“Mr. Whitetail” Larry Weishuhn’s Deer Hunting Tips

There’s a reason they call Larry Weishuhn Mr. Whitetail. It’s not because of television shows (on the Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel, etc …) or award winning writings (both books and articles) or his induction into the National Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame. The name spread because of these accolades, but it’s not why they pasted him with that moniker. He’s known as Mr. Whitetail because the man understands deer.

I’m a regular neophyte when it comes to hunting whitetail, but I wasn’t the only one at the NRA’s Great American Hunting & Outdoor Show who was dazzled by his seminar on hunting. Just like the seasoned hunters who asked the questions, I shook my head as he dispelled myths, revealed facts and laid out the groundwork for a successful hunting season.

Here’s some of his highlights (paraphrased):

• Buying scent blockers always seemed like a waste to me. If the sun is in your eyes and wind at your back, you’d be amazed how good any scent blockers works.
• If you want to learn about deer then study people. If you want to learn about people then study deer. It’s amazing the similarities we share.
• We go out for deers early in the morning. Deers come out more between 10 am and 2 pm. Do they know we leave by 10 to go watch football or is that just part of their nature?
• Predators don’t take down the weak and informed until they’ve eaten all the healthy ones. Why would they? Would you cut up a sickly cow or a robust steer?
• 6-8 weeks before deer season opens, I hang blaze orange and dirty socks in the areas where I’m going to hunt. Once the season starts, they’ll be use to what I’m going to look like and what I’m going to smell like.
• There are two parts of North America — those that have wild pigs and those that are going to have them.
• Birth control for deer is foolish. Any medication or devices introduced into the mix eventually makes the rest of the herd sick. The only efficient method of birth control comes with a 130 grain solution.
• You can kill as many deer on the ground as you can from a tree. But you don’t have to climb to get to the ground.

NRAblog

NRAblog covers the 178 programs of the National Rifle Association. Whether it's the Youth Hunter Education Challenge, Women On Target, Hunters Rights, our National Competitions or a look at one of the thousands of guns in the National Firearms Museum, NRAblog is there to provide you an inside look to how it all happens at the NRA.