Clay Hanback, Author at Big Deer

19 10, 2020

What Symmetry: Southern New York Bow Buck

Clay Hanback2020-10-16T14:02:40-04:00October 19th, 2020|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on What Symmetry: Southern New York Bow Buck

Instagram post/message from Brendan Whelan, who shot this beauty earlier this month in southern New York: I shot at my biggest buck last year, hitting him in the shoulder and not recovering him, only to see him a week later chasing does. Having a 4-year history with that deer and only 2 encounters total made it that much harder to swallow that I messed up my one opportunity I had worked so hard for. Well, this year he never did show back up, but this guy did! I watched him grow all summer as he transitioned over into my food plot in early September, all the while keeping tabs on his movements with trail cameras. Opening week we had a [...]

16 10, 2020

BIG DEER 2020 Moon-Rut Guide For Whitetail Hunters

Clay Hanback2020-10-16T10:43:28-04:00October 16th, 2020|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, sportsman channel, whitetail deer|1 Comment

2020 moon phases: Full October 31…last quarter November 8…new (dark) November 15…first quarter November 22...full November 30 I’m a moon fanatic. Over the last 30 years I’ve spent more than 1,000 days in deer stands across North America during the magic month of November, during every imaginable moon phase, during all the waxing and waning days. Though many researchers and hunters don’t put much stock in the moon and its effects on whitetails and the rut, my journal notes and personal observations say differently. I believe there is a little something to the lunar phases and how they impact the movements of rutting deer. Here are my 2020 predictions. Use them to plan your upcoming rut-hunting vacation. No trick but [...]

15 10, 2020

How To Read Whitetail Buck Rubs

Clay Hanback2020-10-15T08:22:03-04:00October 15th, 2020|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|3 Comments

Here’s how to place value on 4 different buck rubs you’ll find in the woods this month and next, and how to determine which ones will—and won’t—help you pin down the movements of big deer. Type: Ordinary Rub Tree: Pine or cedar 2” to 3” diameter Skinny: If you find 500 rubs, 400 will look sort of like this one. Studies show that bucks blaze ordinary-looking rubs on aromatic cedar or pine trees 70 percent of the time. They pop up from velvet-shedding time in early September on through the rut. Six- or 8-pointers or a giant 10 might make them. You just never know. Hunt Value: Low to moderate. A lot of these rubs, sometimes in clusters, tell you [...]

12 10, 2020

188 5/8-Inch Alabama Buck

Clay Hanback2020-10-12T08:02:31-04:00October 12th, 2020|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, sportsman channel, whitetail deer|Comments Off on 188 5/8-Inch Alabama Buck

Fine guest blog from Tracy Kelsoe, who lives and hunts in Lawrence County, Alabama: Have you ever heard of someone who would not hunt a 188” buck? Well, I’m that guy. The reason I would not hunt the buck is because I wanted my dad, Clifton Kelsoe, who was 82 years old at the time, to take him. We had trail came pics of this deer for 3 years. No daylight pics. Dad killed him on December 7th 2016. He shot the buck at 200 yards, not bad for an 82-year-old. The buck had over 50” of mass. We took it to the Birmingham deer show where it took first place non-typical and third place typical. The buck’s final score [...]

7 10, 2020

Indiana: Trace Koble’s Deer Reduction Zone Giant Buck!

Clay Hanback2020-10-07T11:37:33-04:00October 7th, 2020|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|1 Comment

Friend and long-time Big Deer blogger Dean Weimer filed this field report: "Trace Koble started his 2020-21 Indiana deer season within the Allen County Deer Reduction Zone (DRZ) by killing the requisite doe on Sept. 15, which is the traditional beginning of the annual reduction hunts statewide. "Koble was happy to kill his "earn-a-buck” doe so that he could then focus on the mega-buck he’d been patterning in the days leading up to Friday, Oct. 2. This is a first-look at Koble’s big non-typical. The official Big Deer story is coming soon. Stay Tuned!" As Weimer was filing that report, another archery giant hit the ground in Indiana. Dean says: “Mike, check out Bradley Noll’s archery brute below! Man, the [...]

About Clay Hanback

What Symmetry: Southern New York Bow Buck

BIG DEER 2020 Moon-Rut Guide For Whitetail Hunters

How To Read Whitetail Buck Rubs

188 5/8-Inch Alabama Buck

Indiana: Trace Koble’s Deer Reduction Zone Giant Buck!