The Show: In-Pursuit with Greg & Jake
Channel: Outdoor Channel
Times: Mondays @ 1pm EST, 12 Noon Central time
My brother Jeff’s successful hunt in Wisconsin proves two important points. First of all, it proves that the pre-rut can be a great time to be in the woods. More significantly, however, it proves that even small tracts of property can produce big bucks. Let’s Zoom In and take a closer look.
My late season muzzleloader hunt took place in northern Iowa, just 10 miles from the Minnesota border. As this overhead view clearly shows, the terrain in this part of the state is fairly flat and mostly open. The majority of the cover here is found along this narrow river bottom—which just so happens to be where I was hunting.
This was Jake’s first South Dakota whitetail hunt with our good friend, Pat West. But judging by the amount of big buck footage that he and Brach returned with, I seriously doubt it will be his last. And I can’t say that I blame him.
My Texas bowhunt took place in the very northeast corner of the state, near the small town of McLean. This was my first visit to this part of the Lone Star State, but I can assure you that it won’t be my last. I absolutely fell in love with the area, both because of the diversity of the habitat and, of course, because of the quality of the whitetails found here.
Jeff’s Missouri bowhunt is a study in persistence. Rather than give up after a week of unseasonably warm temperatures and suppressed deer movement, my brother decided to stick it out for a couple more days. But more importantly, he decided to shift his hunting attentions in a totally different direction.
I’ve taken a good buck in each of the past three archery seasons in northwest Kentucky. My success on those hunts can be attributed to a first rate management policy on the property I was hunting and strategic stand site locations.
As you heard repeatedly throughout the two late season bowhunts we showed this week, the weather conditions in North Dakota were absolutely brutal.
My hunt for that giant Iowa 9-pointer took place in the far western part of the state. As this satellite view shows, the environment here actually is a blend of the two main types of terrain found across much of Iowa.
Jeff’s Illinois bowhunt took place in the east-central part of the state, just a short distance from the Indiana border. The terrain in this area could best be described as relatively flat and fairly open, with scattered chunks of heavy timber bordered by crop fields.
My hunt for that giant Indiana 8-pointer took place in the west-central part of the state.
In my book, \”Aggressive Whitetail Hunting\”, I wrote that the early fall/transition phase is the toughest part of the season in which to try and harvest a whitetail buck.
In Chapter 7 of my book, “Proven Whitetail Tactics”, I wrote about a topic that every trophy whitetail hunter can relate to. That topic concerns nocturnal bucks.
In my third book, “Proven Whitetail Tactics”, I wrote that whitetail deer often have been described as edge creatures.
Ahhh….the rut! The mere mention of the word is enough to speed up any serious deer hunter’s heart rate.
If there’s one type of whitetail environment that seems to give hunters more trouble than any other, it’s hill country.
