Author: Ryan Fair
Ryan is an avid outdoorsman and photographer. He has been published in several different outdoor publications. He is most passionate about chasing whitetails, turkeys, and waterfowl. If he's not hunting you can find him on his boat somewhere with a rod in his hand. His main focus on writing is hunting and fishing tactics. He also enjoys writing gear reviews on products he believes in. In 2013 he co founded whitetail junkys with a good friend. He resides in northwest Ohio with his wife and two daughters. Who he is raising to hunt and fish as well. You can find him at www.droptinehollowoutdoors.com, or on facebook, instagram, linkedin, and tik tok.
If you bow hunt long enough there will come a time that you put a bad shot on a whitetail. Weather it’s a shoulder hit, or a gut shot it happens and after the shot it can leave you feeling hopeless and lost. On a recent bow hunt during the rut here in Ohio, I did just that, put a bad shot on a nice 8-point buck. I watched this buck follow a trail that a doe had just passed by me on at 15 yards. As I watched him cruise down the trail nose to the ground my heartbeat…
Imagine a cold, crisp October morning, around the 28th of the month. I had just settled into my favorite stand along a creek bank. I knew I would have another encounter with my target buck that day. How did I know that you might ask? Scrapes is how. I have been creating mock scrapes since the end of summer in key locations that cameras have monitored. I knew the targeted buck’s routine. He was on a four-day pattern, and I was in his core area. The evening before, I freshened up a mock scrape that he had been hitting every…
A whitetail lives and dies by their nose. For this reason, there are several companies that produce deer attractant targeted to attract and draw in deer. The reason scents can have such an impact on whitetails is because of how a whitetail uses their nose. They use their nose to locate food, smell danger, identify a doe starting her estrous cycle, and to communicate with other deer. So, taking advantage of this could be just the way to draw in that target buck this fall. There are several types of scents available to the modern-day deer hunter. They make synthetic…
350 Legend vs. 450 Bushmaster vs. 45-70 Govt vs. 360 Buckhammer Every year as the calendar creeps towards September, anticipation builds for the opening day of deer season. It’s that magical time of year when we can head to the timber and be one with nature. Then comes the action-packed time of year, the rut, where there is nothing but pure chaos in the woods. That time of year can really have you questioning your sanity. Then in most states, right before late season gets here, there is a magical season tucked away. It’s one rich in history throughout the…
What style of hunting is best for you? There are several ways to hunt these days. You have tree saddles, climbing stands, hang-on stands, ladder stands and blinds. I’m sure there are others, but these are the main ones on the market today. For new hunters, the different options can be overwhelming. It all depends on how much you want to spend and how comfortable you want to be. From tree saddles to tree stands, to pop-up blinds, to ghost blinds, there are plenty of options. Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a hardcore hunter, something is offered for everyone.…
Photos by Wess Brown When I hear the word, “sacrifice,” the first thing that pops into my head is our veterans. They sacrifice so much to protect our country’s freedoms. Those include the freedom to enjoy the great outdoors. When I set out to find a company that gives back, I knew I would have to look no further than Trophyline. Trophyline is doing great things not only in the saddle hunting community, given all their great products, but they are also sponsoring veteran-guided hunts. When I reached out to Wess Brown at Trophyline asking if he had a story…
There are several different ideas about how to hunt bucks during the rut. Everyone advises, “hunt the pinch points,” or, “you need to be in a rut funnel.” While these tactics work, If you don’t have these terrain features on your land, then what? There are several different tactics people use to try to tag a buck during the rut. I have tried about every one of them. Most haven’t brought me success, whether that’s because of a terrain feature or the bucks just weren’t responsive to that tactic in my area. There are a few tactics I have found…
We have all been there. You’re checking trail cameras and it never fails: Somewhere in the middle of all the photos of squirrels and does, you see a photo of a great buck. It also never fails that this picture is occurring well after the legal shooting light. If you’re anything like me, you hunt small properties no bigger than 50 acres. This means more than likely that buck is spending his daylight hours somewhere other than on your property. But that’s something we can change. You need to make your property the place where deer want to spend more…
I think Ohio has one of the longest bow seasons. It starts the last weekend in September and continues through the first weekend in February. This provides plenty of time to key in on a certain buck and capitalize in the late season. I find that the pressure around me usually subsides after a weeklong gun season during the week after Thanksgiving. After this is when I go to work, if I haven’t filled my buck tag yet. The first thing I do is locate the late-season food sources in my area. Deer are slaves to their stomachs at this…
Technology and hunting: who would have ever thought those two things would be used in the same article? One thing every hunter has on them most of the time these days is a cell phone. They are great for keeping us entertained in the stand when we get bored, or handy to call that buddy for help in recovery of an animal. But did you know that cell phones can be a valuable scouting tool, a great tracking tool, or even an animal movement predictor? I use my phone for looking at satellite maps, discovering property owners, and even the…