Best Iowa Public Land

Iowa Public Land
Bill, I’d first like to say thanks for all your content and information to your followers. I’ve learned a lot over the years just from reading your material and watching your YouTube content. Now to my question: A friend and I have four points for Iowa and plan on hunting there next year. This will be my first hunt in Iowa. We plan on hunting some public. With four points what zone would you recommend and what dates would you recommend for a 7 day trip? Any other input you have regarding my first trip would be appreciated. Thanks for your time.View post →

Choosing a Broadhead

Choosing a Broadhead
Hi Bill, I hope you and your family had a Happy Thanksgiving. My name is John and my family and I are long time fans and have appreciated your willingness to share your experiences and knowledge with us over the years. My questions are related to broadheads. What broadhead are you using now that you don't have a specific sponsor? Second part, why did you choose that broadhead over others? Thank you. Have a great week. JohnView post →

Best Cold Weather Clothing System

Best Cold Weather Clothing System:
Hello, Mr. Winke, I am a young hunter and I am trying to find the best way to layer my hunting clothes for all seasons of the hunt, as we are in the end of November and temps here in Indiana are starting to drop, I am really looking to learn the best way to layer in the late season of deer hunting. What are your trusted brands and techniques for late season. Thank you!View post →

How to Create Permanent Deer Habitat

Create Permanent Deer Habitat
Hey bill- I have followed you for a while. Love Midwest whitetail because of your ability to tell a story. I think that separated you guys from many others. I have inherited 120 acres in mid Missouri that I would like to prepare and do what I can for growing bigger deer. Unfortunately there is little to no cover. What little cover there is is pretty open. The deer tend to reside on the land to the south where it’s thick cover. What do you recommend to start doing to prepare this land? How do I make this work? We are going to be living on the property so I’m not going to sell it. Thanks in advance.View post →

Plaques for European Mounts

Hello Bill long time fan. I hunt in Michigan. But anyhow I was going through old videos on YouTube and seen you showing mounts around the house. I was wondering on the euro mounts of your kids deer where did you get those plaques made and do you have a better picture of them? I was looking for something similar but never could find anything like that. Thank you for everything you’ve done throughout your career and I always look forward to any new info you put out.View post →

Camping Out for Whitetails

Camping Out for Whitetails
Bill, Just wondering how your camping has been doing. I live and hunt here in Montana, and while I don't camp when deer hunting, I camp when elk hunting where weather can be down to low twenties at night and 40-60 during the day. If you need some pointers on being comfortable and staying warm, let me know, as i've been there and done that. I think a big challenge this time of year is the long amount of darkness and shorter daylight. Makes for a very long night. Thanks, MarkView post →

When to Sell Hunting Land

Sell Hunting Land
When should I move on from a farm? Hey Bill - I really appreciate the influence you've had on my whitetail pursuits. I'm fortunate to have a job that allows me to hunt 40+ days annually and I split the time between three farms totaling about 600 acres. The largest farm is 240 acres in a heavily pressured area (but close to home). I've owned that farm for four seasons and harvested a 4yo just shy of 150" last year. After speaking with surrounding neighbors, it appears that was the largest deer harvested in the area in quite some time. We have regularly harvested several does each year to total approximately 15 does to 2 bucks in the 4 seasons. This year, three of the four mature deer or young deer with potential have been killed (the largest of which was ~140" 5yo). I purchased the farm at a good price and could profit a fair amount if sold. I'm concerned because I've inventoried deer for four seasons (through my own cameras and discussions with neighbors on the surrounding 700-800 acres) and the neighborhood does not appear to regularly produce the type of deer I would like to target (either due to pressure, nutrition or a combination). Would you give the farm more time or would you consider this a scenario where the age structure and pressure on a herd is going to make it difficult for the farm to consistently produce? When and why would you consider moving on from a farm? I'm certain every scenario is different, but I'm willing to move on from a farm if needed since my ultimate goal is to be in an area with good age structure and lower pressure. Additionally, I have made significant habitat improvements to the property over the past four years (though I understand the scale of 240 acres is quite small considering the average whitetail's range). There is opportunity to purchase surrounding acreage; however, I think total available land would be less than 500ac over the next several years. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thankfully, the other two farms are in good locations with consistent production of older deer. Unfortunately, they are over an hour from where I live. JasonView post →

Whether to Fence Food Plots

Bill Congrats on the buck! I like your idea of sleeping in the woods and not disturbing the deer on the way in. Anyways we planted quite a few food plots this year and was wondering what you would plant if the the deer eat the corn or beans before late season, some of them didnt even grow. We planted clover, big n beasty, corn, and beans. I thought about fencing some of them but wanted your opinion. Thanks KoreyView post →

Cementum Annuli Aging for Whitetail Deer

Cementum Annuli Aging
Bill, I appreciate all the content you’ve provided over the years and hope your hunting season is going well. Now on to my question. I recently listened to the HUNTR podcast you were on. Centium analysis for aging deer was brought up. I’ve recently been researching this a little. I was wondering how much experience you have with centium aging and how much you rely on it? It seems like all of the aging methods (trail cam & personal history, judging the deer’s body in the field, jaw bone wear, centium analysis, etc.) have some degree of inaccuracy. What methods do you use/prefer to age a deer and why? Thanks so much, GarretView post →