Steve Bartylla will bring you along as he hunts Missouri, Wisconsin and on a late season doe hunt at the end of the year.

BUCKS & BEARDS DEERHUNT 2000
Steve's Hunts Main Page

March - I meet Donnie McClellan
Each year I am lucky enough to receive several invitations to hunt with outfitters just breaking into the business. Due to the limited amount of time which I can get away, I must be very careful to sort through them and pick the one that is right for me. This year the picking was easy. 

After finishing a seminar at the Mid America Deer and Turkey Classic in St Louis last March Donnie McClellan emerged from the crowd and introduced himself. He explained that he was about to begin his first year of operation at Bucks & Beards Outfitters. As he elaborated he told me that he already controlled over 5000 acres in Northern Missouri, which received no bowhunting pressure and had been rifle hunted by a grand total of 10 hunters the previous season, 9 of which had taken trophy class whitetails. Being the proud parent that he was, he whipped out photos of his sons, Taylor, 13 and Cameron, 11, with the 160" bucks they each had taken. 

As I am sure you can imagine, my curiosity was more than slightly peaked. The aerial photos of the property revealed sprawling countryside with fingers of woods connecting the sizable chunks of timber. In short, a bowhunter`s dream. I swiftly finalized plans for two cameramen and myself to conduct our first scouting trip in August.

Next, I will begin by covering our August scouting trip: what we can learn from a late summer scout, what we key on and how we accomplish it. Late August - Scouting Bucks & Beards

For those looking for every advantage in understanding whitetail deer, Steve Bartylla's column Becoming A Student Of Whitetail Deer is a must read.