Blog - Big Deer

25 11, 2022

How To Avoid Buck Fever

Clay Hanback2022-11-22T09:36:24-05:00November 25th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|0 Comments

Here’s an 8-step plan for staying cool and collected, and making all the right moves when a big buck is close. Set up smartly. Play it smart before you lay eyes on a big deer. Do you normally hang a tree stand 18 to 20 feet high? Well, move it on up to 22 feet when archery hunting. A little extra elevation lets you get away with a lot more movement (which we will discuss later) when a buck approaches. Also, if you shoot right-handed, angle a perch on a tree so that your left shoulder points toward a spot where you expect to see deer (vice versa for southpaws). If a buck shows there, you can stand up and [...]

21 11, 2022

How to Shoot Your Buck Thanksgiving Weekend

Clay Hanback2022-11-21T10:09:48-05:00November 21st, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|0 Comments

Big hunting weekend coming up. You and millions of other guys and gals have a few days off, and for many of you this is your last best chance to get your buck. After stuffing your face Thursday, get out there and try these 3 tactics. “Dumping Ground” Stand In farm country, head for a strip or pocket of timber that borders a corn or bean field. Inside those woods, look for an inner structure where two or three ridges and draws converge and peter out into a creek bottom. The thicker the cover in the draws and down in the bottom the better. With food, water and bedding, a spot like this is a dumping ground for whitetails that [...]

16 11, 2022

Whitetail Buck “Excursions” In The Rut

Clay Hanback2022-11-06T09:49:53-05:00November 16th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut|0 Comments

A post on the National Deer Association website starts out like this: One thing researchers have deciphered in recent years using GPS technology is a somewhat new behavior that white-tailed deer do called an excursion, which is a brief trip or trips outside their established home range. This behavior especially occurs during the rut, and I have a personal story from the 2018 season to prove it. We have been running 2 dozen trail cameras for a decade on a 1,000-acre farm in the Virginia Piedmont where I hunt. Imagine our shock and excitement when we checked a card and saw one image of this awesome buck from November 18, obviously an older deer with a ton of character. We had never seen [...]

14 11, 2022

15 Deer Rut Questions Answered

Clay Hanback2022-11-06T09:38:21-05:00November 14th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, whitetail deer|0 Comments

Last November 13, I saw and heard deer crashing through the woods everywhere. The next day I sat in the same stand and saw 10 squirrels and one fork-horn. What happened? You were hunting just as “lockdown” began. That’s the mini-phase when the older bucks hook up with the older does to breed, and they all seem to go underground for three or four days. To punch your tag during that phase this fall, head for your best stand or blind deep in the timber and hunt there all day for several days. Ideally you’ll have a commanding view of several thickets on ridges and in draws, ditches and/or creek drainages. A doe might pop out of a cover; an [...]

11 11, 2022

Is Social Media Pressure Making Hunters Pass Young Bucks?

Clay Hanback2022-11-02T10:46:28-04:00November 11th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting|0 Comments

Social media causes some good and a lot of bad in the hunting world; this might be one of the good things. Chris Cook, Alabama’s Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Division’s Deer Program Coordinator, said the number of big bucks taken by Alabama hunters has increased in the past few years because of a variety of factors. “I think people have just gotten into the habit of not shooting every buck they see,” he said. “Some of that may be the three-buck limit. I think it may be a change in attitude for a lot of hunters. For social media, it’s all about antler size. They may not shoot the small bucks they see. It’s definitely changed deer hunting, for [...]