Happy Friday! The good times got kicked off a little early for me last night, as I had some buddies over to watch some of the new Realtree and Drury DVDs, have a cold beverage and set up a couple new bows. We got some awesome new Trophy Ridge accessories on the rigs and had a good time testing them out. Needless to say, I can’t wait to get these bad boys out in the field. On top of shootin, I’ll also be doing some prep work on a few food plots in the coming days! Should be a busy but fun weekend and I hope the same can be said for yours too. In your free time, be sure to check out the whitetail blog posts below from across the web. We’ve got some helpful food plot tips, a great recipe, and much more!

Expert Deer Tips: The Difference Between a Basic and Advanced Food Plot – Big Buck Zone: Some in depth ideas about taking your food plots to the next level from Craig Dougherty.

Removing Your Bow Quiver Will Make You A Better Shot – Meitin’s Bow Blog: A case is made against shooting with your bow quiver on…I’m on board with this one! I always take mine off.

Public Land Hunting in the Big Woods – Daniel Schmidt’s Whitetail Wisdom: Some great tips on how to effectively hunt the big woods.

Will Dominant Bucks Dominate the Breeding? – QDMA.com: Kip Adams discusses the common idea that mature or dominant bucks will breed the most does. Is that the case though?

Foodie Friday: Parmesan Venison – Deer & Deer Hunting: A tasty looking recipe for some of last years venison!

Southeast Nebraska is home to the chosen buck today for our “Shoot or Don’t Shoot” series. The question is simple – if this buck (the one on the left) was in front of you during the season would you shoot? For some it’s just a matter of antler size, for others it’s age and some folks it’s simply whether or not it’s a legal deer in shooting range. No matter the reasoning – we want to know what your call would be.

Shoot or Don’t Shoot? That’s the question.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Fill us in on the reason behind your choice in the comments section as well!

As you may have read already, my turkey season ended with less arrows in my quiver than I started with – but still no dead turkey to show for it. Not how I wanted to season to go, but that’s hunting – right? But now that the thunder chickens are out of the way my attention is squarely turned to food plots, other habitat management and prepping properties for the fall. I imagine that many of you are in a similar boat, so head on out to your properties this weekend, enjoy the weather and start preparing now for a great fall hunting season.

In the interim though, we’ve got some great reads for you today on the Friday Morning Mashup. Read on and have a great weekend!

Quality Deer Management On 6 Acres? – QDMA.com: Quality Whitetails Editor Lindsay Thomas Jr. responds to a readers question on whether or not it is possible to practice quality deer management on a tract as small as 6 acres. Lindsay’s response is well worth a read.

Hunt Your Way To Health – Venison vs. Beef – Sole Adventure: Mark from Sole Adventure shares some great thoughts and information on how venison stacks up to beef in the health department!

Top 5 Ways To Hunt Pressured Deer – Dan Schmidt’s Whitetail Wisdom: Dan Schmidt of Deer & Deer Hunting shares his top 5 tactics for hunting pressured deer. A great read for anyone who hunts in states like Michigan, Pennsylvania or the like!

Climbing Stand or Hang On – Brow Tines & Backstraps: My friend Will Brantley of Realtree shares his experience with a climbing treestand and weighs the possible benefits of a climber versus a hang on stand.

A Leg Up: Judging Buck Age From Body Proportions – QDMA.com: Another great piece from the QDMA in which two pictures of different aged bucks in nearly the same stance and location are analyzed. Interesting lessons to be learned on how things how legs and torso length can help you better age bucks on the hoof.

Shoot or don’t shoot? That is the question.

Today’s buck was photographed in West Central Illinois towards the middle of August last year in a great section of property down there. I can personally attest that there are bigger bucks living on this farm – but at the same time, this deer would certainly catch people’s attention in many other states and areas. So…if this buck came cruising by last fall – what would you have done?

Shoot or don’t shoot? (Make sure to share the reasoning behind your decision in the comments section!)

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

This hillarious plaque adorns the wall in our hunting camp – and I just had to share it with you guys. Every time I pass by it on our porch, I just have to stop and read a bit. It gets me laughing every time.

Can anyone relate to a day like this? haha

(PS – if it’s too small for you to read, just click the picture and it will show a larger version!)

It’s an interesting thing – failure. It can sting. It can poison your thoughts. It can slowly crush your confidence.

But at the same time it can push you to new heights. Force you to look yourself in the mirror. And in the end – make you better.

What’s the difference between these two outcomes? It’s simple really – it’s attitude.

This past Sunday night, I slowly trekked across a freshly planted bean field with a big bag full of turkey decoys over my shoulder and an unpunched tag at the end of my season. Some would say this was a failure – but I am not willing to let that be the case. I may have failed in my ultimate pursuit – the harvest of a turkey. But the successes that occurred along the way to that point were too important to disregard so quickly. I may not have a 10 inch beard and full fan to show off, but I’ve got some damn good stories and a few life long lessons to put in my back pocket to boot.

I won’t lie and say that I don’t get down on myself when I fail – but with a forced attitude adjustment or a refreshed perspective on the situation, I can usually find plenty of silver linings on the cloud. Falling into failure is easy – but taking the effort to examine your attitude – that takes work. I’d be willing to bet you my best slate call though that it’s worth it.

Now how about my past two whitetail hunting seasons? I put in nearly 200 sits, across 5 states – with no antlers on the wall to show for it. But did I really fail? Can you call my first encounter with a 160 class buck in my life a failure? Or how about the fact that I had more close calls with mature bucks this year than ever before. Isn’t that worth something?

Yes – failure can hurt. A mature whitetail flagging away, a poorly hit buck, or an unfilled tag can all leave an unpleasant taste in your mouth and a squelch in your gut. But don’t let that take away from the experiences along the road that led you to where you are today. Failure is a reality – but it isn’t a finality. With the right attitude, any “failure” can be turned into an opportunity. An opportunity to learn, to grow, to face your fears and challenges.  And ultimately to overcome.

So next time when you “fail” in your hunting pursuits, don’t let it keep you down for too long. Pick yourself up, brush the autumn leaves off your shoulder and get back in the proverbial deer stand. Cause life is actually pretty good in the woods and you never know what might be coming down the next trail.

Can you believe it’s already May? Seems like just yesterday I hung up the bow after my last hunt of the 2011 season – and now I’m already getting ready to plant food plots and hang stands for 2012! Only 150 days til I can draw first blood in Michigan and boy does that get me excited. But in the interim, I’ve got to first take care of some turkey hunting business this weekend. My season opened last week Monday, and I’ve had a lot of great encounters in the couple days that I’ve been able to hunt. I’ve had some very close calls, and hopefully I can finally close the deal over the course of these last three days!

But regardless of that, I’ll still have plenty to do in the coming weeks – as my preparation for the upcoming season continues to ramp up. The blog posts this week in the Mashup definitely fall in line with that idea as well – it’s time to really get to work. Food plots, scouting, stand prep, new property acquisition – there’s lots to be done. So read up on some of this great whitetail reading, and then get to it!

Food Plot Planting Calendars – Growing Deer TV: The alway helpful Dr. Grant Woods shares with us his thoughts on a basic food plot planting calendar, including what needs to get done and when!

The Basics of Planting Food Plots: It’s All In The Dirt – Big Buck Zone: Another great food plot article from a wildlife habitat expert, this time it’s Craig Dougherty of North Country Whitetails. If you’re looking to get started with food plots, there are some great tips here for ya.

The Best I’ve Seen: Top Hunters & Gun Shots – Dan Schmidt’s Whitetail Wisdom: Dan Schmidt of Deer & Deer Hunting fills us in on who he believes is the best TV hunter, best gun shot, and more!

Hang-and-Hunt: A Mobile Treestand Tactic for Whitetails – Whitetails 365: Dave Hurteau of Field & Stream details in video a strategy that I’ve come to really enjoy – the hang and hunt. Or as I call it, run and gun strategy.

Hang-and-Hunt: What You Need to Hang a Stand Fast – Whitetail 365: Part Two of the Hang & Hunt video series from Dave Hurteau takes a look at the equipment you need to successfully pull off this tactic.

Hang-and-Hunt: Hang a Treestand in 7 Minutes – Whitetail 365: Finally in Part 3, Hurteau shows that you can use sticks and a hang on stand to get up in a tree and ready to hunt in 7 minutes!

Today’s Shoot or Don’t Shoot buck hails from Southwest Ohio – and you may have seen this guy before. I had posted a couple pictures last year of this thick necked bruiser caught on trailcam while I was down in Ohio hunting during the rut. He’s a definitely a unique buck. Huge body and an interesting rack. My buddy Corey and I ended up naming this particular deer “Mr. Anderson”, in honor of a neighboring property honor and the famous villain of the Matrix movie series. I certainly would have liked to come face to face with Mr. Anderson and send an arrow through the 12 ring on him, but that’s just me.

So if you saw this guy cruising down the fenceline towards your stand, what would you do? Shoot or don’t shoot?

Be sure to share your reasoning in the comments too!

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Happy Friday ya’ll! I don’t know about you, but I am very ready for the weekend to be here. My week started off with an unsuccesful turkey hunt on the opening day of the season here in Michigan – but I’m hoping to redeem myself this weekend! And I hope that many of you will be hitting the woods as well, whether it be to chase turkeys, plant food plots or just enjoying the wild. If you’re stuck inside though, our Friday Morning Mashup features some great deer hunting related reading to keep you occupied. Read on for articles regarding food plot tips, archery practice and management on small pieces of ground.

Have a great weekend!

Tips for Food Plots From A Farmer – Whitetail 365: This article is just what the title says! Some good tips from a farmer on food plots – I don’t think you can find a better source of advice on this topic.

Small Parcels, Big Whitetail Rewards – Whitetail Habitat Solutions: A thorough, a very interesting analysis of a small 22 acre parcel and how it was turned into a high quality hunting property.

Perfect Practice: Elevating Your Archery Hunting Skill Set – HuntingNet.com: Some helpful tips on how to better practice with your bow to improve your hunting success this fall!

A Behind The Scenes Look At The Sportsmen’s Heritage Act – Open Country: Our friend Tony Hansen walks us through some of the details of the recent Sportsmen’s Heritage Act – and how it came to be.

Seven Secrets of Successful Hunters – Sole Adventure: The title says it all – the author details 7 somewhat intangible traits or tactics that successful hunters have or use. Definitely a good read!

We’re back with the second installment of our new series “Shoot or Don’t Shoot” – and I’m expecting a pretty mixed bag of answers again on this one! Our last buck featured was photographed in Northwest Iowa and of the 121 votes cast so far, 53% would have passed him. That being said – that still left a lot of folks who would have liked to knock the air out of him too. I’d call that pretty close to a toss up.

Today’s buck hails from South Central Michigan – my stomping grounds – and it’s a nice summer velvet picture. Given all of that – if this buck trotted across in front of you this fall, what would you say?

Shoot or don’t shoot?

Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments section as well! We want to know the “Why” behind your answer!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.