About Clay Hanback

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So far Clay Hanback has created 512 blog entries.
2 11, 2022

3 Ways To Hunt Whitetail Scrapes

2022-10-31T14:18:31-04:00November 2nd, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on 3 Ways To Hunt Whitetail Scrapes

Researchers at the University of Georgia conducted a two-year study on a 3,500-acre property in the northern part of the state where the rut peaks in mid-November, as it does in most regions. The land was managed for a healthy whitetail population, and the age structure of the bucks was good. Those bucks were wild, and hunted by people. This was not another study of pen deer, but a real-world project that unearthed some interesting results. Aiming their trail cameras at every scrape they could find, the researchers got reams of videotape and images of deer at scrapes. One major finding--while multiple bucks of all ages (in one case 13 different animals) might eagerly paw one set of scrapes, similar [...]

31 10, 2022

What Do Hundreds Of Buck Rubs Tell You?

2022-10-31T14:14:02-04:00October 31st, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on What Do Hundreds Of Buck Rubs Tell You?

Research years ago by Dr. Karl Miller, Larry Marchington and Matt Knox provided some good skinny on whitetail buck rubs. The highly regarded biologists found that when an area is blazed with a noticeably large number of rubs, dozens or hundreds, the peak of the rut often occurs days earlier than normal. The theory is that by depositing gobs of “priming pheromones” on all those trees, the bucks stimulate the does into early estrus. So if you find twice or three times as many rubs as usual in your hunt zone this fall, you might want to take off work and hunt a week earlier than you planned. The number of rubs that pop up in the woods can also [...]

27 10, 2022

14 Tree Stand Hacks For Deer Hunters

2022-10-17T10:21:01-04:00October 27th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on 14 Tree Stand Hacks For Deer Hunters

Look for trees for stands at midday, when most does and bucks are bedded. A quiet, rainy day is perfect. Scout with the wind in your face or quartering over your shoulder to keep from spooking bedded deer. At a new stand site, be quiet. Don’t throw or bang steel or aluminum stands and steps around. If you’re hanging with a buddy, don’t talk or laugh loudly. Set up and sneak out of an area without alerting deer that might be bedded or walking nearby. Everybody looks for big, straight trees, but a hardwood that leans slightly back and toward your downwind side can be great. When you hang your stand on the ‘up’ or front side of the tree, [...]

24 10, 2022

How And Where To Kill a Good Buck Halloween Week

2022-10-17T10:12:36-04:00October 24th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on How And Where To Kill a Good Buck Halloween Week

In my 2022 moon-rut predictions that I posted to for Outdoor Life, I spoke about a study conducted at North Carolina State that I rely on when planning my hunts across North America each season. In that project, researchers attached GPS collars to does and bucks and tracked their movements throughout the 4 major moon phases. Their data showed that during a new moon, which this rut cycle rises on October 25 and wanes on the dark side through Halloween (zero to 47% daily illumination) deer move most actively at daylight, with movement decreasing noticeably the rest of the day. Halloween week, when bucks scrape like fiends and prowl for does not quite ready to breed, is one of my [...]

19 10, 2022

How To Buy Your First Deer Rifle

2022-10-19T09:19:41-04:00October 19th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, trijicon, whitetail deer|Comments Off on How To Buy Your First Deer Rifle

Been getting a lot of questions from new 20- to 40-somethings who want to try deer hunting, but don't know where to start. First thing you need is a good rifle, scope and ammo. While bowhunting looks cool and it is, I encourage you to start out with a gun, shoot a few deer, get some experience and then graduate to archery.--MH For a lot less money than many of you pay in rent each month, you can buy a brand-new, highly dependable and accurate rifle that will kill a deer cleanly one day this November—and one day 50 years from now. Do your research and choose wisely, and you can purchase the first and last deer rifle you’ll ever [...]

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