By: Cole Gander

Cole Gander is NDA’s Deer Outreach Specialist for northern Missouri. He earned a bachelor’s degree in natural resource science and management from the University of Missouri-Columbia and formerly worked as a natural resource technician with the Missouri Department of Conservation. Cole is an avid hunter, angler and habitat manager. He and his wife Michaela live in Hannibal, Missouri.

Don’t Be Afraid to Call an Audible When Hunting Mature Bucks

Nov 12, 2025 Cole Gander

For many hunters across the whitetail’s range, the rut represents the best time to be in the deer woods and provides the best opportunity all season to fill a tag on a mature buck. Buck…

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There is No Such Thing as a Nocturnal Buck

Oct 29, 2025 Cole Gander

We’ve all heard it before and some of us may have even said it ourselves at some point: “That buck has gone nocturnal.” After capturing countless daylight trail-camera photos all summer long, those same cameras…

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My Late-Season Doe Had White Hooves

Oct 15, 2025 Cole Gander

The 2024–25 deer season was one for the ages for me in northern Missouri. Along with mentoring new hunters through NDA’s Field to Fork program, I was fortunate to harvest my largest archery buck to…

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5 Steps to Recovering a Gut-Shot Deer

Oct 8, 2025 Cole Gander

My anticipation was at an all-time high as I settled into my treestand for a late-October bow hunt in the agricultural country of northern Missouri. Less than a week earlier, I had sat in that…

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What You Should Know About Deer Hunting With a Suppressor

Jul 2, 2025 Cole Gander

Suppressors for hunting big game have become increasingly popular in recent years, and – looking back now – it’s easy to see why. For the modern hunter, a suppressor offers a wide range of benefits…

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NDA Participates in 2nd Annual Missouri Governor’s Mentored Deer Hunt

Nov 4, 2024 Cole Gander

For the second consecutive year during Missouri’s new early antlerless rifle season, NDA Deer Outreach Specialists Cheyne Matzenbacher and Cole Gander had the opportunity to cooperate with multiple organizations and partners to participate in the…

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Cryptorchid Bucks, Antlered Does, And Other Rare Deer Defy the Ordinary

Oct 16, 2024 Cole Gander

Every year a lucky few deer hunters are fortunate enough to encounter rare deer that defy the usual patterns of antler growth and reproductive biology. These include cryptorchid bucks, does with antlers, and other unusual…

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Bucks With Broken Antlers: Shoot or Pass?

Jul 31, 2024 Cole Gander

Hunters have long been intrigued by deer antlers, and rightfully so. From the countless hours spent sifting through trail-camera photographs to observing bachelor groups of bucks basking in the summer heat and gorging on lush…

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Meet Deer Hunters of R3 Who Were Recruited, Retained and Reactivated

Jun 5, 2024 Cole Gander

It’s no secret that participation in hunting has been on the decline since the early 1980s. Because hunters carry wildlife conservation on their shoulders, efforts to grow hunter numbers – known as Recruit, Retain, and…

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Look Inside Acorns to Find Deer Hunting Success

Oct 11, 2023 Cole Gander

Focusing on the best food source is an important part of every deer-hunting strategy. This time of the year, acorns are often key for most whitetail hunters. Follow along as I run through the science…

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