LestersLegends.com

Every year when the whitetail deer hunting season comes to an end, I immediately start looking forward to the next. At no other time has this been more apparent. My son turns 10, and will be able to hunt whitetail deer with me for the first time. I have been waiting to pass down our hunting tradition to the next generation for a long time.
.
When my son asked if he could hunt with us this year, I was very excited. Last year he wanted to go scouting more than ever. He also was more interested in looking at trail camera pictures. When he asked for his own trail camera, I knew he would be my hunting partner. Last year he even sat in a box blind with me a couple of days. The sight of deer coming into the field, and right in front of us got him very excited.
.
My biggest concern is his safety. We have already started talking about what he needs to do to become a safe hunter. His first gun is the next decision that had to be made. The area where we hunt whitetails is a shotgun zone. After a lot of thought I have decided a Thompson Center Encore with a 20 gauge rifled slug barrel would be best. Since it is a single shot, I felt it would be safer for a new hunter.
.
Like most children these days my son loves to play video games. Keeping the next generation interested is important, or they will get bored quickly. So I have to find a stand location for him, where there will be a lot of action. This will help him keep his interest, and put him on the path to becoming a hunter and outdoor enthusiast.
.
Our hunting group only harvests does and mature bucks. I have talked to my son about why we prefer to do this. He understands if you shoot a lot of younger bucks there will not be many older bucks. Even though I really believe in this practice, I will not tell a young hunter what he can shoot. My son knows he can harvest any whitetail deer he chooses.
.

.
We have gotten pictures of a nice 3 ½ year old 10 pointer with his trail camera last year. This buck will be a great buck, no matter how old you are, or how many bucks you have harvested. For a first buck, especially for a young hunter, he will be an incredible buck. All of my planning will try and put him in position to get an opportunity at this buck.
.

.
For the first time the success of my hunting season will not be about whether I harvest a mature whitetail or not. No my success will depend if I do a good job passing our hunting tradition down to the next generation. This will not be about whether my son harvests a whitetail or not, but about the experiences he has. I just hope that I teach my son as well as my Dad taught me, and he grows up with the same passion we have for mature whitetail deer.
.
Tom Lester
President
Monster Raxx LLC
tom@monsterraxx.com
www.monsterraxx.com
.

.
My dad and brother are back at it again in this commercial, featuring their new acorn scent, as well as the original Whitetail Magnet.
.

Check out my Dad and brother in their Monster Raxx commercial. If you’re into deer hunting, they have a great product to improve the health of your deer herd…and as my Dad so eloquently puts it…Maxx Your Raxx.

By Tom Lester, MonsterRaxx.com

Millions of hunters enter the woods and farmlands each year in hopes of harvesting a trophy whitetail deer. From the last day of the hunting season until the opening of a new season, hunters dream of that huge buck of a lifetime. Hunters read different hunting magazines and whitetail books looking for information and tips to improve their odds of success. They also watch numerous hunting shows on television and DVDs to learn new hunting methods and feed their obsession for giant whitetails.

The use of whitetail attractants to improve trophy whitetail success has become increasingly popular. This simple process has proven to attract more whitetail deer. There are many different attractants on the market to choose from. Liquid, gels and powders are a few of the forms that attractants come in. With a little research, picking the attractant that suits your needs is easy to do.

The use of liquid attractants is by far the most popular method used by hunters today. The two most common are deer urine and food-flavored liquids. Deer urine comes in a couple different types, doe, estrous doe, buck and dominant buck. Make sure you are using the right type of urine for the time of year you will be hunting. For example, you do not want to use estrous doe urine before the pre-rut. Using this early will put deer on alert that something is not right.

I prefer to use liquids that smell like the food that deer crave. This type of attractant can be used any time of the year. You can pour it over corn, grain, protein pellets, minerals, stumps, near food plots, or even on scent wicks to attract more whitetail deer. During the winter and spring I like to put out corn and protein pellets to help the deer survive the cold winter, and gain some of their weight back in the spring. I pour a fruit or acorn flavored attractant on top to help insure whitetails will find it and keep coming back.

My favorite time to use food-flavored attractants is during the summer and into the fall. I have increased the number of pictures I get on my scouting cameras immensely. Suddenly, I am getting pictures of bucks that I have never seen before. With more bucks coming into your area, the chances of seeing a trophy buck increases. The best part is the ease of this method. I simply put out corn and pour the attractant over it and set up my scouting cameras. With the pictures I can figure travel patterns and decide which mature whitetail bucks I will attempt to harvest during the upcoming season.

During the hunting season I still use the food-flavored attractants. I put them on scent wicks or pour them over stumps near my blinds or tree stands. Both bucks and does will still come to them during the early part of the season. As the season progresses and the rut comes around, the bucks main concern will turn from food to impregnating as many does as possible. I use this to my advantage by putting out food-flavored attractants to draw in as many does as I can, knowing that a trophy buck could wander by in search of does at any time.

As the season comes to an end and winter is near, mature bucks are feeding as much as possible to put some of the weight they lost during the rut back on. Once again a food-flavored attractant will help entice a trophy buck and increase your odds for success. I believe a food-flavored attractant is the most versatile and helpful attractant a hunter can use to accomplish their goal of harvesting a trophy whitetail deer.

Before using whitetail attractant’s become familiar with your states rules and regulations.

Click here to see the Whitetail Magnet video.

Tom Lester
President, Monster Raxx LLC
tom@monsterraxx.com
www.monsterraxx.com

MonsterRaxx also runs a trail camera contest and a harvest photo contest. Each month the person with the winning photo for each contest receives two free bags of Monster Raxx Trophy Minerals and a bottle of Monster Raxx Whitetail Magnet with a grand prize at the end of the year of a free DLC Covert II assassin scouting camera.

I’m going to take a little break from the norm at LestersLegends.com and speak to any deer hunters that may visit my site. My father and brother have started their own company selling deer minerals, deer attractants, trail cameras, and some pretty cool t-shirts at MonsterRaxx.com. You may have noticed the logo on the right side of my page.

I’m not into hunting, but I do respect their passion. I know it is shared by millions of hunters worldwide. If hunting is your thing, here are some tips they have provided to improve the quality of the deer you harvest.

When it comes to whitetail deer, bigger is better! Millions of hunters spend billions of dollars each year to increase their chances of harvesting a trophy whitetail deer. Increasingly deer hunters are trying to improve their deer herd to accomplish this goal. There are many methods that can be used to obtain the desired results. Hunters can plant food plots, build better bedding areas, dig in ponds, set up whitetail sanctuaries, and have a supplemental feeding program of corn and protein pellets.

These are all very good methods to improve a deer herd, but there is another way that is as equally important as it is effective, and the beauty of this method is that it does not require a lot of time or effort. Virtually any hunter can set up a mineral supplement program to improve the health of their whitetail deer herd. Out of all the previously mentioned ways to improve your deer herd, setting up mineral sites is the least expensive and easiest to do.

I recommend the use of a quality mineral supplement that contains both minerals and vitamins for best results. Giving the whitetail deer the minerals and vitamins that they are lacking will help maximize the bucks’ potential by ensuring that the deer get everything they need for optimal growth. If you provide mineral supplements year round, you will notice an increase in both body size and antler development. Mineral supplements are also very beneficial for lactating does, replacing the minerals and vitamins that they lose while feeding their fawns.

As I mentioned, setting up a mineral site is very easy to do. First, pick a location for your mineral site. Look for heavily used trails that come together, scrape and rub lines and also locations near water when possible. Locations where you already hang a tree stand or set up a ground blind work perfectly. Remember to set your mineral sites in a spot that favors the prevailing wind for your stand and blind locations.

Once an ideal spot has been selected, you want to clear an area five feet in diameter. Remove all leaves and vegetation for the minerals to work properly. Once the area is clear, use a rake and loosen the soil then add your mineral supplement.

You may want to consider installing a trail camera when possible so that you can monitor how frequently the deer are visiting your site. This will give you a better understanding of the herd’s tendencies. Plus you can watch the transformation as the deer improve in size with help from the mineral supplements.

It is recommended that you replenish your minerals every two months. The trail cameras will help because if you see the traffic decrease, you will need to replenish it sooner. Heaviest consumption will occur from early spring through the fall as deer bulk up for winter. Do not overlook the winter months though, as providing minerals year round will maximize the health of the deer herd. At this time of year whitetails have fewer options to consume the minerals and vitamins that their bodies need than at any other time of year. This will also help the deer endure the long, cold winter, which helps them come back bigger and stronger each year.

Before using minerals supplements become familiar with your states rules and regulations.

Click here to see a YouTube video demonstrating how to set up a mineral site.

Tom Lester
President, Monster Raxx LLC
MonsterRaxx.com
tom@monsterraxx.com

My Dad with his trophy buck!

MonsterRaxx also runs a trail camera contest and a harvest photo contest. Each month the person with the winning photo for each contest receives two free bags of Monster Raxx Trophy Minerals and a bottle of Monster Raxx Whitetail Magnet with a grand prize at the end of the year of a free DLC Covert II assassin scouting camera.

My Uncle Jim, along with my brother, have been the most instrumental in making sports a big part of my life.  I remember my Uncle talking to me about the Phillies, the Sixers, and the Eagles.  I also remember him telling me about when he played baseball as a kid and how he was fast as the wind.  Recently he was interviewed for a story in the Kansas City Star.  Here is that article.

Deer hunting: War veteran finding peace of mind
By BRENT FRAZEE
The Kansas City Star

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jim Leonard got a big dose of his favorite type of therapy one Saturday morning.

Leonard, who lives in the Philadelphia area, was ravaged by the terror of the Vietnam War. As a member of the airborne infantry, he was often one of the first ones to go behind enemy lines. And he witnessed things he says he will never get over.

But all of that seemed far away when he climbed into a tree stand in Cass County on opening day of the Missouri firearms season.

He was getting his first real look at the Show-Me State from his favorite vantage point. And he liked what he saw.

“Really, about the only joy I get in life is in the deer woods,” said Leonard, 59. “I can’t be out in crowds.

“About the only peace I get is when I’m out in a place like this. Just waiting for a big buck to walk out, that’s what gets my adrenaline going.”

Leonard came back from 13 months of active duty in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970 a broken man. Not only does he have hepatitis C, he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder.

But he eventually discovered the healing power of deer hunting. He accompanied friends on a trip to the Pocono Mountains and got hooked on the sport.

Eventually, he began traveling to Minnesota, Iowa and other states to hunt deer with gun and bow. And he found success, shooting three bucks big enough to mount and hang in his apartment.

But it was much more than that, he said.

The time he spent in the woods was a lifeline, helping him forget his troubles.

“In Vietnam, we would be air-lifted in by helicopter and dropped off to search for the enemy,” he said. “We were the bait.

“We would run into booby traps, all kinds of things.

“Some of that stuff isn’t easy to forget. But when I’m out in the woods hunting, I’m at peace. It’s just me and the deer.”

Today, Leonard is functional, thanks in part to his strong belief in God and the joy he gets from hunting. He operates well in society and feels in control.

He prides himself in being a safe hunter, and says he never lets his past affect his judgment in the woods.

Why deer? That’s easy, Leonard says.

“The whitetail deer is not dumb,” he said. “He’s always thinking.

“He doesn’t just walk around aimlessly. He has a plan.

“He’s a challenge to hunt. That’s why I like deer hunting so much.”

And that’s what brought Leonard to Missouri. After several bad experiences with hunting guides, he was referred to Iron Duck Guide Service in Missouri.

One of the guides for that group, Steve Liles of Peculiar, offered to put Leonard in prime deer country.

The 40 acres he owns in Cass County are loaded with deer — some of them big bucks — and he was happy to give Lenard access to that land.

“I don’t normally let anybody hunt in there,” Liles said. “It’s almost like a deer refuge.

“But this was a special occasion. I really respect what guys like Jim did for our country.

“I wanted to do everything I could to see that he would get a big buck.”

Liles guided Lenard to a tree stand overlooking a spot with a well-used deer trail, a scrape and a big rub on a sapling, and hoped for the best.

By midday that Saturday, it hadn’t happened. Leonard didn’t get a chance to pull the trigger.

But that did little to dampen the enthusiasm of both hunter and guide. Leonard had three more days to hunt, and Liles was confident something good will happen during that time span.

“He is a hard-core hunter,” Liles said of Leonard. “He wants to take his lunch out there with him and just stay all day.

“He goes at it hard. With the deer we have on this land, he should be able to get something by the time he has to leave — hopefully, a big buck.”

Leonard, of course, would like that. But even if it didn’t happen, he said, he will be satisfied.

“I already like Missouri,” Leonard said. “Back in Pennsylvania, we have a million hunters.

“It sounds like Vietnam when the hunting season opens. And the deer are small.

“That’s why I travel to other states to do my hunting.”

Leonard laughed, then added, “If I take a big buck in Missouri, I just might have to buy a house here.”

Sorry that there is nothing fantasy related in this article, or mainstream sports for that matter, but I just wanted to share my Uncle’s fifteen minutes of fame.