Cons: Slim issues, only publishes 5 issues yearly, reviews are all positive, too many ads
The Bottom Line: If you’re an active hunter, read WJ for entertaining hunting stories & tips/hints that will increase your chances of successful hunts. Visit the WJ Website for a free subscription.
glomarrone's Full Review: Whitetail Journal Magazine
Whitetail Journal (WJ) is a magazine for serious hunters of whitetails. I became interested in the magazine after several friends who are enthusiastic hunters began bringing us venison to eat. Over the years, we have been providing our hunting friends with large supplies of fruit from our trees – particularly apples. They use the fruit, along with purchased high protein grain and dietary supplements, to feed deer on their upstate hunting property keeping the animals from starving during the late fall & winter months. Not knowing how best to cook the meat, I began reading through my friends’ back issues for recipes. In the process I learned a lot about whitetails & hunting.
About the Magazine & Overall Content
Although I just learned of its existence a couple of years ago, the magazine has been in publication for 16 years. A new publisher & editor-in-chief, Eddie Lee Rider JR, recently took over the reins of the magazine. WJ delivers solid, practical information about America’s favorite game animal. It covers each part of the yearly whitetail hunting cycle. Additionally, there are informative truck accessory & muzzleloader departments as well as the popular recipe department. Read articles about planting food plots with regional planting guides for each month of the year. There are also stories about pay-to-hunt operations. Plus there are additional informative articles that increase your knowledge of whitetails, their habits & habitat. Many articles praise the joys of time spent hunting with family or the camaraderie between hunting buddies. WJ publishes five issues yearly – each issue covers specific, timely information for the hunter.
The year opens with spring’s – The Expert Land Management Issue. This issue is devoted to advice on the proper ways of growing deer to trophy-quality size. It covers planning, developing & managing deer habitats for the benefit of the deer. Get specific recommendations & the reasoning behind the recommendations. Expect to also read some joys of hunting stories plus ones on different aspects of hunting like a recent one on shed (dropped antlers) hunting. The Summer Buyer’s Guide Issue follows with guidelines & factual information on how to choose the right hunting gear for the upcoming season. The issue delivers detailed facts on binoculars, bows, camouflage, guns, scopes & tree stands, among others. Learn how to separate quality from junk while not overspending for features you don’t need. Look for additional interesting hunting stories, too, such as last year’s story about two bucks locked together by their antlers. Next is the September/October Preseason Issue, which brings all the excitement of opening day with helpful articles on early season calling & stand tactics. The November/December Heart of the Rut Issue informs hunters about how to best take advantage of this part of the cycle & includes articles about proper herd harvest management. January/February is The Postrut Issue, which contains proven strategies for outsmarting sly deer.
Covers, Layout, Organization, Photography & Ads
Covers depict beautiful photos of whitetails in their natural habitat. Articles are all completed on succeeding pages & illustrated with photographs and/or other graphics – except the planting guides. Recently the magazine underwent a redesign. In 2000, Folio magazine awarded WJ the prestigious Ozzie award for best redesign of a consumer magazine. The magazine is organized into Features, Front & Back. Issues are slim, containing less than 100 pages. Most articles contain multiple color photos of hunters & deer. Other illustrations are for products & equipment. The current issue has 72 pages - 52% of them are ads – above the industry average. All ads are related to hunting & relevant to the interests of readers. Most ads are for ATVs, sporting goods & equipment dealers, hunting farms/ ranches/lodges & outfitters, fence & feed/grain & seed companies plus various associations /federations.
Features
The seven or so features in each issue are on timely topics related to different parts of the hunting cycle. For example, in November/December issues expect to find useful articles on cold weather hunting with strategies for coping with the elements & tips for staying limber & sharp. Find specific recommendations on the most effective name brand/off brand clothing, footwear, mitts/gloves & hats. Other articles will be on different aspects of hunting for example the useful but often misunderstood art of hunting scrapes, a form of buck sign. Learn how to find, read & interpret scrape activity. More articles may be on techniques for hunting in different wilderness regions & new equipment for improving your target success. The current issue contains The 2003 ATV Accessories Guide with good descriptions on 13 accessories to make your job easier including Websites for more information but prices are absent. There is a very practical article on using fences & other obstacles to the hunter’s advantage. Another has specific instructions for locating available hunting land. The remaining three articles comprise a very detailed and useful 8-page planting guide for different regions of the country with month-by-month ground activities. Features all contain solid, helpful information for hunters completely lacking any fluff filler pieces. Features are very informative, well-written pieces.
Departments
The Front department opens issues. Regular readers of WJ will recognize the names of the experienced columnists who are well-respected hunters & field editors. Bob Robb’s Robb column opens the department. He always has great practical, expert advice for hunters. In the current issue he discusses how & when to search out the hideouts of mature bucks. Some of his advice is basic - the rest is his well-explained specific secrets for success. Jim Shockey, another well-respected name in the magazine, follows with his Shockeycolumn. In the current issue, he mentions six common mistakes hunters should avoid when booking a hunt. Next, another well-known field editor, Bob Faulkrod offers his specific tactics & techniques for producing quality bucks. Finally, there’s an interesting 2-page article from a contributor on the president of Hunter Specialties, one of the country’s leading hunting supple businesses, who tests his company’s products in his own 1,8000 acre habitat.
Certain issues contain the popular I Told You it Was Good recipe department. The Venison Cassoulette recipe in last year’s July issue sounded very tasty & unique but requires too many uncommon ingredients such as duck leg thighs, 5 whole quail & ham hock meat. I had somewhat better luck with Grilled Venison Chops & Sausage served over onion pancakes topped by salad greens with roasted garlic dressing. It probably isn’t too healthy since it calls for a 6-oz slab of bacon. The writer envisions this rustic dish cooked on an iron skillet over a campfire. I think this is a little unrealistic considering that the recipe involves: whipping eggs whites to stiff peaks in preparing the pancake batter, grilling the different meats, preparing the "from scratch" Balsamic Vinaigrette & Roasted Garlic Dressing. It all sounds a little too complicated to do over a campfire & on one iron skillet, yet. There is also the need to refrigerate so many ingredients – meats, buttermilk, eggs, mayonnaise & sour cream among others. The easiest venison recipe I could find is actually one that dates back to medieval times & is part of a complete menu. It’s Roasted Venison with Cinnamon-Wine Sauce, which has a lightly tart & spicy flavor. It is simple to prepare & cook. Most kitchens would have many of the ingredients on hand. I had to purchase only the saffron, which I found locally. I also enjoyed the Brie Tart that is part of the menu but didn’t bother trying the Compote of Root Vegetables because I don’t enjoy the taste of many of these vegetables – maybe others would, though. I saved a meatball recipe from a earlier issue that I will try when I get more venison. It looks pretty easy. I wish the magazine would publish less complicated dishes with fewer unusual ingredients. I also wish nutritional information would be included.
The Back department delivers detailed information on new & innovative hunting products & equipment. Off Road is a popular truck accessory department found here. In the current issue, hunters are given expert advice on preparing their vehicles ahead of time for rough situations such as getting stuck in the mud. Subjects covered include specific suggestions for traction, suspension & engine upgrades & improving engine performance among others. Sources are given but unfortunately not prices. Industry Reports covers various hunting products. In this issue, it highlights a field-tested hearing device that amplifies minute noises with a walkie-talkie hookup so hunters can quietly communicate from different locations in the woods. There is a source for more information but once again no price information. There is also a very informative report on ARGO ATVs, which can take you over streams, lakes, snow and ice - even through deep brush with plenty of room for buddies, supplies & your trophy catch There is plenty of details including sources but no prices. Reviews are all positive so I wonder about credibility. New Product Showcase ends issues. This is basically an advertising section for new products with descriptions, illustrations or photos & source information but once again, no prices. The most useful equipment articles are the general information ones on rifles, bows, clothing etc… & how to choose the best product for the type of hunting you plan to do. “A Fast Second Shot” by Ralph Lermayer is a good example. It’s available on the Website.
Publisher, Website, Subscription
Grand View Media Group is the publisher of Whitetail Journal. Visit the magazine Website at www.whitetailjournal.com to read selected articles from the magazine & view the Trophy Gallery. Receive a trial magazine subscription, then if satisfied, receive 5 more issues @ $9.99. The regular subscription price is $13.95 for 5 issues. Newsstand copies cost $4.99.
My Final Comments
I am basing my recommendation of WJ on the merits of its content not on my views of hunting in general. The articles are certainly well written, informative & entertaining. The hints & techniques are valuable & proven effective. The experienced writers are all knowledgeable about the subject & good writers. If you only hunt occasionally, a subscription to this magazine will be less useful to you. In some issues, much of the content is for hunters who own food plots & feed deer year round. If you are heavy into hunting & manage a habitat, then a subscription will keep you entertained & informed all year long. This magazine is especially useful for beginners or intermediate level hunters. It offers guidelines, expert tips & techniques they can use to become more successful hunters. Hunters with advanced skill will already know all the INS & OUTS of the tactics & techniques described. They, however, will still benefit from the new products/equipment information & enjoy the interesting, entertaining hunting stories. I, however, suggest that any hunter buying equipment do further research using the Internet and/or recommendations from a trusted expert before laying out big bucks for products. First hand inspection is always advisable. Remember that the products reviewed may be those of advertisers.
I do have some specific concerns about the magazine. I have a big problem with such occasional magazine statements as “…allow bucks to walk in order to take them a season or two later when their antlers will make better hat racks.” I also have a problem with hunting for animals enclosed inside high fences especially on smaller lots as these animals have no chance for escape. Many enthusiastic hunters feel the same way. Although the magazine is informative & educational by providing plenty of information about the animal and its habits, the information is presented so that readers will use the information to stalk the animal. In case you think that hunting for deer meat will lower your bills, think again. The necessary equipment & clothing will set you back plenty. I think WJ has excessive advertising. Its issues, although meaty, are too slim. I also have problems with the lack of pricing information, lack of nutritional content in recipes & the fact all reviews are very positive. Also the magazine publishes infrequently.
Obviously anyone who is against hunting should not read this magazine. You are not WJ’s intended audience. Do I recommend it? Yes, but only to friends who enjoy hunting whitetails. Hunting is legal & the magazine does support responsible hunting, abiding by hunting restrictions and regulation, using quick kills so the animals don’t suffer needlessly.
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