About Clay Hanback

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So far Clay Hanback has created 584 blog entries.
10 01, 2020

Alabama: What’s Up With Deer Warts?

2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00January 10th, 2020|BigDeer, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Alabama: What’s Up With Deer Warts?

Frightening-looking growths are popping up on Alabama’s white-tailed deer, and state wildlife officials say they have an explanation for the stomach-turning affliction. The Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division acknowledged the issue Tuesday, sharing photos of a buck found southeast of Tuscaloosa with bubble-like clusters on its head, neck and shoulders. The growths are a type of virus known as “deer warts,” and the division explained on its Facebook page: This deer had numerous cutaneous fibromas, or “deer warts”, on its head and neck. Cutaneous fibromas are hairless tumors found on the skin of white-tailed deer. They are caused by a virus and are almost always temporary. Deer may have only one or two of the fibromas, or the growths can be [...]

6 01, 2020

Big Deer TV 2020: VA Blackpowder Drop-Tine Buck

2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00January 6th, 2020|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Big Deer TV 2020: VA Blackpowder Drop-Tine Buck

One of our most popular segments on Big Deer TV is “American Deer Hunter,” in which we interview hunters from across the country about the dream bucks they shot. Their stories are genuine, fascinating and full of lessons that can help you become a better hunter. Last fall we caught up Wayne Mills and filmed the story of the drop-tine giant he shot years back. It will appear on a new episode of my show in summer 2020. Wayne Mills had hunted his lease in Culpeper County, Virginia three days a week since the opening of archery season in October. In late summer and early fall, he had gotten trail camera shots of two really nice bucks, so he had [...]

3 01, 2020

Mississippi Hunter Trapped In Deer Stand w/Rattlesnake!

2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00January 3rd, 2020|BigDeer, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Mississippi Hunter Trapped In Deer Stand w/Rattlesnake!

Last Saturday Mississippi deer hunter Mack Ginn climbed into his tiny box blind around 6 a.m. About 2 hours later he heard a funny rattling sound. Mack had never head a rattlesnake rattle before, but he started thinking, “That’s probably what a rattler would sound like.” He looked down and spotted the thick snake on the blind’s floor inches from his foot! In one giant leap he jumped up and stood on his chair. “My first thought was to get away,” he said. “When I was in that chair, I realized I had nowhere to go.” Mack had no room to escape the small blind. The snake became agitated and started striking at the chair! Only one thing to do. [...]

19 12, 2019

5 Best Late-Season Whitetail Tactics

2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00December 19th, 2019|BigDeer, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|1 Comment

My buddy Mike steered his truck out of the hills and into a moonscape of picked corn and bean fields that sprawled as far as the eye could see. In the yellowish-gray moon glow, those ice fields looked like the world’s largest outdoor hockey rink. No wonder. The mirror thermometer in Mike’s truck read 5 degrees. He stopped. I stumbled out and trudged toward my cedar blind. Mike grinned and said, “Keep warm.” The sun rose salmon and blue, and the temperature sunk below zero. At noon I ate a ham sandwich, hard as a brick. Two p.m. and the temp topped out at a balmy 9 degrees. Still I shivered and shook. I left at sundown, having seen six [...]

17 12, 2019

Virginia’s Widest Deer Rack Ever—32 Inches!

2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00December 17th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Virginia’s Widest Deer Rack Ever—32 Inches!

Prologue: Last Saturday my camera crew and I traveled down to Mecklenburg County, Va., and met Jim Wilson, who back in 2012 shot this incredible buck that gross-scored 186 and change. Most distinctive, as you can see, is the width of the rack—32 inches! This is the widest rack ever recorded in Virginia, and the 7th widest whitetail rack ever documented in the U.S. You’ll see and hear Jim’s interview on a new episode of Big Deer TV on Sportsman Channel in 2020. For now, here is the story of Mr. Wide in Jim’s words: August 2012. I had been discarding apples from the tree in my yard in the field behind my house. I noticed the apples were disappearing [...]

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