Bowhunting Whitetails with Bill Winke

We have been struggling big-time in the late season. With only one sighting of a shooter in six or seven hunts, it's time to figure out what I did wrong and what needs to change before next season. This farm will be good one day, but it is going to take a solid plan, some hard work and then time. This is what I am going to do to make it better. kwhunting kwwhitetail

"My bow season is over and once we got past the rut, it was really tough. This is typical of bowhunting during the late season. It is really tough. If you have just the right set conditions (small prime food sources that concentrate deer and limited hunting pressure) it can be decent. But otherwise, it is almost not worth the frost bite! Next year the farm will be better, but I am still not sur

Last week Jordan and I talked about how to hunt ditches. This week we take a closer look at how to hunt ridges and bedding points. These are the very best morning stands during the rut and knowing how to find the right ones and how to hunt them is a huge step toward successful bowhunting.

We just got home from the ATA Show and as a part of that trip we stopped in southern Indiana to meet with Jordan Hawkins on his farm. The goal was to help him attract and hold more mature bucks on his farm. It always comes down to the basics (food, cover, security), but how you apply those basics is different on every property. It took two days, but I think we finally figured out why the pieces

"The biggest buck I have ever seen from a tree stand got away because I was too careful. I was almost paralyzed by my fear of messing it up that I didn't take the killing shot when the buck first offered it. I waited for the perfect shot that never came and in the end, wound up taking a much harder shot than the slam dunk I passed up. That buck and that encounter taught me a lot of lessons, ano

"Jordan walks us through the most significant lesson she learned last season as a beginning bowhunter. As experienced hunters, we often take the challenges faced by beginners for granted. For example, we forget how hard it can be to get a good clean shot at a whitetail. Over time, we learn to handle most situations, but inexperienced bowhunters need to plan ahead. They need to focus on stand o

"These five tips will get you 80% of the way to your potential as an archer. And if you are an average archer right now, they will help you shoot at least twice as well. That means smaller groups at 20 yards and an increase in maximum range by at least five yards. Last fall, I taught my daughter how to shoot a bow - starting from scratch. She made a lot of progress fast. Within a month she was

You can learn a ton from a topo map. Once you get the hang of it, you can almost see the deer moving across the map. Deer relate to terrain features in a very predictable way. So, all you have to do is learn to absorb those squiggly lines and learn how use them to visualize the actual terrain. Then you can guess almost to the tree where to put your stands. HuntStand Pro Whitetail - that we hav

It sure seems that some bucks knew how to stay one step ahead of me. Are they really smart enough to do that? The answer to that question may change the way you hunt them.

After the episode we did recently about whether bucks are smart or just nocturnal, we got a lot of feedback from people saying that whitetails are never actually nocturnal. Well, if they aren't, they are sure close enough because there are certain times and places when I don't see them in daylight. So that raises the bigger question: are whitetails ever actually nocturnal?

There are three situations when you can realistically hunt upwind of deer and not have them smell you. In this video, I break down all three. Two of these situations might be familiar to you, but I bet the third one will be a surprise. If you are interested in Bowhunting Whitetails apparel, please check it out at: https://shopbowhuntingwhitetails.com/

I have been shooting does on the farms I have hunted since 1995. Since then I have shot hundreds. Some farms needed lots of does shot while others didn't need as many. I discuss how to decide the number of does you need to shoot. I have also learned that there are a few twists when deciding which does to shoot, where to shoot them and when to shoot them. In this episode I discuss all the var

If you spook the buck you're hunting, you have to make an important decision: do you keep hunting him or go after a different one? Or do you just move to a fresh spot and hope for the best? It can be a season changing decision and how you handle it may be the difference between "What if.." and success. What you do next really hinges on how badly you spooked the buck. You have to first read the

I take a tour of the farm looking at the various sub-species of oaks to see which ones are holding acorns. In my area, there are a lot of acorns and that means that the early season strategies will be 100% dictated by acorn patterns. Find the acorns and you will find the deer. Also, I show how attractive a common weed - Queen Ann's Lace - is to the deer. They are hitting it harder than my food

The season is only a couple days away in several states and provinces that have a September 1 opener. With that time comes the challenge of figuring out how to hunt bucks that are coming out of velvet and breaking up their bachelor groups. In other states, the season is still a month away, and with the coming fall range buck dispersal, figuring out where to hunt them in October can be very chall

"The hunt for last year's buck is a good example of how the patterning process works. You have to approach every season and every buck with an open mind because every one is different and has unique traits and characteristics. For that reason, you have to hunt them all as individuals. Once whitetail bucks hit maturity, there is no such thing as a stereotype. They are all different. Some are

I finally put my cameras out. Along the way, I talk about why I am placing them in each spot - basically I have them between bedding and food sources, but only in places I can easily check. Also, Ethan offers a quick summary of his hunt in South Dakota. I will start pulling cards this week and next week I should have some bucks to show you! I hope!

I pulled cards from my cameras twice now and have found several bucks that we will go after this year. I am sure we will find a few more during the next few weeks. If you remember back, Jordan wanted a pontoon boat to run the River. Well, she gets her "Pontoon Boat" in the water, finally. We also start to make early plans for how we will hunt these bucks. It is starting to get interesting. G

The buck that Jordan is going to hunt this season is a real brute and we have been getting him on camera in daylight in two locations. We have a good feel for where he is living and how we might tag him. Not surprisingly, acorns factor into the strategy. Of the two old bucks I plan to hunt, one is showing some daylight activity under an oak tree dropping acorns. We will be ready when opening d

While pulling cards from our trail cameras last week, Jordan asked me a tough question about how long deer can smell human scent on the ground. This short segment is part of that discussion.

Jordan asked me recently of all the food sources on our farm, which ones do the deer like best. I went through the list ranking them - from acorns to queen Ann's lace - as we discuss what time of the year the deer prefer each of the options.

Despite 90 degree temperatures, we went out Sunday afternoon to celebrate the new season. After studying trail cameras, we now have a pretty good feel for what Jordan's Buck is doing and a solid plan for going after him. I explain that entire process in this episode. Now we just need the weather to cooperate so we can put that plan into action.

This part of October can offer a few opportunities for mature bucks When cold fronts pass through, but it is nothing like the real pre-rut build-up that starts in two weeks. Our team went out and tested the cold front action to see what an early October front can bring. As they go through their hunts, they introduce their seasons and get the ball rolling for later hunts as the action increases.

We hunted pretty hard this past week hoping to take advantage of what some years is a strong false rut in mid October as the first few does come into estrus a month early. It is hard to beat October weather, but we didn't connect on any of our targets. Now is the time to fine-tune strategies and put the final pieces into place for the action that is sure to come in late October. In this episode,

There are two very good timeframes for taking a whitetail buck this fall. In this episode, I go over the exact dates on the calendar that I would take off from work for the ideal rut hunting vacation. If you have five days - I offer which five I would take. If you have seven, this year offers a no-brainer. This year the calendar falls perfectly for a full week of dates that offer maximum rut mov