Hunting Superbucks : How to Find and Hunt Today's Trophy Mule and Whitetail Deer

by Kathy Etling

• ISBN13: 9781585742448
• ISBN10: 1585742449
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2001-03-01
• Publisher: The Lyons Press

Summary

Have you always dreamed of taking a monster buck? Well, before you pull the trigger on that eight-pointer, here's a chance to get some really big antlers. In Hunting Superbucks, Kathy Etling - with help from dozens of Boone & Crockett and Pope & Young club record holders - provides advice that is better than you'll get anywhere else. Yet Hunting Superbucks is not just about hunting advice. It also includes observations from many of the most respected authorities working in deer research today. Listen as wildlife biologists discuss how dominant bucks learn to survive, and how superbuck hunters can use this knowledge in the field. Lifestyles, habits, foods, genetics, and other secrets of the big bucks are here, as well as practical field information. Learn how to read superbuck signs such as rubs and scrapes; where and when to hunt for the bucks that made them; and how to rattle and call effectively. Etling also shows why a superbuck behaves differently from a six-pointer, and includes the special techniques that today's hunter needs to know in order to pursue such a deer. So follow the best trophy hunters in the United States and Canada as they outwit the smarter, older, harder-hunted, and - above all - bigger trophy deer. (7 X 10, 432 pages, b&w photos)

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
John Zent
Preface	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
Part 1: What Makes a Superbuck?	15	(26)
Antlers: How They Grow	17	(10)
How to Produce a Superbuck	27	(7)
The New Superbuck Genetics	34	(7)
Part 2: Whitetail Superbucks	41	(134)
Description of the Whitetail Superbuck	43	(6)
The Crowning Glory: Antlers of a Whitetail Superbuck	49	(9)
The Life Cycle of a Whitetail Superbuck	58	(13)
Whitetail Superbuck Behavior	71	(7)
Favorite Whitetail Superbuck Forage	78	(6)
Where to Find Whitetail Superbucks	84	(14)
Interpreting Whitetail Superbuck Sign	98	(4)
Hunting Superbuck Scrapes	102	(10)
Hunting Superbuck Rubs	112	(5)
Whitetail Superbuck Travel Patterns	117	(9)
The Hunter's Edge for Superbucks	126	(6)
The Importance of Stands	132	(7)
Stalking the Whitetail Superbuck	139	(9)
Scents for Whitetail Superbucks	148	(10)
Using Calls for Whitetail Superbucks	158	(9)
Rattling for Whitetail Superbucks	167	(8)
Part 3: Whitetail Superbuck Hunters and the Stories Behind the Trophies	175	(52)
Gene Wensel	177	(6)
Russell Hull	183	(5)
Bob McGuire	188	(5)
Bob Zaiglin	193	(5)
The Number One Typical Whitetail: the Hanson Buck	198	(2)
The Number Two Typical Whitetail: the Jordan Buck	200	(5)
The Number Thirteen Typical Whitetail: the Brunk Buck	205	(5)
The Number One Non-Typical Whitetail: Socrates	210	(4)
The Number Two Non-Typical Whitetail: the Hole-In-The-Horn Buck	214	(4)
The Rompola Buck: Authentic or Sham?	218	(5)
The Future of Whitetail Superbucks	223	(4)
Part 4: Mule Deer Superbucks	227	(92)
Description of The Mule Deer Superbuck	229	(6)
The Crowning Glory: The Antlers of a Mule Deer Superbuck	235	(4)
The Life Cycle of a Mule Deer Superbuck	239	(7)
Mule Deer Superbuck Behavior	246	(5)
Favorite Mule Deer Superbuck Forage	251	(5)
Where to Find Mule Deer Superbucks	256	(15)
Interpreting Mule Deer Superbuck Sign	271	(8)
Mule Deer Superbuck Travel Patterns	279	(6)
Mule Deer Superbuck Habitat: Mountains and Deserts	285	(10)
Stand Hunting for Mule Deer Superbucks	295	(6)
Stalking the Mule Deer Superbuck	301	(5)
Glassing for Mule Deer Superbucks	306	(7)
Scents, Calls, and Rattling	313	(6)
Part 5: Mule Deer Superbuck Hunters and the Stories Behind the Trophies	319	(54)
Kirt Darner	321	(6)
Ted Riggs	327	(5)
Jay Gates	332	(7)
Gordon Blay	339	(5)
Frank Hough	344	(4)
The Number One Typical Mule Deer: the Burris Buck	348	(4)
The Number Twenty-four Typical Mule Deer: the Baird Buck	352	(4)
The Number One Burkett System Extra-Typical: the Mundy Buck	356	(3)
The New World-Record Typical Mule Deer?	359	(2)
The Future of Mule Deer Superbucks	361	(6)
Epilogue	365	(2)
Superbuck Taxidermy	367	(6)
Appendix I: Maps for Hunting Mule Deer Superbucks	373	(12)
Appendix II: Scoring Charts	385	(8)
Bibliography	393	(3)
Index	396