I’ve had a Kansas farm for 15 years. For the past decade, neighbor Chuck Herbel and I have pooled our properties and operated “Timber Trails” whitetail hunts. We have a lot of deer and a high buck-to-doe ratio. I’m convinced the population has increased over time, and I think our buck numbers have gone up.
The state’s 2021 rifle season spanned the traditional 12 days, and in two rotations of six, our 12 hunters took 12 bucks. I took an “ugly” cull buck to make it 13 for 13. A few seasons ago, I would have said such results were impossible. It may never happen again, but our 2021 season was so exceptional—without ideal weather—that it’s worth examining. Whitetail rut movement being so random, was it blind luck or did we do some things right?
We hunt in or around thick timber from a couple dozen stands, mixed between two-person ladder stands and Texas-style tower stands. For the hunters who prefer not to climb ladders, or in nasty weather, we have other spots. We think all of our stands are well-sited.
In all stand hunting, the longer one is willing to sit, the better the odds; bucks are not taken lounging in camp! That said, few have the patience to sit all day. I don’t, so I understand.
The big questions are: What to shoot? What to pass? We play it simple. Our rules are no rules when it comes to size and age. You like a buck, take the shot. Don’t expect to see any given buck more than once; you can’t stockpile whitetails.
Some of our
