bluemillion, Author at Big Deer

8 08, 2019

Time To Reboot Your Tick Prevention

bluemillion2020-06-10T09:14:53-04:00August 8th, 2019|Big Deer TV, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on Time To Reboot Your Tick Prevention

Today’s guest blog is from one of our regulars, Danny Myers of Maryland, and it’s a must read: I’ve always been relatively healthy. I would get a couple sinus infections every year, but other than that I almost never got sick. This past March while at one of my daughter’s volleyball tournaments I got a dizzy spell out of nowhere. I thought it came from not eating breakfast so I grabbed one of her sports drinks with a snack and didn’t think too much of it. I got a bad headache afterwards and asked my wife to drive me home. The headache continued for about 2 weeks and was similar to a sinus infection, so I went to an Urgent [...]

5 08, 2019

Deer Antlers August: How Much More Will They Grow?

bluemillion2020-06-10T09:14:53-04:00August 5th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on Deer Antlers August: How Much More Will They Grow?

In early August velvet antlers begin to morph from soft and pliable to hardened bone. “A buck’s antlers will change from looking swollen or bulbous at the tips of the tines to a more normal diameter,” Missouri biologist Grant Woods told me. “Once this change in appearance occurs the buck won’t add much beam or tine growth.” By mid-August most of the antler growth for the year is done. Sometime between September 1 and 15 bucks will shed velvet. The cue for antler hardening and velvet shedding is the change in photo-period caused by decreasing daylight and increasing darkness, which results in a significant increase in the bucks’ testosterone. Velvet shedding typically takes only a couple of hours, though it [...]

1 08, 2019

5 Facts About Bachelor Groups Of Bucks

bluemillion2020-06-10T09:14:53-04:00August 1st, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on 5 Facts About Bachelor Groups Of Bucks

If you’re out scouting and looking for deer in fields right now, you’re likely to spot at least one bachelor group of bucks. A gang of 2 to 3 to 8 bucks hanging out together in mid-summer is the norm, but I have seen as many as 12 boys in a group. Blog readers have emailed me over the years with reports of 15 to 19 bucks feeding and posturing together in a bean field in August! I suspect those mega-groups are actually 2 or 3 different bachelor groups that happened to come together. Bachelor groups are interesting. Some of the best information I have read on the topic comes from an article posted on the QDMA website by Matt [...]

30 07, 2019

Pre-Season Whitetail: How To Scout and Find Bucks

bluemillion2020-06-10T09:14:53-04:00July 30th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|Comments Off on Pre-Season Whitetail: How To Scout and Find Bucks

Years ago, an Ohio bowhunter by the name of Chad Moore wrote and told me about the dream buck he had just shot. The tale of the tape was impressive: the 6½-year-old 9-pointer with the drop tine and beams like Red Bull cans at the bases scored 186 non-typical. The story of his hunt was pretty simple and straightforward. Chad didn’t use a big or flashy technique to kill the giant. He just did a lot of good things right: the scouting, the trail-cams, the tree-stand placement, the scent control… He kept at it day after day, until the monster popped up in his bow sight one afternoon. Then, heart thumping and knees shaking, he held it together and made [...]

26 07, 2019

South Carolina 9th State to Require Synthetic Deer Lures

bluemillion2020-06-10T09:14:53-04:00July 26th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|Comments Off on South Carolina 9th State to Require Synthetic Deer Lures

In this day and age of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) South Carolina becomes the 9th state to prohibit the use of natural deer urine, and to require hunters to use synthetic deer lures only. The new regulation takes effect with the start of the 2019-20 whitetail season. Earlier this summer Tennessee also issued a new regulation that requires the use of synthetic scents. Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont and my home state of Virginia are the other states that have banned natural deer and elk urine. In a press release, the South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources wrote: “the department is following the lead of other states in proactively prohibiting the use of (natural attractants) in order [...]

About bluemillion

Time To Reboot Your Tick Prevention

Deer Antlers August: How Much More Will They Grow?

5 Facts About Bachelor Groups Of Bucks

Pre-Season Whitetail: How To Scout and Find Bucks

South Carolina 9th State to Require Synthetic Deer Lures