Will Brantley checks in with Northwest Rut Reporter Jackie Holbrook on the mule deer and whitetail movement in Montana. Holbrook reports that a recent big snow has had bucks on their feet, but the best activity is yet to come. Then we circle up with Midwest reporter Josh Honeycutt, who's on his way to his Ohio hunting lease. Honeycutt fills us in on the latest from the region, and also shares the story of his big Kentucky buck from last weekend. 

Realtree Outpost

Outpost Rut Report Edition | Oct. 20 | Jackie Holbrook and Josh Honeycutt

We'll be checking in every week of the rut with the Outpost Rut Report edition. We've got a team of reporters in the field reporting on buck activity from coast to coast. Whether you hunt the big woods in the northeast, southern swamps, or desert mule deer, we talk about it on Realtree's Rut Report. This week, we're checking in on the Southeast and Southwest regions with Mike Hanback in Virginia and Miles Fedinec in Colorado. 

Outpost Rut Report Edition | Oct 15 | Miles Fedinec and Mike Hanback

Southern deer get hunted hard, and the big ones don't come easy, even on a well-managed place like Realtree Farms. Tyler Jordan shot the farm's biggest buck to date back in late September, and the story of how that buck came to be is a testament to cooperative wildlife management among all the neighboring landowners and hunt clubs. In this Outpost episode, we'll hear about that buck, talk about cold fronts, and how southern hunting has changed over the past decade — and the slammer bucks that are coming out of the South as a result. 

Deep South Deer Hunting, and a Giant Georgia Buck Story | Tyler Jordan

In the final episode of our five-part series on the history and impact of spinning-wing decoys, we join Southeast Missouri duck hunter and North Delta outfitter Eric Rinehart. This guy grew up in SEMO, and he says mallard ducks of today don't fly on bright, sunny days like they used to — and he believes spinning-wing decoys are part of the reason why. 

The Impact of Spinning Wing Decoys Pt. 5 | Eric Rinehart

Gary Zahm is a well-recognized waterfowl photographer. He's also a lifelong hunter, and a former California refuge manager for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Zahm remembers the early days of spinners—back before the Mojo Mallard. In this series on the spinning wing decoy controversy, Zahm's input is both insightful and nuanced. 

The Impact of Spinning Wing Decoys Pt. 4 | Gary Zahm

Pat Pitt hails from Olive Branch, Mississippi, and has been a duck hunter since 1965. He's traveled the world in pursuit of waterfowl, and is recognized as one of the nation's top duck and goose taxidermists. Pitt also believes spinning-wing duck decoys should be outlawed. He believes the decoys themselves have caused major behavioral changes in today's ducks, and that they're emblematic of a duck hunting culture that's changing for the worse.

The Impact of Spinning-Wing Decoys, Pt. 3 | Pat Pitt

Brian Lovett is Realtree's longtime waterfowl editor and author of The Duck Blog on Realtree.com. He's hunted ducks and geese all over the country, and in a variety of settings. He remembers the first time he saw a spinning-wing decoy in action, too — and he says for a time, it was nothing short of a magic bullet. 

The Impact of Spinning Wing Decoys, Pt. 2 | Brian Lovett

In this five-part series, we take a deep look at one of the most influential, effective—and controversial—pieces of hunting gear in modern history: the spinning-wing duck decoy. In part one, we'll hear the behind-the-scenes story of the Mojo Mallard, the first commercially successful spinner, from Mojo president Terry Denmon. 

The Impact of Spinning Wing Decoys | Part 1, Terry Denmon

Stephen Tucker is best known in the deer hunting world as the guy who shot The Tucker Buck with a muzzleloader in November of 2016. That buck stood for a couple years as largest hunter-taken non-typical whitetail of all time. But Tucker's killed some dandy bucks in more recent seasons, too, including a pair of full-velvet studs during The Volunteer State's special 3-day archery hunt in late August. In this episode we'll get into Tucker's strategies for scouting and setting up to hunt big feeding pattern bucks on crop field edges. 

Bowhunting Big Velvet Bucks in August | Stephen Tucker

Miles Fedinec is one of the West's best antelope guides. In this episode, we dig in on field-judging antelope, shooting tips for bowhunters, must-have ground blind equipment, and how this summer's drought is affecting Western big game. 

Antelope Hunting Forecast and Bowhunting Tips | Miles Fedinec

Will Brantley and David Blanton talk target panic. Blanton is a 40-year veteran bowhunter, and has always been a self-professed "puncher." But bad habits have been creeping into his shooting the last few years, and this summer Blanton has committed to fixing them by learning to shoot a hinge release. Hear how that's working out, and how he'll transition back to a thumb-break release for hunting this fall. 

Curing Target Panic with a Hinge Release | David Blanton

Will Brantley and Steve Hickoff recap the 2021 turkey season, with highlights from the Northeast, Southeast, and Great Plains. We also talk new turkey research, and how states like Arkansas and Alabama are changing hunting regulations in an effort to address recent turkey population declines. 

Changes Coming to A Turkey Season Near You? | Steve Hickoff

Will Brantley and Mike Hanback talk taxidermy, and talk through the reasons why it can take so long to get a shoulder mount back from the shop. But how long is too long? Should you wait a year? Two years? 

How Long Should Deer Taxidermy Take? | Mike Hanback

Don’t field-dress that deer near your stand, or you’ll ruin it for the rest of the season! That’s conventional wisdom with the time-honored stamp of approval from the old guys in deer camp. But does that mean it’s true? Do gut piles really spook deer?  Mike Hanback and Will Brantley discuss the pros and cons of gutting your deer where it falls.

Do Gut Piles Spook Deer? | Mike Hanbadk

Don’t field-dress that deer near your stand, or you’ll ruin it for the rest of the season! That’s conventional wisdom with the time-honored stamp of approval from the old guys in deer camp. But does that mean it’s true? Do gut piles really spook deer?  Mike Hanback and Will Brantley discuss the pros and cons of gut piles.

Take a guided tour of everything from whitetail, turkey, and duck hunting to stories about the great outdoors on the Realtree Outpost Podcast. Follow us each week as we peel back the layers and get into the minds outdoorsmen and your favorite hunting topics. Listen along as we look back on the hunting camp stories we love and discuss tips to help make you a better hunter.

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