It’s All About the White-tailed Deer This Month!
The regular firearms season on deer is the time of year many of us look forward to more than any other. The hunting camp sees a heavy influx of temporary residents – some young, some older, mostly returnees but a few new folks as well.
The goal of the November issue of The Maine Sportsman is to educate and inspire you, our readers, and help you “get your deer” this season.
Want to know more about the species? Read Tom Seymour’s “Maine Wildlife” on page 18. And the whitetail focus of the issue continues throughout:
- Packing for deer camp (Pineau) – page 19
- Inspirational reader stories from Emma Bennett (age 13), Jerry Scribner, Ari McCarthy (age 16) and Joe Hanley (who took down a 260-pound “smasha”) – pages 20-23
- News of a state-record bowhunting buck – page 24
- Reader photos 2017 and 2018 – page 25
- Winning a stare-down with a bug buck (Saltalamachia) – pages 26-27
- David Miller’s favorite deer rifle – page 29
- Life lessons from the deer woods (E. Emerson) – pages 37-38
- Whitetail hunting in Western Maine, and an introduction to tracking in Rangeley (Clunie) –pages 39-43
- Finding deer in Southern Maine (Marquez) – pages 47-48
- Go along as Tom Roth and his pal Rene each fill their tag last year – pages 49-50
- Steve Vose trains his two sons to help drag a deer – pages 52-53
… and on it goes, through Midcoast, Downeast, Moosehead, Jackman, Katahdin and The County. Even Jim Andrews, our “Self-propelled” columnist, covers deer this month, describing whitetail populations in each of the “two Maines.”
Are you starting to sense a pattern here?
Of course, once you get your deer, your attention will turn to snowmobiling, so Bangor Motorsports’ Shane Brown asks and answers the question, “Is your snowmobile ready for the season?” (pages 33-36).
We also tip our hat this month to other activities, including trout fishing, duck hunting and pursuing upland game.
And for those of you who are already missing the thrills of this past Halloween, our “Saltwater Fishing” column this month is illustrated by what may be the scariest photo we’ve ever featured – a close-up of a 350-pound shark that was brought to the boat (photographed and also videotaped – click here to see the film) by columnist Barry Gibson’s son Mike.
As ever, we hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as our columnists and editorial staff enjoyed assembling it.
If you’ve got something to say, write us a short letter to the editor (providing photos, if you’ve got them), and email everything to Will@MaineSportsman.com.
Give us a call at 207-622-4242, and talk with office manager Linda Lapointe. Subscribe or renew your subscription, either on the phone or using the “Subscribe” link at our website, www.MaineSportsman.com. Keep in touch as a Facebook friend.
And thanks once again this month to our informed readers, to our many distribution outlets and to our loyal advertisers.
Will Lund, editor
Augusta, Maine