The Contors Field Guide
All guides
Practical, no-fluff guides for serious whitetail hunters — from reading the wind and the terrain to timing the rut and e-scouting a new property.
Can AI Predict Deer Movement? An Honest Answer
What AI can and cannot tell you about when deer move.
Choosing an AI Hunting App: What Actually Matters
How to tell real AI hunting features from a bolted-on chatbot.
How AI Reads Hunting Terrain from Maps and Elevation Data
What a computer actually sees in contour lines and aerial imagery.
AI vs Traditional E-Scouting: What Actually Changes
What AI changes about e-scouting, and what it does not.
AI Trail Camera Scoring: How Photo Estimates Work
How software estimates a buck's score from a single photo.
Using AI to Pick Which Stand to Hunt Today
Stand choice is solvable. Here is the reasoning that solves it.
Your Hunting Data and AI: Questions Worth Asking
Your stand locations are sensitive. What to ask before uploading them.
What AI Cannot Do for Deer Hunting
An honest list of what no hunting AI can actually do.
Satellite vs Topo Maps for Deer Hunting: When to Use Each
Which map layer answers which hunting question.
Hunting Access Routes: Getting In and Out Undetected
More hunts are ruined by the walk in than by the stand.
Hunting Map Apps: A Beginner's Guide to Actually Using One
What to map first, and the beginner mistakes to skip.
Free vs Paid Hunting Apps: What You Actually Get
What free tiers really include, and when paying is worth it.
Mapping a New Hunting Lease: The First Ten Things
New ground, no history. The order to work through it.
Public Land E-Scouting: Finding Deer Where Everyone Hunts
On public ground, pressure is the terrain feature that matters.
Property Boundaries and Parcel Maps for Hunters
Where parcel data comes from and how far to trust it.
Late Season Deer Hunting: Food, Cold and Pressure
After the rut it becomes a food and energy problem.
How to Use Wind Direction When Hunting Whitetail Deer
A whitetail's nose is its #1 defense. Play the wind right and a mature buck never knows you exist.
How to Read Topo Maps: Funnels, Saddles, Pinch Points and Benches
Deer move through the path of least resistance. Topo lines reveal exactly where that is.
Hunting Pressure: Why Mature Bucks Avoid Certain Areas and Where They Hide
Every truck door, every trail, every careless entry teaches a buck where danger lives.
How Weather Drives Deer Movement: Barometric Pressure, Cold Fronts and Wind
Bucks get on their feet when the weather tells them to. Learn the triggers.
Where Do Mature Bucks Bed? How to Find Buck Bedding Areas
Find the bed and you've found the buck. Here's how to locate bedding from a map.
Thermals Explained: How Morning and Evening Air Currents Carry Your Scent
In hill country, thermals beat the prevailing wind at dawn and dusk. Ignore them and you'll get busted.
When Is the Whitetail Rut? A Timing Guide by Phase and Region
The rut is the best two weeks of the year — if you know when it actually peaks where you hunt.
How to E-Scout a New Hunting Property with Satellite Maps
Find the best stands from your couch before you ever set foot on the property.
Food Sources and Travel Corridors: Connecting Bedding to Food
Bucks live between the bed and the buffet. The connection is where you kill them.
What Makes the Best Hunting Map App for Whitetail Deer?
Not all hunting apps are equal. Here's what actually matters for killing mature bucks.