Author: Brad Fenson

An entire deer season ran through my mind in slow motion, like a scene from the Matrix movie. The flashback included hundreds of hours in the tree stand, long nights thinking about strategies, scheming to get out of work to hunt more, all to hunt one big buck. With two days left in the season, all the cards were on the table. Tall tines dancing back and forth in a rhythmic fashion instantly brought my heart to racing speed. It was the buck, and he was on a collision course with where I sat in anticipation. The rut was waning,…

Ground blinds are a great way to set up for deer, antelope, turkeys and other species. Hunting at eye level is a great option when you can’t put up a treestand. Ground blinds are quick, portable and they provide great cover to hide hunters and block human scent. They are equally effective for rifle, bow or crossbow hunters and there are specific designs to accommodate various equipment. Not only do blinds hide hunter movement, but they also protect from the elements and allow you to access extra gear without spooking the game. Consider using a blind with a dark interior,…

The Flatline 460 is the newest premium crossbow from TenPoint, offering compact versatility and speed. Measuring 26.5 inches long and 7.5 inches axle-to-axle cocked, this bow offers fast target acquisition and is adaptable for any hunting situation. The compact design will appeal to backcountry enthusiasts, and blind and treestand hunters will embrace the compact design in tight quarters. The Flatline boasts 460 fps or greater speeds, with a 400-grain hunting arrow, making it the fastest compact crossbow. The Flatline 460 produces 188 foot-pounds of kinetic energy. New engineering has equipped the TenPoint Flatline 460 with all-new Scope Struts and Longer…

Prime has built the new REVEX to benefit hunters with built-in stability. The bow has a solid back wall and a smooth and balanced draw cycle. Hunters who want to minimize movement with game in close will appreciate the smooth and fluid draw cycle. The bow is quiet and is dead in hand immediately after the shot. The REVEX must be shot to appreciate and understand balance, stability, smooth draw cycle, and quietness. The bow comes in three different models. REVEX 2 Axle to axle: 32 inches Brace height:6.25 inches Speed (IBO): 338 fps Draw length: 26 to 30 inches…

Travel in the current world is anything but dependable. The good news is that having focus and determination will eventually get you there. My recent trip attests that travel can be worth the time and trouble. We arrived at Rut N Strut Guide Service (www. rutnstrutguideservice.com) in western Oklahoma well after sunset. The archery targets had already been set up and we aimed the truck’s headlights into the abyss to find an exact aiming point. The adventure was my first hunt with the new TenPoint Nitro 505, the fastest production crossbow on the market. I cocked the bow, slid an…

The first two years I hunted with a crossbow, I chased white-tailed deer, turkey, and black bear and never had the opportunity to pull the trigger. It was conclusive evidence that hunting with a crossbow is not an unfair advantage. Just because you hold a bow horizontally does not mean the animals will run or flock within range. I love hunting and spend a considerable amount of time with rifles, shotguns, muzzleloaders, and bows— both vertical and horizontal. From personal experience, bow hunting is challenging, no matter what type of equipment you use. Anyone who claims hunting with a crossbow…

If you have been fortunate enough to witness the rutting chase of whitetailed deer, you can appreciate the incredible strength and stamina that these grand animals posses. A whitetail buck has his work cut out when it comes to getting the opportunity to breed. When a doe comes into estrus and locates a dominant buck, she’ll take her suitor on a long-winded chase before breeding occurs. The rut chase usually occurs on the edge of an open area, and the doe will lead the buck on a long chase before stopping and allowing the buck to do his job. These…

I pointed my truck east and started the day-long drive towards deer camp. Opportunities to hunt Whitetailed deer in our neighboring province of Saskatchewan are available through a draw or with an outfitter. Many of the outfitters have licenses specific to Canadian residents, so there are plenty of options. I booked a hunt with Mark and Amber Belchamber and bigspruceoutfitting.com and couldn’t wait to spend a week with them. COVID had me locked down, and that meant there was no better time to explore Canadian adventures close to home. In typical prairie fashion, a winter blizzard struck just two hours…

The simple definition of a bullet in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is a small piece of metal or another material that is shot out of a gun. The full definition listed is: a round or elongated missile (as of lead) to be fired from a firearm; broadly: cartridge. Most hunters understand the pretense of a bullet and what it does. However, there are only a few that fully pay attention to the details of bullet engineering and design to get an advantage in bringing home game or being more successful in the shooting sports. I attended Rob Furlong’s Marksmanship Academy last…

My phone started quacking indicating I had an incoming text. It was from our outfitter Scott Fink, of Goose Creek Outfitters in Nebraska, and he was sending trail camera photographs of deer showing up near some of his stand locations. At first, I couldn’t believe my eyes and enlarged the image to see if it had been photoshopped. There were two mature bucks standing beside each other but facing in opposite directions. One was a solid 160-class whitetail with ten even points while the other was an honest 170-class mule buck with four long points on each antler. The phone…