Many hunters wait to hunt hard until the month of November when the bucks are running crazy and the rut is in full swing. That can be a mistake, because the last week in October can be one of the best times of the year to tag a mature buck. By Bernie Barringer I love...

Most of October is an overlooked time for gathering information that will be valuable later on, and Late October is the one time of the year when focusing on scrapes and rubs can pay off big. By Bernie Barringer The month of October is maligned by bowhunters...

The “October Lull” has a bad rep. But there are some very good reasons not to overlook this time of the year. by Bernie Barringer A large number of bowhunters take the month of October off, which is great for those of us who don’t. While the there are good reasons...

By Bernie Barringer I rolled into my driveway late at night, exhausted from long hours of driving. Fourteen days earlier when I had left home on Halloween, my pickup truck was neatly organized, with stands, sticks and equipment stacked in place. Accessories had been...

This aggressive strategy might just put you within range of a big mature whitetail By Bernie Barringer If you have hunted during the rut for very long, you have probably been in one of those situations where you are right in the middle of the rutting action. Bucks...

Don't wait until the early season bucks hit the field in the evening, the best place to kill one is before they step into the open By Bernie Barringer The buck in my spotting scope was not a giant by any means. His thick, stubby 10-point frame would maybe go 130 tops....

Getting bears to hit your baits is just the first step; keeping them there is another step. Heed this advice to increase your odds of success. By Bernie Barringer I’m convinced the most important factor in shooting a bear over bait for us DIY bear hunters is getting...

By Bernie Barringer My first bowhunting road trip was a complete bust. In my defense, it took place more than 20 years ago, so I didn’t have the advantage of Google Earth, a scouting camera or looking at the weather on my smartphone. I basically went in blind, and my...

By Bernie Barringer I’d found this spot the previous year but I didn’t hunt it correctly. The location was a narrow stretch of trees connecting two larger woodlots along the banks of a large river. The area surrounding it was a couple hundred acres of tall native...

by Bernie Barringer A road trip to a new area on a DIY public land hunt can be very intimidating. Consider these ten points that will up your odds of success. The clashing of antlers in the creek bottom set my heart to pounding. I quickly put my binoculars up to my...