Clay Hanback, Author at Big Deer

14 12, 2020

Texas: 80-Year-Old Huntress Shoots 160-Class Buck

Clay Hanback2020-12-08T09:06:38-05:00December 14th, 2020|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|1 Comment

One of the coolest bucks and stories of the year. From The Dallas Morning News: Virginia Luce’s 11-pointer isn’t the biggest buck reported from eastern Texas this season, but the story behind her Houston County whopper is arguably one of the most refreshing to come down the pike in quite a while. Virginia, 80, is a cancer survivor who recently retired after working 25 years as a registered nurse. She and her 83-year-old husband, Myrl, live and hunt on their 80-acre spread. “It’s a pretty good spot,” she said. “My husband and I have hunted and fished together for our entire married life — 63 years. “I usually kill a buck every year.” Physical limitations have forced a change in [...]

10 12, 2020

Tennessee: Hunter Kills Two Big Bucks On Back-To-Back Hunts

Clay Hanback2020-12-08T11:17:57-05:00December 10th, 2020|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Tennessee: Hunter Kills Two Big Bucks On Back-To-Back Hunts

Today’s great guest post is from Zach Shipley, who had the deer season of a lifetime on farm that he and his dad lease in southeast Tennessee near the Cumberland Plateau region: Mike: I’ve been a die-hard whitetail hunter for 30 years and have dreamed of harvesting a true trophy buck ever since my dad got me interested in deer hunting when I was 6 years old. I’ve been fortunate enough to harvest several “nice” bucks over my years of hunting, but this past muzzleloader season was truly a season like no other. I went to my stand on November 17, 2020 after working all night the night before. I sat all day and at the end of my hunt, [...]

8 12, 2020

Vampire Buck: Deer With Fangs

Clay Hanback2020-12-08T10:04:53-05:00December 8th, 2020|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Vampire Buck: Deer With Fangs

I just saw on Twitter where an Indiana hunter shot a buck with fangs. I have been hunting whitetails for more than 40 years, and blogging about deer for 2 decades. The Indiana deer is only the third “Vampire Buck” I’ve heard about (the others were in Texas and Oklahoma). Here’s the scoop on deer w/fangs. Some 7 million years ago, dating back to the Miocene Epoch, ancestors of the modern whitetail had long, curved, sharp canines. Paleontologists say the small deer-like animals used the fangs, or tusks, for survival. Over time, whitetails evolved antlers for defense, and the upper canine teeth regressed. While lower canines are present in all whitetails today, upper ones are uncommon. Brian Murphy, a well-known [...]

7 12, 2020

How To Judge Bucks After The Rut

Clay Hanback2020-11-24T08:59:40-05:00December 7th, 2020|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, whitetail deer|Comments Off on How To Judge Bucks After The Rut

Lindsay Thomas of the National Deer Association is an expert at sizing up bucks on the hoof. I asked him to give us some tips for the December post-rut. “Judging the age of a buck after the rut can be difficult for the same reason it's tough prior to the rut,” he says, “because not all of the important aging characteristics are in place. “We don't recommend estimating the age of bucks in summer because all of them have skinny necks. Until testosterone rises as the rut approaches, you don't get the neck swelling that helps distinguish older bucks from younger bucks. “Over the course of the rut, we know bucks can lose a lot of weight from the exertion [...]

4 12, 2020

Hunt Late Deer Rut on Public Land

Clay Hanback2020-11-23T14:14:18-05:00December 4th, 2020|Big Deer TV, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Rut, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Hunt Late Deer Rut on Public Land

Here’s an opportunity for you public-land hunters if you’ve not shot your buck yet. In a study awhile back, scientists at Mississippi State’s vaunted deer research program found that in early to mid-December (or into mid-January in Southern areas with a peak rut in December) you can often have good rutting action on a typical WMA or national forest where does far outnumber bucks. The biologists said that on uncultivated land where the buck:doe ratio is out of whack, there aren’t enough bucks to breed most of the adult does during the peak November estrus cycle. Some 28 days later the “missed” does come back into heat. But since there aren’t as many hot-to-trot does now, the estrus ones draw [...]

About Clay Hanback

Texas: 80-Year-Old Huntress Shoots 160-Class Buck

Tennessee: Hunter Kills Two Big Bucks On Back-To-Back Hunts

Vampire Buck: Deer With Fangs

How To Judge Bucks After The Rut

Hunt Late Deer Rut on Public Land