About Clay Hanback

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So far Clay Hanback has created 512 blog entries.
3 04, 2023

Oldest Wild Whitetail Buck Shot on Outdoor TV

2023-04-03T09:18:59-04:00April 3rd, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, CZ-USA, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|1 Comment

Jason Morton spotted the buck and knew right away the animal was old. The deer was a bag of bones, and walked stiffly with a slow, hip-swaying gait. The 7-point antlers were on the heavy side, but stubby and going downhill from what the rack must have been a few years ago. The “Legend,” as the buck was known around this part of southeast Kansas, walked closer, and Jason had a decision to make. He raised his CZ rifle in 6.5 PRC and looked once more at the ancient deer through the scope. Doubt he’ll make it through another tough winter, Jason thought as he pressed the trigger. Minutes later guide Brian Helman got a text but no picture: Ever [...]

31 03, 2023

13 Facts from the 2023 Deer Report

2023-04-02T08:34:30-04:00March 31st, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Hunting News, whitetail deer|Comments Off on 13 Facts from the 2023 Deer Report

The National Deer Association’s 2023 Deer Report is hot off the press, and it’s jam-packed with interesting information for us whitetail nuts, like these 13 gems. Hunters in the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest regions combined killed 2,969,596 whitetail bucks during the 2021-22 season, the fourth highest buck kill in the past 10 seasons. The data shows that an impressive 40% of those were 3½ years of age or older. Hunters in the Southeast get the gold star for passing yearlings and shooting more mature deer; 84% of the bucks tagged in Dixie in 2021-22 were 2½ years or older. Top 5 states for buck harvest: Texas (447,972 bucks); Michigan (223,476); Wisconsin (153,112); Pennsylvania (145,320); Missouri (143,815). Top 3 states for [...]

29 03, 2023

How to Plant Tiny Food Plots for Bowhunting

2023-03-26T13:46:31-04:00March 29th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, whitetail deer|Comments Off on How to Plant Tiny Food Plots for Bowhunting

My friend Grant Woods, one of the top whitetail biologists in America and a hard-core bowhunter to boot, has designed, built and planted every size and shape of food plot that you could imagine. One of his favorite things to do right now is to scout a property and find 3 or 4 out-of-the-way spots where he can plant and hunt micro food plots later this summer. Think Tiny Scout a property and look for a 20- to 40-yard strip of old road bed, or maybe a 30 x 30-foot opening in a staging thicket near an ag field. Any hidden, remote spot where other people would never dream of planting, but where your gut says you might entice a [...]

26 03, 2023

Kansas Shed Hunter Finds More Than He Bargained For–A Human Skeleton

2023-03-26T11:19:53-04:00March 26th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Hunting News, Shed Hunting|Comments Off on Kansas Shed Hunter Finds More Than He Bargained For–A Human Skeleton

This story caught my eye because a shed hunter recently found human remains in the same general woods in southeast Kansas where I deer hunted (and shot a big buck) last December. According to Fox News, a man was searching for shed deer antlers in a rural part of southeast Kansas when he discovered human skeletal remains…. State and local authorities responded to the scene…near Humboldt, a small town about 110 miles south of Kansas City. Law enforcement said the remains were so badly decomposed that the age and gender of the person were not immediately apparent. An autopsy is scheduled in hopes of positively identifying the remains. Note, skull in picture is for effect only and not from the Kansas scene. [...]

23 03, 2023

North Carolina Hunter Shoots 695-Pound Black Bear

2023-03-19T09:47:58-04:00March 23rd, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Hunting News|Comments Off on North Carolina Hunter Shoots 695-Pound Black Bear

I knew there were monster bears in North Carolina, but holy-moly. A local Haywood County hunt master Jeff Teague explains a good day in the western Carolina mountains last October. "When we turned (the dogs) loose, we didn't realize exactly how big it was," Teague said. "I run down the trail and I saw the bear, and I could tell it was a big bear, but honestly, you couldn't tell that it was 700 pounds. So, I got on the radio and yelled at Lucas (Teague) and Caleb (Henry), 'Hey, the bear's coming to you.' It went up the mountain to them, and then Luke and Caleb were able to cut it off, and Caleb was able to get the [...]

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