Numerous factors lead to when a buck sheds its antlers. Stress related to weather is one of them. This year, here in West-Central Illinois, we’ve hardly had any snow, and other than a few short days of extreme cold, this winter has been mild (so far). We had an extreme cold snap around Christmas, but
Want to find more whitetail sheds? Here are 7 quick tips to help you find more shed antlers this spring… Find the Food Food is the name of the game in finding deer antlers. If you don’t have a quality late season food source you probably won’t find many sheds. Standing beans or corn will
Finding a match set of sheds can be a difficult task to say the least. Bucks can be one sided for multiple days allowing them to drop their antlers literally miles apart. However, the majority of bucks if left undisturbed, will stay within a distinguished late season pattern as long as cover and a quality
Boone and Crockett Scoring Measuring a bucks score with the B&C (Boone and Crocket) scoring method is one of the most utilized ways of determining a whitetail deer’s score. It’s a relatively simple technique that doesn’t require a lot of time or effort to complete. All you need is a 1/4 inch wide, steel tape
To shoot or pass a buck weighs on many whitetail hunters’ minds each season. The looming question “what will he be next year?” might be squandering in your head when an opportunity at a buck presents itself. For years hunters have tried to justify there deer as “trophies” because of the number of inches of
If you enjoy watching monster, velvet toting bucks in the summertime, Pike County, Illinois might just be the top destination throughout the Midwest! Heartland Lodge is located in the heart of prime whitetail country that supports some of the biggest deer in the nation. The fertile farmlands that surround the lodge help to supplement growing
Mark Spillane was lucky enough to get the opportunity at a buck of a lifetime this week and was able to seal the deal with a 194 inch buck known as Jackpot. Whitetail manager Matt Brunet had been chasing the buck for two years, and was finally able to close in on the brute. Last
Ask any veteran whitetail hunter about the biggest buck they’ve ever seen, and their response will probably be a very captivating, animated story. Stories that usually begin with; it was just breaking light on a foggy morning…it was spitting snow and ice on a cold November day… I had been hunting the swamp buck for
My journey to Harpole’s Heartland Lodge (HHL) began some two and a half years before I set out from my home in Denver, Colorado this November to join my friend, former college roommate, and fraternity brother (some 20 years ago) at his beautiful hunting lodge in central Illinois. In early 2013, I stepped through the
It was the second evening of Jeff Mohney’s late muzzleloader hunt at the Heartland Lodge, the weather was near record highs for mid-December and deer movement had been relatively slow. With a major cold front moving through the next day, hopes were high that deer activity would be increasing throughout the evening. Jeff’s guide situated
