A well-established wallow in that home zone can be a great place to set up and kill a bull that you have scouted during the early season. Even after the rut has kicked in and bulls are attending cows, they will continue to wallow; however, by that point, it could be many miles from where they spent the summer.

This article was to serve merely as a template to base your own kill kit off of. The items I carry have been refined and refined over the years and I feel like I have a setup that meets my needs perfectly. The kit is nothing special other than a bag that houses everything you need once a tag has been punched. Be creative, but smart, in your approach to building your system and decide what items need to be upgraded, cut or added.

Layering systems might differ slightly from climate to climate, but the foundation remains. Nowadays, having a layering system is an absolute must for me and, truth be told, I won't do it any other way. Since I have changed my ways, I have never been more comfortable out in the field. Because of that, I find myself spending way more time in the field—no matter the conditions. This transfers into more animals spotted, which inevitably leads to more opportunities to fill that tag.

Field judging elk is an art, while measuring dead elk is an exact science. Hunters looking to break into the B&C minimums or hunters looking to figure out the difference from a 370” bull from a 390” bull all need to dissect a bulls rack long before they decided to pull the trigger. The following methods I have used for a long time when picking apart a bulls rack.

If you're an avid hunter or simply a food enthusiast, you’ve probably heard of Hank Shaw. He’s a James Beard Award-winning chef and author of five cookbooks, including his latest, Hook, Line, and Supper. In his newest course for OutdoorClass, Venison 101, Hank takes you through all things venison, from the moment the animal is downed all the way to the dinner table.

One piece of gear that I have used over the years has been a lightweight tarp and, once again, this past fall, that item was particularly useful. Whether I needed shelter from the rain, wind, sun or a place to debone an elk quarter — or even to catch and collect water — a tarp is a key piece of my gear.

Setting up trail cameras sounds simple enough right? Until you’re flipping through your pictures and you can’t tell the difference between a doe or a 170-inch buck because the heads are out of frame. Anybody that has set up trail cameras can probably think of these exact instances where you’re walking back to your truck cursing at every rock and stick that gets in your way because you had trail camera malfunctions.

After getting smashed in the jugular with the hunting bug, I soon realized how important owning a good backpack was. The first animal I had to pack out by myself was a mountain lion. I ended up dragging this lion for about three miles and from that point forward, I vowed to get a backpack that could do the work for me and haul out my loads.

Velvet season is officially here. And if you’re hunting mule deer the next month and are going to be doing a backcountry type hunt, it might be a good idea to consider a way to preserve your precious velvet in the field.

Learn how to anticipate the shots you'll see in the field and prepare for bowhunting success this season.

Hunters from all over the United States and the world head to the western states to chase bucks throughout the fall and winter; however, each month, mule deer bucks do something different. Here is a month-by-month breakdown of expected mule deer behavior from August through December. This breakdown can give you a good idea of what to expect and where you might find bucks hanging out during any given month for hunting season.

If you are looking to make your wild game—especially deer and elk—taste more tender and even better, consider aging it this fall. There are so many different ways to do this and I often do it differently year to year.