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1 week ago | 
themeateater.com | Dirk Durham |Brody Henderson |Mark Kenyon |Tony Hansen
Subscribe In this episode Gear reviews and elk hunting go hand in hand. This week Dirk and Gabe Gerrish of Backwoods Pursuit talk about behind the scenes of his recent elk hunting film, "Chasing Tradition," and also the ins and outs of reviewing hunting gear. Connect with Jason, Dirk, and Phelps Game CallsMeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips Presented By
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Dec 6, 2024 | 
themeateater.com | Jordan Sillars |Janis Putelis |Tony Hansen
I’m not sure how 100 yards became the go-to sight-in distance for rifle hunters. Maybe it’s because 100 is a nice round number, or because 100 yards is the length of a football field, or simply because hunters rarely need to take a shot much beyond that. Sighting in at 100 yards makes some intuitive sense, but is it the best distance to optimize your odds of making a good shot? That depends on how you hunt and what cartridge you use, but it’s a question worth considering.
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Oct 11, 2024 | 
themeateater.com | Adam Moore |Mark Kenyon |Tony Hansen
Cellular trail cameras have become a large—and vital—part of deer hunters’ strategies. Their convenience alone is undeniably effective. Weekend warriors can keep tabs on deer while they’re stuck in their nine-to-fives, and even the most dedicated scent freaks can stay out of their spots until it’s time to make a move.
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Sep 30, 2024 | 
themeateater.com | Tony Peterson |Tony Hansen
I didn’t pick up a high-powered rifle to hunt whitetails until I had 14 seasons of bowhunting under my belt. To that point, I had a less-than-favorable opinion of gun hunters. They were the guys (I didn’t know a single woman who hunted then) who showed up on gun opener, conducted massive deer drives, and then bailed. After the gun season, I’d head out to see if they had left any deer for us bowhunters.
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Aug 27, 2024 | 
themeateater.com | Joe Genzel |Jordan Sillars |Tony Hansen
The fascinating thing about shotguns is you never really know how one will pattern a shotshell until you pull the trigger and see the results on target paper. A shotshell delivers hundreds of projectiles downrange at the same time. Once these pellets, which vary in size and are comprised of different metals (lead, steel, bismuth, tungsten, and others), leave the muzzle, they become exposed to gravity, elevation, temperature, wind, and other elements, all of which affect their trajectory.
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Jul 9, 2024 | 
themeateater.com | Tony Peterson |Tony Hansen
In a past life, while working as an associate editor for a bowhunting magazine, I had to call up one of our columnists to clear something up. He had written about his preferred sight choice, mentioning that it was a seven-pin model. When I got him on the phone, he told me that he’d use a 9-pin option if he could find it. I thought, that’s at least six pins more than my brain can handle at the moment of truth. It was a revelation in how different he was as a bowhunter compared to myself.
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Jul 2, 2024 | 
themeateater.com | Steve Schwartz |Tony Hansen |Alex Gyllstrom |Adam Moore
Deer camps embody some of the best things about hunting, especially community. Some of my favorite hunting memories include my grandfather’s hunting camp, where I rabbit hunted, learned how to deer hunt, and heard my first turkey gobble. Aside from hunting and work days, members of the camp often gathered for fish fries, cookouts, and community events. Hunters killed big bucks every year, and every now and then, someone would kill a really big deer.
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Jun 28, 2024 | 
themeateater.com | Tony Hansen |Mark Kenyon |Aaron Hepler |Beau Martonik
I was minutes away from leaving. I’d had enough. More than enough, actually. Enough staring into an incessant bitter wind at a whole lot of nothing. Enough driving and scouting my way through prime whitetail country without seeing a single deer in more than 72 hours. It was mid-November, and I had no time to waste time perched in a tree, quickly losing interest and confidence. I decided to take one last look down the alley before bailing. And there it was.
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Jun 14, 2024 | 
themeateater.com | Dylan Tramp |Tony Hansen |Alex Gyllstrom |Tony Peterson
As bowhunters, we strive to be ethical, lethal, and humane. To accomplish this, our bows need to be tuned to ensure accurate and repeatable arrow flight. Unfortunately, this tends to be an intimidating hurdle for novice bowhunters. When you begin your tuning journey, you may become frustrated, view bow tuning as a form of black magic, or accuse the bow of being a lemon. Fortunately, a little tinkering and learning basic tuning principles will go a long way.
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Jun 6, 2024 | 
themeateater.com | Mark Kenyon |Tony Hansen |Adam Moore
Last deer season, I saddled up for the first sit of the season. That morning was unseasonably cool. I was riding the high of opening day and felt zero fatigue, despite my 2:30 alarm. I settled in long before sunrise, anticipating a quick, successful hunt on my family’s property. But, as light broke, I began to notice the lack of clear shooting lanes. I’d hunted this property my whole life but neglected to get back there for some offseason prep.
