Clay Hanback, Author at Big Deer

6 03, 2023

Honduran Immigrants Kill Bald Eagle, Feds Won’t Prosecute

Clay Hanback2023-03-06T09:34:48-05:00March 6th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Hunting News|3 Comments

Responding to a complaint of a suspicious vehicle in a public recreation area in Nebraska in February, officers encountered two suspected illegal immigrants carrying a dead and very bloody bald eagle. The men spoke no English and carried no identification other than documents from the Honduran consulate. Communicating with the two suspects via a translation app on their phones, the officers learned that the Hondurans planned to cook and eat the eagle for dinner. How they were able to obtain the scoped air rifle they killed the bird with is unclear. The men were charged with unlawful possession of a bald eagle and not having a driver's license. Stanton County sheriff Mike Unger pointed out that police officers are not [...]

3 03, 2023

Miss a Deer? Find Your Arrows and Broadhead

Clay Hanback2023-03-03T08:11:33-05:00March 3rd, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on Miss a Deer? Find Your Arrows and Broadhead

When we shoot at a deer and miss from a tree stand, most of the time the arrow sticks partway in the ground with broadhead buried. But sometimes a shaft deflects off a limb or sapling, sails and comes to rest on the ground or tangled in brush with broadhead blades exposed, and potentially dangerous to a hiker or another hunter that walks through the area. After a blown shot, we should always try to find and retrieve our arrows to prevent a freak accident from occurring. Not to mention that we can save $15 to $20 by finding and reusing that shaft and broadhead! Arrow Finding Tips Wrap shafts in fluorescent orange, yellow or green that is easy to [...]

28 02, 2023

What Causes Bucks to Have Weak Brow Tines or No Brows?

Clay Hanback2023-02-28T15:35:19-05:00February 28th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science, whitetail deer|1 Comment

Last month I hunted a friend's ranch in West Texas, 5 hours west of San Antonio and 80 miles north of Del Rio. This is a raw, rocky desert environment that had experienced a long drought, though there is a good water system on this 1,000-acre property. My buddy Cecil recently purchased the ranch, and he has been running 8 to 10 corn feeders year-round. There has been minimal protein feeding here the last 2 years, but he plans to fill the protein feeders and increase supplemental feeding this year. I hunted a week and one thing jumped out at me: 7 out of every 10 bucks of all age classes we saw had small and weak brow tines (that’s [...]

27 02, 2023

4 New Big-Buck Tactics To Try

Clay Hanback2023-02-27T08:26:46-05:00February 27th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, CZ-USA, Deer Hunting, Hornady, trijicon, whitetail deer|Comments Off on 4 New Big-Buck Tactics To Try

I’ve been hunting whitetails for 40 years, and nothing a mature buck does surprises me anymore. I learn new things about big deer every season, and so should you. Here are 4 things I learned from last season; use them to kill a giant this fall. Hunt Later in the Pre-Rut The first week of November last season in Virginia, I had 4 good bowhunters in camp to film an episode of Big Deer TV. On the second morning, I caught a fleeting glimpse of a 170-inch buck we had on cam, but other than that the best buck we saw in 6 days was a 3-year-old that might go 120. Not an arrow was fired. So much for getting [...]

22 02, 2023

Are Bobcats Deer Predators?

Clay Hanback2023-02-20T13:50:15-05:00February 22nd, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Predator Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Are Bobcats Deer Predators?

In a word yes. But unlike the coyote, the bobcat is not a major killer of whitetail deer. A 6-year research project conducted in Texas found that bobcat scat contains much more deer during the month of June—the major fawning period-- than any other time of the year. This and other studies have concluded that while bobcats across their range do indeed prey on fawn deer in the spring, they are not a major predator, and only rarely kill adult deer.But a big male cat is an opportunistic eater of even big deer! A few years ago, John from North Carolina sent me this story. John was hunting the last day of deer season. A mature doe with 2 button bucks [...]

About Clay Hanback

Honduran Immigrants Kill Bald Eagle, Feds Won’t Prosecute

Miss a Deer? Find Your Arrows and Broadhead

What Causes Bucks to Have Weak Brow Tines or No Brows?

4 New Big-Buck Tactics To Try

Are Bobcats Deer Predators?