the meat he salted and wrapped, preserving for the way home. He was bringing in a couple fresh cuts for their dinner now, a big bucket of well water, and some wild carrots, too, which he had found growing along the path back up to the cottage.

When he got back inside, Mary Beth gasped. “Arthur,” she said. “You’re up to your eyeballs in gore."

He looked at his hands, his sleeves, quite bloodied. “You're right,” he said. Then he set down the fresh cuts of meat, the water, and the carrots. “Guess I should wash up.”

“What did you get?” she said.

“Whitetail,” he said. “A good quantity. We’ll have some for tomorrow and the way home as well.”

“Good job, Arthur,” she said, smiling. “I mean it.” She had cleaned up the kitchen, and it looked far less dusty than before. She then poured most of the water from the bucket into the basin, and then the remainder into the tea kettle on the stove. Then, she handed the bucket back to Arthur.

“I’ll be right back,” he said.

She watched him, very courteous. He tipped his hat to her and then went out the door to the advancing twilight. She saw him fill the bucket with more water from the well, then he proceeded to splash it over his arms and his face, through his hair till the blood was gone. He removed his shirt, went over to Sarah, found a different one, folded up real tight inside the saddlebag. This one was white. He took a quick look at his stitches, and then he buttoned up the shirt and replaced his suspenders. All of this Arthur did having no idea how she watched him. She felt quietly rebellious. She hadn’t meant to spy. But he was right there, so close, going through with his intimate and masculine routine. He dumped the bucket, filled it up with clean water. Then, he was heading back to the cottage.

She busied herself at the basin, washing some dishes she had found in one of the cupboards. She had also started the burner on the stove for frying up the meat and the carrots. She was touched that he had thought to bring in carrots. It was like he remembered her unfinished business from the night before and made it whole, and he said not one word about it.

He got in and closed the door behind him. He held out his hands, showed her his clean face and collar. “Better?” he said.

“Less bloody, that’s for sure,” she said. “I thought I’d make up dinner now.”

“I’ll, uh, start a fire,” he said, gesturing to the mantle.

“Sounds good.”

Things had changed a little, between the two of them that day. They were more cordial somehow. They had known each other for years, but now it was like that kiss had sealed them up tight, but it also removed them into some new and foreign territory. Neither was entirely clear on how to navigate it yet, but there they were.

After he got the fire going, Arthur began going through the flowers Mary Beth had brought in from Hamish’s garden outside. He chopped some of the thyme for her with the hunting knife from his belt. He set the chopped thyme in a mortar and set it on the counter, beside the stove. She thanked him. He then went about pouring some of the fresh water from the well into that glass pitcher, and then he found an empty coffee can in the pantry. He blew out the dust and put just a couple inches of water in the bottom, and then he put Mary Beth’s assortment of gathered flowers inside. He set it on the table, as he knew she had intended, and he admired its pretty simplicity. It made the cottage feel a little more like a home.

“You know,” said Arthur, leaning now, watching Mary Beth cook. The smell of the meat was filling the air. It was very comforting, making him feel sentimental. He did not have a problem feeling sentimental in front of Mary Beth. He never had. “My ma used to bring home wildflowers like that. In a basket and everything. This reminds me.”

This made Mary Beth blush. “That’s real nice.” She looked at him then, pushing the loose hairs off her face as she stood by the stove. “Where were you born, Arthur?”

Arthur thought on it, went and sat down at the kitchen table, folded his hands in front of him. “I’m not exactly sure,” he said. “I think whereabouts of southern Nebraska. But we took off on the Oregon Trail when I was barely old enough to speak.”

“Oh my,” said Mary Beth. “That must’ve been hard.”

“On my ma, sure,” said Arthur. “I don’t remember much. If anything at all.”

“So up in Oregon, that’s where she died?” said Mary Beth.

“Yeah,” he said, looking down at his clean hands. “She got sick.”

“What sort?”

“I don’t recall,” said Arthur. “A fever, maybe. My pa took me east after that, into Idaho, then Montana where we lived for a long time. He was a hustler, mostly card games, but he robbed folks as well, got busted one night when I was maybe ten years old. We went running into Wyoming, where he was killed, eventually. South Pass City. Pulling a bank job he was ill-prepared to undertake.”

“Did he run with a gang?”

“No,” said Arthur. “Perhaps that was part of his many failures. He did not get on well with others.”

She turned to face him then. The food was almost finished. She leaned against the counter, like she was thinking real hard. “South Pass City,” she said. “Is that where you was found by Dutch?”

Arthur smiled. It wasn’t fine times, looking back. But it didn’t hurt too bad. And her standing there, listening, it made him feel like sharing. “No,” he said. “No. I wandered on my own a while. Maybe two, almost three years. Robbing homesteads mostly to stay alive. I worked at a ranch for about one of them years. That’s where I learned breaking horses. I left there, and then headed back west, to the Tetons, in a place called Jackson, that’s where Dutch found me, working tables at the saloons. He saved me from getting my ass almost beat to death. I was barely fourteen.”

“Working tables?” she said. The meat was done. She checked it a little and then turned off the stove and took the pan off the burner, wearing a green oven mit. “What’s that?”

“Cheating cards, mostly,” said Arthur. He was slouching in the chair now. He’d taken off his hat, hung it on the back of his chair. “I was a good con artist because I was so young. No one suspected a kid to know how to cheat successfully at Blackjack.”

“Cheating cards, you learnt that from your daddy?”

He nodded. “My pa was a poor outlaw and a piece of shit but he wasn’t none too stupid with numbers. He could hold a lot of them in his head at once, and it turned out I could, too. He taught me when I was...nine or ten. I got some sleight of hand I’d use as well. Things I’d picked up over time. No one ever caught me, not right up till the very end.”

This seemed to both amuse and impress Mary Beth very much. She stood over the smoking pan. “I didn’t know you could do all that, Arthur.”

Arthur smirked. “I don’t do it much no more,” he said. “Takes the fun out of gambling. And if you get caught, well, you get killed. I’ll do it to John sometimes just to piss him off, but never in the saloons.”

Mary Beth laughed. “Oh, John,” she said. “He’s kind of sensitive, ain’t he?”

“In certain ways,” said Arthur. “Sure.”

He got up then, instinctually, to get the clean plates off the counter. He brought them over to the table, along with a couple of forks and knives. Mary Beth followed him over, served the venison and the pan-fried carrots. Arthur poured them each a big glass of water, and then together they sat down at the table to eat. The food was good. They spoke in an idle fashion. They felt civilized and grateful as humans in the world.

When they finished, it was full dark. Arthur peaked through the window, picked up his shotgun, which was leaning against the door frame. Mary Beth was clearing the plates and asked him what he was doing.

“I’m gonna just take a quick look around the perimeter here,” he said, looking back at her from the window pane. “I’m sure everything’s fine, but it would just make me feel better to know exactly what’s out there and what things sound like, so if anything changes, I’ll know.”

Mary Beth stopped very cold, holding a plate in each hand. She seemed surprised. “It’s so dark out,” she said.

He sighed. He had half-predicted her concern. “Nothing’s gonna get the jump on me, Mary Beth. I promise. I know what I’m doing.”

“I know you do. It’s just—it’s not just men could be out there,” she said. “There’s animals and things.”

“I know. But I been in these parts many times. I won’t be gone but ten minutes. I promise. I need to take this precaution, Mary Beth. Please understand.”

She still did not move, but she did understand. She nodded, swallowed, dry. She strained a smile. “Just be careful,” she said.

He nodded, trying to reassure her. He was not afraid. She didn’t need to be afraid either. “I always am,” he said. “Lock the door behind me. I’ll be back soon.”

She obeyed. He put on his hat. She went with him to the door, and he went out of the door, then she closed it and turned the bolt and pulled the chain. She heard his heavy boots on the step and then soft in the grass, and she heard him load the shotgun and cock it, ready to shoot.

Mary Beth waited very impatiently after that. She bit her nails. She wondered stupidly at first about why it was he couldn't bring the key, and why instead she had to lock the door behind him. But she knew. It was so that in case someone got him, they couldn't find the key in his pocket, which might lead them back to the cottage. And back to her. He was locked away into the outside world and its myriad of threats and deadly agents just to protect her. She closed her eyes to the possibility.

Mary Beth was used to sleeping outside and noises and enemies everywhere. She was used to men and even women like Karen and Sadie and Miss Grimshaw doing the perimeter walks at night with their big guns back at camp. She never felt afraid at camp. She liked to see the good in their situation. She liked feeling safe. Before now, she trusted that Arthur was a superhuman when it came to the likes of violence, like so many of the other men of the gang. They were impervious. They went out, they shot things, they worked mean angles. They robbed banks and coaches with armed guards. They brought entire trains to their knees. These were serious men of their serious trade. When Arthur had come back almost dead from that O’Driscoll ordeal, even then, she knew in her heart of hearts that he would live. Because he was solid. He was made of something stronger than regular men, and this would protect him from the scourge of mortality. She always saw him that way, maybe him more so than anyone, because he stood so tall and so eager, and he had great skill for what he did.

But somehow, this trip was changing things. It had started with that night at the Winterson’s B&B. It wasn’t about seeing him injured, seeing him bloodied or beat up. That, to her, was second nature. It was about seeing him scared. That night, that dream about Eliza. He was scared. And then the night before with the ambush, when that horrible man had him by the neck in the woods, in the middle of that violent storm, that knife so close to cutting him open right in front of her—he was in danger. He could have died. She could have died, too, or worse, but she wasn’t thinking about her. That’s not what this was.

When he kissed her back in the loft at Hamish’s cabin, it was like a dream. Even if it was only for the moment. She remembered what it was to feel safe and held and accepted, like she had a place somewhere solid and real in the world, tucked away into his arms, arms she had, up until now, understood only as abstractions, symbols of strength and vitality and the unflinching heroism of such a handsome outlaw with a stoic disposition.

Their swelling intimacy, grown of both fear and what might be amounting to love was bringing him all the way down to earth now. She had always known he was a man, and a good man, but now he was a mortal man—he got scared, he lived his live in danger, and he was sort of becoming hers a little bit, and seeing and touching these inside parts of Arthur made her realize that he was not super, he was not impervious—not in his mind, heart, or his body. He could be hurt, and he could die. And thinking of this made her think about a life in which he did not exist. In which she did not hear his boots on the porch step no more, or walking the hallways of Shady Belle at night, making sure everyone was in their right places, safe as houses, before he would allow himself that same luxury of sleeping. He was so solid and big and strong and brave. How can a body like that die? How can a man like that feel fear? She had never thought about it before. And now, he was just out there, in the wilderness, alone, with his guns and his know-how, doing what he always did, which was just to make sure everything was safe, and she was frozen. She could barely even busy herself with the dishes. She was so consumed with her sudden realization that Arthur Morgan could die, that her heart was like a dumbass drum in her chest. And at some point, it was getting to be too damn much.

So she turned around from the window, and she tried to smack some sense into herself like Miss Grimshaw would do. Miss Grimshaw was a mean bitch but she knew a thing or two about practicality, a trait without which no woman of ambiguous station could have survived in their world. Mary Beth took a deep breath, leaning against the table.

“Get it together, Mary Beth,” she said. “This ain’t nothing new.”

After that, she came to her resolve. She pushed off the table, washed the plates and set the pan in the basin. She filled it with some water from the bucket, and added a little soap to let it soak. She found a bottle of bourbon under the sink then and took just one sip, and it burned and made her cough. She had no idea why she did this. Maybe because she thought it was something Sadie would do, or Abigail. These women who were a little older and ripened to the world, and they both had been in love with men and gone through real fucked up shit in their lives with men, and their maturity and wisdom about men gave her something to shoot for. She set the bottle down on the counter. She breathed. She blinked. And that is when she looked over at the bed nearby the crackling fire, and she noticed the gramophone.

It was dusty, but it looked new. It was half covered in a plaid-looking dust cover, tucked against the wall. Dutch had one sort of like it. He would play music that permeated through the camp and made it feel romantic and safe. She went over, and she took off the dust cover and picked it up. It was heavy, but she was strong. She brought it over to the kitchen table. It had a record and everything, and it was a little dirty on its surface, so she wiped it down with a soft linen towel, and she wiped down the record, too. The label was missing. She didn’t know what she was in for. But she secured that record back on the turntable, and then she removed the little break on the spring motor, so the turntable rose up a little and the record started to spin. And then she set the needle down on the record, gently, and in an instant, it started to play.

Meanwhile, Arthur was outside. He did not encounter much on their horizon. It was quiet, and typical, and a boring perimeter check, which was the only good kind, but still. There was a grown black bear, night-prowling, rubbing its back on a tree not too far. When he came upon it, he made eye contact with the beast, pointed his gun and made a whistle, shouting for it to flee, and he waved an arm in the air. The bear was annoyed. It lazied away from that tree and kind of gave him a rebellious look, but then it lumbered into the dark, all aloof. Arthur lowered his gun. He was chewing on a piece of bark. He spat it to the earth and looked around some more. The world was pristine. He was done. He started heading back toward the cabin, and pretty soon he got close enough that he could hear music coming from inside.

It was weird at first. Not what he expected—such a manmade sound. He got up to the door, knocked, peaked through the window, took off his hat when he saw Mary Beth. She opened the door and right away she took his hand, gathering him inside the cottage. She palmed his cheeks like she was checking to make sure nothing had got a piece of him in secret while he was gone, and then she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him so hard, it dragged him down the full ten inches of height he must’ve had on her.

He laughed, holding her, dropped his hat. He was taken by surprise. “I’m fine,” he said. “There was nothing out there but a dumbass black bear.”

“Did you kill it?” she said, her face deep in his neck.

Her hair was getting in his mouth, his nose, everywhere all around. It was a clean smell of rainwater and iron, and it tickled. “No,” he said. “It might’ve robbed us blind of our provisions but it ain’t no danger. I just scared it off.”

“Okay,” she said. She was still right there in his collar, like she was breathing him in real deep.

He didn't want to move. He pushed all of her hair over one shoulder. He was taken aback by her level of relief and concern. As usual he had underestimated her affection for him, or perhaps he just kept forgetting. A defense mechanism of sorts. He sighed and held her face gently and pulled away so he could look her in the eye. “I’m fine,” he said, smiling. “See?”

Mary Beth nodded, her cheeks red and she kind of cast her eyes downward like she was embarrassed. “I know. I'm sorry.”

"Don’t be sorry."

They met eyes, and there was a moment, but then Mary Beth defused it by tucking her hair behind her ears and moving away. She went past him, and he exhaled and watched her go, and then he locked the door and closed all the curtains, and he leaned his gun against the kitchen table and removed his neckerchief and rolled up his sleeves and took a deep breath. He went over to the gramophone, where Mary Beth stood now with her arms crossed, watching the record spin. Arthur examined it with his hands on his hips. It was playing a lovely waltz, violins and a piano and everything. “It works,” he said after a little while.

“Yeah,” said Mary Beth. “It’s pretty new. I think it’s nicer than Dutch’s.”

This was amusing. “Don’t tell him that.”

“I never would.”

Arthur was rocking back on his heels a little bit now, looking at Mary Beth and her pretty face, her warmth, smiling at the gramophone. He was done with the day. The day was over, its various procedures and protocols taken care of. All these things he had to do to safeguard against so many of life's uncertainties. Riding, hunting, preparing, protecting. But that wasn’t all there was to it, was there? Life.

When he had been outside before, getting dirty and cold, spooking that bear, he felt good about their dinner, their conversation, and how it had been so warm in the meantime, even despite this newfound tension between them. It made him think of her, and, again, how he just liked hanging out with her, and how he knew her touch now, her taste, and he'd felt her, and he'd let her in, and he hadn't allowed this for himself in so many years. So many. It changed things, and while he was outside, away from her, he missed her, and he did not want her to be worried, and it was too much. It turned out that it was too much, but for a man like Arthur, too much was probably just enough. It was only that he needed a little bit of hindsight. What does a man want at the end of his day? When his duties have been fulfilled, and the moon is high. What did Arthur want? He glanced around the room now. His gun was leaning by the door. His hat hung up for the evening. He felt accomplished in some weird way he could not pin down and could not describe, and yet, he was unfinished.

“So,” he said, deferring to her. "What do we do now?" She always had good ideas.

She had both of her hands behind her back. She looked at him, hopeful and a little pleased with herself. She said, “Do you wanna dance?” And she held out her hand.

Arthur smiled. He took her hand in a familiar fashion. He said, "Sure."

[libertyammunitionsgg]

Impact of ammunition performance on weapon reliability

That .300 Winchester  300 Winchester Magnum and I had been all over together, taking pronghorn impala on the Wyoming grassland, as well as various whitetail deer and mountain bear in my local New York. There have been different rifles loaded in that cartridge, including a Legendary Arms Works Professional which took my first kudu bull, and an Interarms Mark X which went on my absolute first safari, and with which I took my first head of African game.

 Actually, I feel the .300 Winchester Magnum wears the pants among the mediums, and the following are five motivations behind why.

 1. It's .30-type, and that is something to be thankful for. I feel that .30-type shots have the most assorted scope of decisions of hunting projectiles of any type, and the .300 Winchester Magnum handles them generally well. While the 150-, 165-, 180-and 200-grain loads are among the most famous for hunting, there are lighter projectiles in the 125-and 130-grain range which turn out great, and the 220-grain round-nose shot actually settles on an extraordinary decision for huge game; as a matter of fact, that'd be my own base for hunting earthy colored bears. The arrangement of premium shots quite often incorporates the well known .30-type loads, and there are most likely a greater number of decisions of fantastic premium hunting slugs than any of us have the valuable chance to utilize.

  It offers an incredible mix of reasonable force, level direction and pull. Any .30-type cartridge will get the inescapable correlation with the astounding .30-06 Springfield, which is the benchmark. Is the .30-06 Springfield not the do-all, most important thing in the world .30? See, I have a huge load of regard for the '06, and have had extraordinary encounters hunting with it, yet anything the '06 does, the .300 Winchester improves (quicker) in a similar load of rifle. 

The .300 runs in a standard long-activity, and however it holds the belt from the H&H parent case, headspacing off that belt, I like to set up my handloads to work off the shoulder. Most 180-grain loads, when focused at 200 yards, will print in the neighborhood of 6 inches low at 300 and 18 inches low at 400. The vast majority of us should not be shooting a lot farther than that at game creatures. 

On the off chance that the direction doesn't make any difference much to you, maybe the energy figures do. That 180-grain .300 burden will have a gag speed of 2960 fps, simply breaking the 3,500 ft.- lb. mark. Contrast that with the '06s gag speed of 2750 fps, which yields a little more than 3,000 ft.- lbs.; there's an unequivocal benefit to the .300 Win. Mag. Indeed, the .300 Weatherby and others produce higher figures, yet at the irrefutable cost of expanded draw back. I've observed most shooters can deal with an appropriately supplied .300 Winchester, however I can't say something very similar for the quicker .300s.

[theknightlywolfe]

Let's look at the economics of wolves in the United States.

Often we hear the justification for the government sponsored eradication of wolves to be "because cattle farmers!"

Let's look at that. US Fish and Wildlife says wolves, in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming where most of them live, are responsible for the deaths of:

136 cattle (out of over 6 million)

114 sheep (out of 820k)

While we're talking wolf kills, one wild wolf caused death was recorded in the US between 1900 and 2002, in Alaska.

Cattle produce about 500lbs of meat each, sheep 34lbs. So about 72,000lbs of meat,

Beef retails for an average of about $6.50/lbs, lamb about $10/lbs. So that's $442k lost in retail value of beef, $39k lost in retail value of lamb. So, under half a million in economic value. The average American eats 55lbs of beef and half a pound of lamb each year. So we lose beef for 1200 people and lamb for about ten times that (I'm sure they're wool sheep, which is $2/lbs, average 15lbs per year, eight years of production, $240/sheep so $27k lost if they're wool sheep).

But, wolves naturally hunt deer, elk, moose, and bison.

Without wolves to predate them these prey animals' numbers explode and they have to be culled or managed, by hunting, to keep them from destroying their ecosystems.

In 2020 (with a pandemic don't forget), hunting licenses sold in the three above listed states totalled:

Idaho: $29,105,510 (22k elk, 27k mule deer, 25k whitetails killed)

Montana: $38,983,268 (30k elk, 56k mule deer, 49k whitetails killed)

Wyoming: $26,079,665 (25k elk, 27k mule deer, 29k whitetails, 42k pronghorns killed)

Americans spend more than $23.7billion on retail hunting related purchases and hunting as a whole generates $3.5billion in taxes annually.

So, let's talk about the real reason the government is so keen to wipe out wolves in the United States.

[montanaranches450]

Ranches Close To Bozeman

How to Choose the Right Montana

"The town took the top ranking in commute time and total of 312 crimes per 100,000 people. It takes just 8 minutes for the ordinary West Yellowstone local to reach function." (by means of visitmt. com )And also there you have itthe top 11 Montana communities to live, according to information collected by Movoto Realty. What do you think?( Cover picture: mountainphotographer. com). Western Montana is cherished searching ground for both big game as well as fowl. Travels into the wild for deer and elk are especially prominent, with more unique wild video game a lure for others. If your interests are even more of the skyward variety, there are enough chances to search pheasants, ducks, geese, as well as grouse in the location. Outsiders will be happily shocked at the length of Montana's open season for different sorts of video game. Inspect out the National Wild animals Federation's Searching Source for more details. Year-round, outfitter and also guide info is easily available, but make sure to book your journey early because they fill out fast. Rock Creek is house to an incredible quantity of wildlife. Located simply a brief distance from Missoula, Montana, Rock Creek offers a wild hunting experience. Below you'll discover whitetail deer, mule deer, bighorn lamb, several species of complaint, hill lions, and also elk. Moose populate the valley in addition to black bear. The surface is a mix of sturdy mountains, wet draws, and rich, river bottomland produce an environment that sustains solid varieties of game. We are the suppliers of Montana's finest fair-chase elk searching experience! We quest on over 8,000 acres of private cattle ranch land and also the surrounding public lands that both border Yellowstone National forest. Have a look at the web pages in this website to find out even more! Follow us on social media and contact us by email. We provide Montana's finest prize elk searching, adjoining Yellowstone National forest. We likewise guide mule deer, white tail deer, black bear and antelope hunts throughout Montana.

We will certainly help you with unique permit drawings for moose, goat, bighorn sheep, mountain lion and Gardiner late season elk allows. When it comes to the elk hunting. I can truthfully claim that out of my 18 years of searching elk, and also studying wildlife in Montana, Wyoming and also Idaho, the Royal Teton Ranch has, undoubtedly, the best focus of huge record class bull elk that I have actually ever before seen! I was stunned and also amazed! You have a globe course operation!Kevin Sanderswildlife biologist/Yellowstone Park Biologist www. yellowstone-bearman. com" Many thanks to our supreme area and skilled overviews, we consistently take the top SCI honors for outfitter sponsored archery elk. We have an extremely high price of return hunters, some who have actually held their areas for 10 years or even more. September 15-November 28, 2021 TBD with Outfitter at time of reservation, Sept 14-20Sept 22-28Sept 30-Oct 6Oct 8-14 High altitudes of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness tent camp, meals offered 7 days: 1 day in, 5 days hunting, 1 day out $5,000 for September, $5,500 for October, $6,500 for November Mountain Goat License, permitted locations 323-20 or 329-20.

The Story Of Montana Has Just Gone Viral!

May 1st The Gallatin SMA, highlighted in blue, a 50-square-mile location within Hunting District 310, highlighted in red, is taken into consideration "an uncommon searching possibility for fully grown bull elk on public lands currently shut to big game hunting," previous biologist Craig Jourdonnais stated. In 2018, 781 seekers obtained one of five authorizations to hunt bull elk in the Gallatin Unique Monitoring Area abutting Yellowstone National forest to the eastern and also dividedby the Gallatin River and also Taylor Fork a success price of just 0. 64 %. In 1911 the Montana Legislature developed the Gallatin SMA out of concern from hunters of" unsportsmen-like "shooting of elk along Yellowstone's boundary, according to a background by Al.

Leading Advantages of Montana

Lovaas. In 2003, former biologist Craig Jourdonnais suggested a minimal elk quest in the administration area, present location biologist Julie Cunningham said. Indicating the very little organic influence of searching four or 5 bulls from a wintering herd of 200, he called the chance" an unusual searching possibility for fully grown bull elk on public lands now near large video game searching. "The proposition received mixed public feedback and it was not up until 2005 and also adhering to extensive job by a volunteer citizen-advisory council, Cunningham said that FWP progressed a four-permit hunt in the management area. It proceeds today for 5 hunters fortunate enough to defeat the chances. "In my opinion, producing this possibility was a fantastic idea, "Cunningham stated.

[huntingranches377]

Bozeman Hunting Land

News On Montana

"The town took the leading ranking in commute time as well as total amount of 312 criminal activities per 100,000 individuals. It takes simply eight minutes for the average West Yellowstone local to obtain to function." (using visitmt. com )As well as there you have itthe top 11 Montana communities to live, according to data accumulated by Movoto Property. What do you think?( Cover image: mountainphotographer. com). Western Montana is cherished hunting ground for both huge video game and chicken. Travels into the wilderness for deer and elk are especially preferred, with more unique wild game a lure for others. If your rate of interests are even more of the skyward range, there are sufficient opportunities to hunt pheasants, ducks, geese, and grouse in the area. Outsiders will certainly be happily surprised at the length of Montana's searching periods for various sorts of game. Have a look at the National Wild animals Federation's Searching Source for additional information. Year-round, outfitter as well as overview information is conveniently offered, but make sure to schedule your trip early due to the fact that they fill quickly. Rock Creek is house to an amazing quantity of wild animals. Located simply a brief distance from Missoula, Montana, Rock Creek provides a wilderness hunting experience. Right here you'll discover whitetail deer, mule deer, bighorn lamb, a number of species of grumble, hill lions, and elk. Moose inhabit the valley along with black bear. The terrain is a mix of tough hills, wet draws, and lush, river bottomland produce an environment that sustains strong varieties of video game. We are the suppliers of Montana's finest fair-chase elk searching experience! We hunt on over 8,000 acres of exclusive ranch land and the surrounding public lands that both border Yellowstone National forest. Take a look at the pages in this website to get more information! Follow us on social networks and also contact us by email. We provide Montana's finest prize elk searching, adjacent Yellowstone National Park. We likewise assist mule deer, white tail deer, black bear and also antelope pursues throughout Montana.

We will certainly help you with unique license drawings for moose, goat, bighorn lamb, mountain lion and Gardiner late period elk allows. When it comes to the elk hunting. I can honestly state that out of my 18 years of hunting elk, and also studying wild animals in Montana, Wyoming and also Idaho, the Royal Teton Cattle Ranch has, certainly, the best focus of large record class bull elk that I have ever seen! I was surprised as well as surprised! You have a top quality operation!Kevin Sanderswildlife biologist/Yellowstone Park Biologist www. yellowstone-bearman. com" Thanks to our supreme location as well as experienced guides, we consistently take the leading SCI awards for outfitter funded archery elk. We have an exceptionally high price of return seekers, some that have actually held their areas for one decade or even more. September 15-November 28, 2021 TBD with Outfitter sometimes of reservation, Sept 14-20Sept 22-28Sept 30-Oct 6Oct 8-14 High elevations of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness outdoor tents camp, meals offered 7 days: 1 day in, 5 days searching, 1 day out $5,000 for September, $5,500 for October, $6,500 for November Mountain Goat Permit, permitted areas 323-20 or 329-20.

New Details On Montana

Might 1st The Gallatin SMA, highlighted in blue, a 50-square-mile area within Hunting Area 310, highlighted in red, is considered "an unusual hunting possibility for fully grown bull elk on public lands now closed to huge game searching," previous biologist Craig Jourdonnais claimed. In 2018, 781 hunters requested among five authorizations to search bull elk in the Gallatin Special Management Area abutting Yellowstone National Park to the east and dividedby the Gallatin River as well as Taylor Fork a success rate of only 0. 64 %. In 1911 the Montana Legislature created the Gallatin SMA out of worry from seekers of" unsportsmen-like "shooting of elk along Yellowstone's border, according to a background by Al.

How to Explain Montana to Your Boss

Lovaas. In 2003, former biologist Craig Jourdonnais recommended a restricted elk search in the monitoring location, present area biologist Julie Cunningham said. Pointing to the marginal organic impact of hunting 4 or five bulls from a wintering herd of 200, he called the opportunity" an uncommon searching possibility for mature bull elk on public lands currently near large game searching. "The proposition obtained combined public feedback and also it was not up until 2005 as well as following substantial work by a volunteer citizen-advisory council, Cunningham stated that FWP progressed a four-permit search in the administration location. It continues today for 5 seekers lucky enough to defeat the chances. "In my opinion, producing this possibility was a wonderful concept, "Cunningham claimed.

[hunt-nation]

Mule Deer Hunts In Wyoming | Hunt Nation

If you are planning for going on a trip for mule deer hunts be sure to connect with Hunt Nation Outfitters as they have more than 20 years of experience in hunting and fishing. With us, you can never miss the chance of deer hunts. Readout our blog for more detailed information regarding Mule Deer Hunts In Wyoming and Texas Whitetail hunting trips. 

Read more:- https://hunt-nation.blogspot.com/2021/03/mule-deer-hunts-in-wyoming-discover.html

[montanapropertyforsale511]

Hunting Land Near Bozeman To

Information on Montana

"The town took the top ranking in commute time and total amount of 312 criminal activities per 100,000 people. It takes just eight minutes for the average West Yellowstone resident to get to work." (by means of visitmt. com )As well as there you have itthe leading 11 Montana towns to live, according to data collected by Movoto Property. What do you believe?( Cover photo: mountainphotographer. com). Western Montana is treasured hunting ground for both large video game as well as chicken. Treks into the wilderness for deer as well as elk are particularly popular, with more unique wild video game a lure for others. If your interests are even more of the skyward range, there are enough possibilities to quest pheasants, ducks, geese, and grouse in the location. Outsiders will be happily stunned at the size of Montana's searching periods for various kinds of video game. Examine out the National Wild animals Federation's Searching Resource for more details. Year-round, outfitter and also overview information is easily offered, but be sure to reserve your trip early since they fill quickly. Rock Creek is home to an incredible amount of wild animals. Found simply a brief range from Missoula, Montana, Rock Creek offers a wilderness searching experience. Below you'll locate whitetail deer, mule deer, bighorn lamb, a number of species of grumble, hill lions, and elk. Moose inhabit the valley in addition to black bear. The surface is a mix of rugged mountains, wet attracts, as well as lavish, river bottomland develop an environment that supports strong varieties of video game. We are the providers of Montana's finest fair-chase elk hunting experience! We search on over 8,000 acres of exclusive cattle ranch land and the surrounding public lands that both border Yellowstone National forest. Take a look at the pages in this site to find out more! Follow us on social networks as well as contact us by email. We provide Montana's finest trophy elk hunting, adjacent Yellowstone National Park. We also lead mule deer, white tail deer, black bear and also antelope hunts throughout Montana.

We will certainly aid you with special permit illustrations for moose, goat, bighorn sheep, mountain lion and Gardiner late season elk allows. When it comes to the elk hunting. I can honestly say that out of my 18 years of hunting elk, and also researching wildlife in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, the Royal Teton Ranch has, certainly, the greatest concentration of big record class bull elk that I have actually ever seen! I was shocked as well as impressed! You have a top quality operation!Kevin Sanderswildlife biologist/Yellowstone Park Conservationist www. yellowstone-bearman. com" Many thanks to our supreme area as well as skilled guides, we regularly take the top SCI awards for outfitter sponsored archery elk. We have an extremely high price of return seekers, some that have actually held their spots for ten years or more. September 15-November 28, 2021 TBD with Outfitter at time of booking, Sept 14-20Sept 22-28Sept 30-Oct 6Oct 8-14 High altitudes of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wild camping tent camp, meals supplied 7 days: 1 day in, 5 days hunting, 1 day out $5,000 for September, $5,500 for October, $6,500 for November Mountain Goat License, allowed locations 323-20 or 329-20.

Tips When Searching For Montana

May 1st The Gallatin SMA, highlighted in blue, a 50-square-mile location within Hunting Area 310, highlighted in red, is taken into consideration "an unusual searching possibility for mature bull elk on public lands currently shut to huge video game hunting," former biologist Craig Jourdonnais said. In 2018, 781 seekers made an application for among five authorizations to hunt bull elk in the Gallatin Unique Monitoring Area abutting Yellowstone National Park to the eastern and also dividedby the Gallatin River and also Taylor Fork a success rate of only 0. 64 %. In 1911 the Montana Legislature created the Gallatin SMA out of problem from hunters of" unsportsmen-like "capturing of elk along Yellowstone's boundary, according to a history by Al.

Montana - Some Important Tips

Lovaas. In 2003, former biologist Craig Jourdonnais suggested a minimal elk quest in the monitoring area, present location biologist Julie Cunningham stated. Directing to the marginal biological influence of hunting 4 or five bulls from a wintering herd of 200, he called the opportunity" an unusual hunting chance for fully grown bull elk on public lands now near large video game searching. "The proposal got combined public feedback and also it was not up until 2005 and adhering to substantial work by a volunteer citizen-advisory council, Cunningham stated that FWP progressed a four-permit search in the monitoring area. It continues today for five hunters privileged enough to beat the chances. "In my point of view, producing this chance was a wonderful suggestion, "Cunningham claimed.

[mavenbuilt]

What do you do when you run out of elk season? Hit the whitetail woods. #mavenbuilt #mavenoptics #livetohunt #lovetohunt #staywild #publicland #keepitpublic #publiclandowner #builtforthewild #westernlife #exploremore #firstlitehunting #firstlite #huntinglife #optoutside #getoutthere #outdoorlife #hunting #wyoming #whitetaileddeer #whitetailhunting https://www.instagram.com/p/B6CDASIp5eb/?igshid=1gy77zoom018

[fitnesshealthyoga-blog]

New Post has been published on https://fitnesshealthyoga.com/chronic-wasting-disease-battle-heats-up-in-minnesota/

Chronic wasting disease battle heats up in Minnesota

CWD, now confirmed in 25 states and two provinces, is always fatal to cervids — whitetail and mule deer, moose and elk. Studies show that once it infects more than one-third of the population, entire herds may be decimated.

In parts of southern Wisconsin, more than 50 percent of the wild deer are now infected with CWD. So far, there is no antidote, no vaccine for deer, no way to get rid of it.

But it’s not just deer populations that are at stake — it could be the future of deer hunting. Even if wild deer somehow persist on the landscape, it’s unclear how many hunters would still want to hunt them if CWD remains a possible threat to people.

The disease has never been confirmed in people, but it’s very similar to mad cow disease, which crossed species and killed humans.

CWD, caused by mutated proteins called prions, already has crossed species to macaque monkeys that were fed infected meat in laboratory tests. Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and an expert on infectious diseases, puts the human danger bluntly.

“I do believe that it is not a matter of if, but when, CWD crosses to humans,” Osterholm told the News Tribune.

“That’s the biggest scare with this disease — what that would do” to deer hunting and wildlife management, said Michelle Carstensen, wildlife health program group leader for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

CWD can be spread not just by infected live deer, but by contaminated feces, saliva and other bodily fluids and body parts from deer long dead. Predators that eat infected meat can move the mutated proteins around for miles. It can persist in soil for years, maybe indefinitely. It can even be taken up from soil by plants that healthy deer might eat.

“It’s kind of like radioactivity. Once you have this stuff, it never really goes away,” said Lindsay Thomas of the Quality Deer Management Association, a national deer hunting group based in Georgia. “So the goal is to keep it out as long as you possibly can. If you don’t have it, you don’t want it. Consider it like a front in a war where you do everything to keep it out. Deer hunters need to be at war with this disease.”

In Wisconsin, wildlife officials have essentially given up trying to contain the disease by active management such as culling infected deer. While the state still tests some of the deer shot each year for CWD, public and political pressure years go ended efforts to reduce the disease by culling infected herds.

But in Minnesota, wildlife officials are battling the disease aggressively this winter, trying to keep CWD confined to a few captive deer farms and small areas of wild deer habitat. So far, only 32 wild deer in Minnesota have been confirmed with CWD, all in southeastern counties, compared to thousands in Wisconsin.

“By the time Wisconsin discovered they had CWD, in 2002, it was probably already on the landscape for a decade. They were already over 5 percent prevalence (of CWD among wild deer in infected areas.). So, the horse was already out of the barn,” Carstensen said. “But we are at only 1 or 2 percent, even in our our core (CWD-infected area.) Is it realistic to say we can eliminate CWD in Minnesota? No, it’s not possible. But we think we still have a chance to keep it in check.”

Winter hunts and sharpshooters

This winter in and around southern Minnesota’s Fillmore County efforts are underway to kill as many deer as possible in the core of the CWD-infected area to reduce the population and thus reducing the chance of spread. Special public and landowner hunts were held in December and early January. Later this month, U.S. Department of Agriculture sharpshooters will be called in to kill even more deer. Each deer will be tested for CWD.

Just east of that primary CWD zone, in Houston County in the southeast corner of the state, special public hunts will be held in coming weeks to kill and test more deer around where a single mature buck shot in November tested positive for CWD.

“We really want to know if that buck was an outlier, if he wandered in from somewhere else, or if we have CWD in that area,” Carstensen said. The buck was 8 miles from a CWD-infected deer farm in Winona County, about 15 miles away from the nearest CWD-infected wild deer in Minnesota and about 20 miles from CWD-infected areas of Iowa and Wisconsin.

“We have no idea where that buck became infected,” Carstensen said.

So far, landowners, hunters and Minnesota lawmakers have cooperated with the DNR’s aggressive culling strategy, agreeing to see fewer deer in their favorite area — at least for a year or two until populations bounce back — in exchange for a chance at keeping CWD from spreading.

“We have a few people who can’t see past the next hunting season and that big buck they want to shoot and don’t want us taking more deer,” Carstensen said. “But, for the most part, we have people who are thinking about the future, about whether their grandchildren will have deer hunting.”

Craig Engwall, executive director of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, said his group continues to support the DNR’s aggressive efforts. He said the approach is similar to battling against invasive species: You can’t stop the spread of invaders like zebra mussels, he noted, but you can slow it down and keep them out as long as possible — until, maybe, scientists come up with a defense.

“We want Minnesota to take the aggressive approach so we don’t end up like Wisconsin,” Engwall said. “I think there’s pretty good public support to go after this (CWD) while we still can.”

Thomas said every state is handling CWD a little differently. But efforts to cull large numbers of deer in infected areas have worked well in New York, where a few CWD positive deer were eliminated and the disease so far hasn’t returned, and in Illinois, which has aggressively culled deer in CWD areas and held infection rates to 2 percent or less.

“If Minnesota can keep it that way, it seems to work. It’s a long, constant, expensive battle. But it beats the alternative of having CWD everywhere,” he said.

Wisconsin woes

During the most recent hunting 2018 seasons the Wisconsin DNR tested 16,337 deer for CWD, a fraction of more than 250,000 harvested statewide in bow and gun seasons. Some 975 were positive for CWD, about 6 percent. But in some areas, such as Iowa County in the southwestern part of the state, more than half of all deer are carrying CWD, said Tami Ryan, chief of the Wisconsin DNR’s wildlife health program.

Ryan said researchers are in the third year of a four-year study to determine if CWD in high prevalence areas is already impacting deer populations, as it has in Wyoming in both mule and whitetail deer. So far, no results available.

Ryan said the state has also no data on whether CWD is impacting license sales, whether fewer people are buying deer hunting licenses or eating venison because of CWD.

She said when it first was confirmed in Wisconsin, in 2002, there was about a 10 percent decline in license sales.

“But after that, the numbers went back up,” Ryan said. “We really don’t know if it’s impacting the decline we’re seeing more recently. We don’t have that kind of recent behavioral data.”

Slow the spread

CWD is spreading deer-to-deer as the animals move naturally in the wild. Mature bucks can travel many miles during the fall mating season, the rut, and move CWD from one county to another, even one state to another, often following habitat corridors like rivers.

But much of the spread of CWD has been blamed on deer and elk farms which raise, trade and transport cervids for food or for trophies to be hunted in so-called “canned” hunts in fenced preserves. Outbreak maps of wild CWD cases often seem to cluster around contaminated farms, and there have been calls for additional controls, if not outright bans, on such farms.

In Minnesota’s Crow Wing County, near Brainerd, a dead deer farm buck was confirmed CWD positive in 2017. (The only reliable test for CWD is after death.)

The DNR instituted mandatory testing for wild deer shot in the area. So far, no wild deer have tested positive. But last year, the entire herd at the deer farm all perished from CWD and now the DNR wants to keep testing in the area.

The farm had only a single fence and there is still no requirement for farmers to depopulate a captive herd, even when they test positive for CWD.

“We’re really going to be watching the area around that farm going forward,” Carstensen said.

Engwall said his group will continue to push for rules banning the interstate and intrastate transportation of captive deer and to require double fencing around deer and elk farms to keep wild deer away from potentially CWD-infected deer farms. The group opposes canned hunts.

Minnesota has some 398 licensed deer and elk farms, Wisconsin has 380. They are regulated under state agriculture departments and generally outside the purview of state natural resource agencies.

“If you look at the maps where there have been CWD (positive) farms and where it shows up in the wild, it’s pretty clear what the problem is,” Engwall said.

But hunters may also be to blame, unknowingly killing an infected animal and then bringing it back back home where parts of the animal are disposed of incorrectly, like tossing carcases or deer parts into the woods.

Because most infected animals look healthy (only at the end of their lives do infected deer begin to look like zombies, and most hunters wouldn’t harvest such a sickly looking animal) most hunters don’t have any clue the animal is infected, and most deer are never tested.

Last year, Thomas, of the Quality Deer Management Association, used public license data to find that hunters from 49 different states — every state except Delaware — killed more than 32,000 whitetails in just four Wisconsin counties with the highest incidence of CWD in the state — Dane, Iowa, Richland and Sauk. (Dozens of those hunters were from Minnesota, including several from the Duluth area.) Thomas said that means it’s very possible, considering the high rate of infection in those counties, that some or even many of the non-resident hunters shot and then moved CWD contaminated deer.

Many states, including Minnesota, now have regulations against importing or moving deer carcass. But enforcement is sketchy and it’s unclear how many hunters are complying.

“Even if you don’t have CWD in your area ,you can’t think of this as some far-off problem, because that’s when it’s going to show up your own backyard,” Thomas said. “If you hunt deer in other states, near CWD areas, if you don’t take precautions and follow the rules, you are just as likely to bring it home in a deer carcass as some deer farmer trucking a live deer across state lines.”

What we know about CWD

It’s a mutant protein

Chronic wasting disease is an always-fatal nervous system disease found in cervids — deer, elk and moose. There is no known cure. It is not a virus or bacteria.

CWD is one of a family of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies caused when a naturally occurring protein, called a prion, mutates and then resists being broken down by the body the way normal proteins are.

When a deer become infected — from contact with contaminated soil or salvia, blood or feces of an infected animals — the bad prions multiply and damage the animal’s nervous system. It can take up to two years for the symptoms to show.

It’s spreading faster

In just 50 years, it’s spread from a single known location, a wildlife research station in Colorado, to 25 states, two Canadian provinces, North Korea, Norway and Finland.

In Minnesota, CWD has been confirmed in wild deer in three southeastern counties: Houston, Olmstead and Filmore. It has been confirmed in deer on deer farms in Aitkin, Meeker, Crow Wing, Stearns, Lac Qui Parle, Olmstead and Winona counties.

In Wisconsin, 55 counties are labeled as CWD-impacted. Of those, 25 have had confirmed CWD in wild deer and 16 are within 10 miles of a wild CWD-positive deer. Another 14 counties have had CWD-positive deer in deer farms or are within 10 miles of those farms.

It’s been found, but hasn’t spread, in Northland

There have been two CWD cases in the Northand. One was a wild deer shot near Siren, Wis., in Washburn County, about 70 miles south of Superior, in 2012. So far, no other deer have tested positive in that area. That case is curious because the sickly deer was more than 100 miles away from the nearest CWD-positive location.

The other was an elk at an Aitkin County. Minn. deer farm in 2002. That was Minnesota’s first-ever positive CWD hit and no wild deer in the area have tested positive since then.

It’s similar to mad cow, Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases

Creutzfeldt-Jakob is a rare but always fatal human brain disease. It is related to the form of mad cow disease that infected people, primarily in Great Britain, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, after they ate beef from infected cows. (Human mad cow disease is known as variant-Creutzfeldt-Jakob.) Both diseases attack the brain, and death usually occurs within a year.

Mad cow disease first occurred in cattle after they were given feed and bone meal from sheep, including some that had been infected with another prion disease called scrapie. Mad cow eventually changed to a strain of prions in cattle that could infect humans. It killed more than 200 people worldwide and 4.5 million cattle were euthanized.

The outbreak was traced to farmers chopping up unwanted cow parts and feeding them to other cows, spreading the infectious agent from cow to cow and eventually to humans. The FDA largely banned this practice in 1997.

It’s spread to macaque monkeys, our closest relative

Health and especially wildlife officials have tried to stress that CWD is only a cervid, or deer family disease. They had been quick to note that, unlike mad cow disease, CWD had not jumped species. Only now it has.

A study in Canada led by a prion researcher with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency found that macaque monkeys had contracted chronic wasting disease after being fed meat from deer that tested positive for CWD.

Its potential impact on people is unknown

“To date, there is no strong evidence for the occurrence of CWD in people, and it is not known if people can get infected with CWD prions,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes in their CWD advice. “Nevertheless, these experimental studies (with monkeys) raise the concern that CWD may pose a risk to people and suggest that it is important to prevent human exposures to CWD.”

Studies continue to look at whether people who have contract with potentially CWD-infected meat are at increased risk for CWD-like diseases, the CDC notes, but, “because of the long time it takes before any symptoms of disease appear, scientists expect the study to take many years before they will determine what the risk, if any, of CWD is to people.”

It can decimate wild deer herds

In September 2016, the scientific journal PLOS ONE published research the University of Wyoming that found a 10 percent annual reduction in a white tail population in parts of Wyoming. If that rate of decline continues, localized extinction will occur in less than 50 years.

Published models predict that CWD begins to reduce deer populations seriously when it hits 27 percent of the herd population. Some areas of southwestern Wisconsin have already hit 50 percent infection.

Sources: Minnesota DNR, Wisconsin DNR, Wildlife Management Institute, Cwd-info.org, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Quality Deer Management Association.

CWD timeline

January 1967

Chronic wasting disease first identified as a disease in captive mule deer at the Colorado Division of Wildlife Foothills Wildlife Research Facility in Fort Collins, Colo.

February 1978

CWD officially classified as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, like scrapie in sheep and goats, mad cow disease in cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.

September 1981

The Colorado Division of Wildlife identified CWD in a wild elk, marking the first documented case of CWD in a wild animal.

February 1996

CWD found for in a Saskatchewan farm elk — the first time outside of the Colorado/Wyoming CWD zone.

February 2001

South Dakota discovered CWD in wild white-tailed deer for the first time.

February 2002

First CWD confirmed in a Wisconsin wild whitetail deer.

August 2002

First CWD in Minnesota confirmed in an Aitkin County elk farm.

September 2005

First CWD confirmed in a wild moose in Colorado.

April 2006

University of Wisconsin researchers discover that CWD prions adhere to soil and can infect new animals for years, maybe forever.

October 2006

Colorado researchers find CWD prions can be transmitted through saliva and blood.

December 2008

Researchers find CWD prions are shed in the feces of early-stage CWD-infected deer.

December 2009

First CWD confirmed in a wild deer in southwestern North Dakota.

January 2011

Minnesota’s first documented case of CWD in a wild deer in Olmsted County, near where a CWD-positive elk was found on a farm the year before. No other CWD-positive deer have been found since in that area.

January 2016

A CWD-positive deer confirmed at a Crow Wing County farm where all the deer eventually perished due to CWD. So far no wild deer have tested positive in the area.

July 2017

Canadian scientists reveal that CWD was transmitted to monkeys that were fed infected meat or brain tissue from CWD-infected deer and elk.

November 2018

CWD confirmed in a wild deer in Houston County many miles from any other infected sites in Minnesota.

December 2018—February 2019

Minnesota DNR holds several special hunting season to cull and test more deer near where CWD positive deer have been confirmed. Federal sharpshooters called in to kill and test more deer in the area.

Sources: Minnesota DNR, Wisconsin DNR, Wildlife Management Institute, Cwd-info.org, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Quality Deer Management Association.

Tips to limit exposure to CWD

• Do not shoot, handle or consume any animal that is acting abnormally or appears to be sick. Contact your state game and fish department if you see or harvest an animal that appears sick.

• Do not transport animal carcases from potentially infected areas to your home state. Minnesota already bans this practice, allowing no cervid carcases into the state. If you hunt out of state you must bring the animal meat back removed from the carcass. Carcass rules for most states can be found at ncwildlife.org/hunting/cervid-carcass-regulations.

• Wear latex or rubber gloves when field dressing your deer or elk.

• Fillet the meat off the bone from your animal. Don’t saw through bone, and avoid cutting through the brain or spinal cord (backbone).

• Minimize the handling of brain and spinal tissues.

• Wash hands and instruments thoroughly after field dressing is completed.

• Avoid consuming brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils and lymph nodes of harvested animals. Normal field dressing coupled with boning out a carcass will remove most, if not all, of these body parts. Cutting away all fatty tissue will remove remaining lymph nodes.

• Have your deer tested if it comes from a potential CWD zone. Avoid consuming the meat from any animal that tests positive for the disease.

• If you have your deer or elk commercially processed, request that your animal is processed individually, without meat from other animals being added to meat from your animal.

• Stop baiting and feeding deer. Some groups are asking hunters to stop baiting and feeding deer because it brings them together where they can share saliva and other bodily fluids. Minnesota already bans bating, feeding and even use of deer scents in CWD-positive zones.

Sources: Minnesota DNR, Wisconsin DNR, Wildlife Management Institute, Cwd-info.org, centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Quality Deer Management Association.

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[westernwhitetail-blog]

Wyoming Deer Hunt in Hot Weather

Wyoming Deer Hunt in Hot Weather

Wyoming Deer Hunt in Hot Weather | Bob Robb

Wyoming Deer Hunt in Hot Weather

Hunting southeastern Wyoming one October conditions went from bad to worse, meaning windy as heck to mega hot, with daytime temps pushing 90 degrees. The answer? Forget the spot & stalk hunting and go eastern setting a tree stand over an isolated waterhole and wait ‘em out.

The good news was, I had some intel on just…

[bigbuckregistry]

292 The Deer News 2019 Year in Review - A Time Capsule

As we open up 2020, our 8th Season, and 8 years of podcasting here at the Big Buck Registry, we thought it only appropriate to take one last look at 2019.  If you are a frequent listener of the show, you'll know that in each episode we segment off into the Deer News at the beginning and a good deer hunting story at the end. In the last show of 2019, we put together all the best deer stories told by our guests of 2019, and likewise, we thought we'd take a look at all the best deer news stories of 2019 as well, like a time capsule of events.  We visit with Jim Keller, our news anchor, and with some frequent news story contributors, Tim Donze, Jon Guice, and Dan Appelbaum.  And then, through some consolidation of all the news we featured on the show in 2019, we present a deer news year in review, with all the best deer news stories feature on the podcast in 2019. 

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Here are the Stories from 2019:

Bedford County Man Considered Oldest Deer Hunter at 105

Disabled 8 Year Old Hunter Has Special Stand Stolen

Female Poacher Caught by Game Warden on Dating App

Hunters Seek Permission to Hunt Deer in Jamaica 

101 Year Old Grandma Kills 2 Year with 1 Shot

Wyoming Man Charged for Poaching 114 Deer and Antelope

Pennsylvania's Sunday Hunting Bill 147

Crossbow Proposal Causes Stir with Maine Deer Hunters

California Looks to Enroll Hunters in Conservation Push

Deadly Zombie Deer Disease Could Spread to Humans

Tinder Bans Woman Over Hunter Photos

Bill Would Allow Land Owners to Sell Permits to Out of State Hunters

Former Stuebenville Ohio Officer Sentenced for Poaching

New Study Shows Deer Species React Differently to Wolves

Road Commission Asks Whomever Is Leaving Deer Bait on Highway to Stop

Colorado Parks and Wildlife Crack Down on Illegal Antler Collecting

Opening Day Change Is Official for Pennsylvania Deer Hunters

Man Fatally Attacked by a Pet Deer

Proposal Would Prohibit Shooting Bucks in Buffalo County Wisconsin

Man Poaches then Freezes 20 Point Buck

Alabama Law Makers Approve Hunting Deer With Bait

What Deer Hunters Should Know about the EPA Review of Glyphosate

Secretary Bernhardt Proposes Greater Access for Hunting and Fishing

Rare Pitch Black Deer Spotted in Michigan

Are You Putting Yourself at Risk for Lyme Disease

Colorado Rehab Center Running Out of Room for Rescued Fawns

Iowa City Turns to Bow Hunters to Manage Deer Herd

Colorado Man Receives Lifetime Ban on Hunting and Fishing

Limited Deer Feeding Allowed in Delta Flood

Deer Hit by Planes at NJ Airports

MDC and Missouri Increase Penalties for Poaching

DNR Considering Beach Going Deer Tranquilizer

No Deer Season in Part of Mississippi? It's Possible

Missouri Has New Rules for Deer Carcasses

Mule Deer and Whitetails Expand Range into Alaska

CDC Warns Hunters about Deer Born Tuberculosis

Putnam County Man Faces Charges for Hunting with Improper License

Hunter Bags Rare Antlered Doe

New Study Sheds Light on Lunar Impact on Whitetail Deer

Young Hunter Bags 12 Point Buck on First Hunt

Arkansas Deer Hunter Dead After Deer Attacked

See a Deer on the Road, Resist Urge to Swerve 

West Virginia Hunter Takes Down 17 Point Buck After 6 Years

Survey Says Firearms Hunter Leads to Less Violence

One in a Million, Three Antlered Deer 

Pennsylvania Wildlife Investigating Deer Abuse Video

First Time Hunter is 104 Years Old

Michigan Hunter Sprayed Brother's Stand with Deer Repellent

Iowa Hunting Excursion Gone Wrong

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CREDITS:

This Show was Written, Edited, and Produced by Jason “Jay” Scott Ammann

Deer News Written and Recorded by Jim Keller

Deer New Contributors - Daniel Applebaum, Tim Donze, Jon Guice

Chubby Tines Tip of the Week Written by Dusty Phillips

DON'T MISS THIS ONE!

[docayin-blog]

3 Types of Late-Summer Bucks & How to Hunt Them

Whitetail hunters today face new challenges. As more and more states and provinces adopt extra-early openers, the October tactics we’re accustomed to employing just don’t seem to cut it for hunting late-summer bachelor groups.

The whitetail is one of the few animals with the ability to adapt and overcome any habitat obstacle it’s faced with. Meanwhile, we humans, as smart as we are, sometimes have a hard time adjusting tactics. We tend to overthink things sometimes, and more importantly, underthink the most obvious.

To be successful during these early days of deer season in places such as Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina and the whitetail areas of Wyoming, our game plan needs to change. Hunting a deep hardwood ridge in Tennessee the way you would during October might leave you scratching your head, wondering where the deer are.

GET THE EDGE

These late-summer bachelor groups are usually found on natural edges and are keyed in on the best food they can find. It could be a soybean field, an overgrown place with a lot of natural browse or a favorite clover food plot.

Most of us have a basic idea of whitetail behavior. We know they live in the woods and move at dawn and dusk, but that’s not enough. We must dig deeper to connect on these early-season bucks. Usually at this time of year they aren’t bedding far from food. High temperatures and an abundance of food and cover make this possible. They’ve been unpressured all summer and feel comfortable hitting these food sources with predictability.

Using trail cameras and good optics at this time of year can really help us key in on where we need to be for opening day. As with anything else, the more time spent in preparation, the better the odds of reward. And if we use our brains to think outside the box instead of giving animals human qualities, we can magnify our chances even more.

This time of year, a basic understanding of deer behavior certainly will help. However, if we use what our trail cameras and our own observations, tell us, we can start to get a more in-depth look at individual deer behavior. Generically classifying deer will only get us so far. Whitetails might not have personalities in a human sense, but they’re individuals. Only after realizing each buck is unique can we fully use his quirks to our advantage.

WHICH KIND OF BUCK IS HE?

There are three types of bucks we might encounter at this time of year. While every hunter’s situation will vary somewhat, our examples will involve a mineral site. Your situation might be a soybean field or clearcut, but the points will apply just as well with one as another. Just by using the info of our cameras, it’s easily apparent which type of deer we are dealing with. It just takes an understanding of which pattern to look for with each personality type.

THE SOCIAL BUTTERFLY

This type of mature buck hangs all summer with two or more others. These companions often will vary from bucks his own age all the way down the chart to those that have just passed their first birthdays.

SEE PHOTO GALLERY

Although this mature buck presents certain challenges, he’s the easiest type to kill in early season. The first reason is that you have his buddies’ inexperience on your side. Instead of holding tight to his bed the way Mother Nature has programmed him to, every afternoon he’s largely at the mercy of his younger, less wary companions.

As the sun gets low, these younger deer become impatient and start to stand and stretch. Before you know it, the youngsters start easing out of the bedding area, headed toward the mineral site. Behind them is an older buck that knows better but follows the pack anyway. Usually he’s bringing up the rear moments behind these young guys, leaning on them putting themselves in harm’s way if there’s any danger in the area.

The cons presented by this type of trophy deer are worth noting, though. First off, your scent-free game must be totally on point. You’ll more often than not have several other deer close to you before the oldest one steps out. With that many eyes and especially noses moving about, there’s no room for a scent or other mistake.

BEST BUDDIES

The next type of buck we see in late summer is one adhering to the “buddy” system, traveling with one other buck. Such deer have always intrigued me, as they often display interesting personality traits.

Buddy bucks are usually of the same age or only a year apart. They tend to do everything together — even rut. I’ve witnessed this on several occasions, even in November still finding them somewhat together. The bond between them must be treated with respect, because once it’s been unraveled, the result can be a mess from a hunting perspective.

Let’s say you have two buck tags and consider both of these bucks to be “shooters.” If you mainly want the larger of them, don’t take the lesser one first. Patience is key here; you must hold out for the one you really want.

If you remove one of these bucks, the other is immediately left in a vulnerable situation. He’ll immediately search out another buck with a similar personality, no matter how far away that might take him. Usually it will happen some distance away. Of all the big bucks I’ve seen use this system, I’ve never had one stay around after the loss of his buddy.

THE LONER

The hardest mature buck to hunt in late summer is the loner. Some deer just prefer to do their own thing on their own schedule, and that describes him perfectly.

Many factors come into play here. If you have a ton of does and fawns using your place all summer, it becomes a nursery. Old loner bucks don’t usually like to hang around that much other deer activity.

SEE PHOTO GALLERY

These old does are hard on the bucks this time of year. An aggressive doe will stand up on her rear legs, then use her front hooves to smack bucks away from mineral sites. These same nurseries become hotspots in November, but for early-season hunts so much overall deer activity can be bad. Our old loner buck always shows up by himself, and we often see him leave immediately whenever other deer approach.

What makes him so hard to kill is his genetic programming. We like to give deer human qualities and overthink the obvious. In doing so, we tell ourselves these bucks are super smart and only live in the wooliest of places. But this isn’t necessarily true — we’re just misidentifying what really is going on.

We see does with their fawns every day and at all times, so we assume they’re dumb to our game. This isn’t true at all; in reality, these old does are the smartest deer in the woods. We see the adult doe more because she must feed more regularly to produce adequate milk, as well as teach the two “parasites” that are sucking her dry where to find their own food.

The second deer we see in daylight with great regularity is the yearling buck. We see him often because it’s the first year he’s out on his own, and he’s still operating on his mom’s schedule. The 2 1/2-year-olds we see less often, and the 3 1/2s even less.

By the time a buck reaches 4 1/2, he’s physically mature. And if he has a loner personality, he’s decided he has no deer to take care of but himself. His urge to stay tight to cover until nightfall is strong. Not by using a human brain, but a small brain that’s programmed with only three basic instincts: eat, sleep and breed. And during late summer, the breeding part isn’t on his mind at all. He’s simply focused on survival.

For that reason, the loner is usually the hardest buck to kill in early season. Without the presence of any companions coaxing him onto his feet a little before dark, he generally won’t be in any hurry to head out of the bedding area. That means you’ll probably be left with only nighttime photos of a phantom.

These deer are killable. However, this is where a basic understanding of weather and moon phases comes into play. To kill this buck might take every trick you can think of.

Try to find a pattern. High-pressure, low-humidity days seem to put these deer on their feet earlier in the afternoon. So do cool, rainy days. But the pattern varies from deer to deer, so you’ll have to figure this out on your own. Every one of these loners is different, as their personalities would suggest. Cameras and careful observation often will reveal huntable patterns you can tap into.

IN CONCLUSION

Not every whitetailer bowhunts where the season opens during the velvet period. But if you do, remember these examples of what you might encounter in your summer scouting and early-season hunting.

As G.I. Joe always said, “Knowing is half the battle.” And that could never be truer than when dealing with specific bucks. For many bowhunters, the days of just “deer” hunting have changed to a focus on specific deer that are relatively mature. Learning your target animal’s personality type will greatly enhance your odds of taking him when the season starts.