Beau Martonik

It’s early in November, way back in a piece of public land, and you shoot a big, mature buck. Now the work begins. Many hunters don’t think about what to do after an animal is on the ground. Depending on where you’re hunting, it’s a good idea to have a few options to get your deer back to the truck...

The secondary rut gets talked about occasionally, and many hunters think it’s just a hoax. I wasn’t a non-believer, but I hadn’t seen it for myself enough to truly believe in it for a while. In Pennsylvania, the secondary rut happens during our firearms season, making it difficult to know if deer...

The whitetail rut gives the best odds for putting your tag on a big woods buck. Once the rut ends, movement is at an all-time low, with deer trying to recover and hide from any human intrusion. I used to think that this time of year was nearly impossible to be consistent with killing mature bucks...

Hunting whitetails in the big woods is complex. With very few designated food sources, thick cover seemingly everywhere for deer to bed, and low deer densities, the rut is the one time of year when you can increase your odds of success. It’s easy to get caught up in trying to figure out all the...