Sure, trail cameras help you gather critical info, but you’re probably not getting the whole picture. Find out what you’re missing””and what to do about it
Author: Scott Bestul
Scott Bestul
Trained as a high school English teacher and coach, Scott Bestul left that lucrative field to pursue another—as a full-time freelance writer in 1990. He sold his first story to Field & Stream a few years later and has been contributing to the brand ever since. Highlights Education Bestul graduated from Winona State University in 1985, with a B.S. in English (writing emphasis) and a coaching certificate. Experience Bestul has been the F&S whitetails columnist for more than a decade and has written dozens of articles and contributed to many feature packages since joining the brand. Additionally, he’s contributed to many national and regional outdoor magazines and newspapers. Bestul paired with F&S Executive Editor, Dave Hurteau, to write the The Total Deer Hunter Manual and The Total Bowhunting Manual. Bestul also co-authored The Last River Rat with Wisconsin resident Kenny Salwey in 2001. He was awarded the Quality Deer Management Association’s “Signpost Communicator of the Year” in 2013, and has given seminars at deer expos and sportsman’s shows across the country. Bestul will enjoy his 50th deer season this fall, and has been turkey hunting since the 1980s. He’s been an avid upland hunter and fisherman since boyhood. F&S Lightning Round Favorite Place to Fish: Driftless region trout streams in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa,Favorite Critter to Hunt: Whitetail deer in the woods behind his home,Bucket List Adventure: Float trip for archery moose in Alaska or the Yukon,Most Prized Piece of Gear: Recurve bow I helped build,All-Time Favorite F&S Story: “The Quicksand” by Bill Heavey Notable Work
A Mississippi study has a few surprises for deer hunters. For starters, whitetail bucks have far more bedding areas than you probably think, and they only bed for about 3 hours during the day
Bands of whitetail bucks pour into fields and food plots on early season evenings. Here’s everything you need to know to put your tag on one of them
Iowa hunter Sam Collora has taken four 200-inch whitetails. But the biggest buck he’s ever seen gave him the slip. Here’s what he learned
A Wisconsin trophy whitetail guide shares his top tactics, secrets tips, favorite gear, best stories, pet peeves, and more
This Minnesota expert starts scouting whitetails around the Fourth of July””and it’s paid off with a pile of early-season trophies. Here are his secrets
If you want your trophy room wall to look like this, but it doesn’t, odds are you’re falling prey to one of five classic blunders
Our whitetails editor has been chasing deer obsessively for more than five decades. His lessons will not only put you on more bucks””they’ll help you appreciate deer hunting even more
Get your hands on the top new conventional trail cameras to up your encounters with big game this fall
Photo by Lance Krueger Nothing draws deer like fresh-cut corn. They’ll seemingly come from miles around as soon as the”¦
