Its time for planting food plots and one of the most common questions I hear is: “Can I use my left over seed from last year?”

It seems like just about every foodplotter out there has a half bag or so of last year’s seed and is wondering if he can plant it. Nobody wants to plant “dead” seed; you waste hours of valuable time and can get a poor stand or no stand at all. On the other hand, just because it’s old doesn’t mean it won’t grow. Some seeds will germinate and grow for up to 5 years after the date they came from the field. And, at the price of quality food plot seed, it’s worth a second look.

It depends upon what kind of seed it is, how it was cared for, and how it was stored. Seed  should be kept cool, dry, and clean and protected from pests and insects in some sort of protective container. [ Read Full Post ]

In late November, the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, which oversees the Chippewa tribes' treaty rights in Wisconsin, voted to authorize night hunting for deer by tribal members.

To participate in the after-dark hunt, tribal members would be required to pass a marksmanship test. According to an Associated Press report, 74 members met those requirements but, thus far, none have applied for a night-hunting permit.

But they might. And that has hunters and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials concerned. [ Read Full Post ]

Beef has taken a beating lately. Biblical droughts in the Heartland last year have prices on the rise, new research suggests that bacteria in the human digestive system could make red-meat eaters more prone to heart disease, and health-conscious consumers from Seattle to Brooklyn are demanding "grass fed" and "free range" fare.

And the flaws in beef only seem to highlight the qualities of venison. With the latest (and strongest) trend in dining being all about eating organically and locally, there should be no meat trendier than deer right now. Not to mention that the whitetail deer population, approximately 15 million in the U.S., has never been larger than it is today.

As hunters, we like to brag about the qualities of wild venison: "Most people can't even tell the difference between a beef steak and a venison steak;" "It's way healthier than beef is;" "I haven't bought beef from a grocery store in years;" and on we go.

But is eating wild venison truly better than eating beef? Or is that just something we say when we feel the need to justify killing deer? I conducted an objective (and partially subjective) investigation to find out. [ Read Full Post ]