Blog - Big Deer

2 06, 2023

Deer Management: Why You Should Create a Diverse Habitat Plan

Clay Hanback2023-06-02T07:55:27-04:00June 2nd, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, whitetail deer|0 Comments

In any given year, spring/summer weather conditions—either drought or flood—can delay or in some way impact planting and seed germination. The conditions keep soybeans, corn, alfalfa and the like from producing throughout the growing season, and in turn deer do not pack on as much weight, or in the case of bucks grow their largest antlers. Each week that quality forage is not able to grow and mature (it’s either too dry or too wet) it reduces a deer’s ability to express its full genetic potential. The lack of ag crops can be buffered by quality native forage for deer. But then poor weather conditions can impact the growth and availability of forbs, woodland plants and other natural food sources. As [...]

30 05, 2023

How I Helped Crush an Absurd Deer Hunting Competition

Clay Hanback2023-05-30T09:28:28-04:00May 30th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Hunting News, whitetail deer|0 Comments

Back in the early 2000s, a group called the World Hunting Association (WHA) launched with a mission that promised “to take hunting to a new level by creating a competitive tour that showcases the sport’s finest hunters competing for hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money.” For the first event, 5 celebrity hunters were to be turned loose in a 1,200-acre pen with bow or gun to see who could shoot the biggest buck with, I kid you not, “patent-pending, non-fatal tranquilizing technique that will allow for a thrilling tournament experience.” A PR guy from WHA emailed me and wrote: “It’s both a bow and gun hunt, but with a patented tranq technology. There are veterinarians on site to [...]

25 05, 2023

Illegal ATV Use on Public Lands

Clay Hanback2023-05-25T11:32:06-04:00May 25th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Hunting News|0 Comments

I recently read that the illegal use of ATVs has supplanted garbage dumping as the No. 1 law-enforcement problem on our national forest lands and other public areas. I knew it was going on, I just didn’t realize the magnitude of the problem. Apparently, fools are flying up and down roads on their bikes behind locked Forest Service gates, cutting illegal trails around the gates, racing though the timber, and doing doughnuts in meadows and fields. They are littering trash, shooting up signs and basically raising all kinds of hell. They are ruining it for law-abiding people like us who hike, hunt and use ATVs responsibly. The U.S. Forest Service welcomes responsible ATV use in designated areas. I’m pro-ATV and [...]

23 05, 2023

How Many Spots Do Fawns Have?

Clay Hanback2023-05-23T10:59:26-04:00May 23rd, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Science, whitetail deer|0 Comments

Every whitetail fawn born now through July will have on average 272 to 342 white spots on their reddish coats. Each spot ranges in size from 0.24 to 0.51 inches in diameter. Yes, some unknown biologist actually counted and measured the spots and documented them! According to Penn State biologists, spot patterns are unique to every fawn as to the exact number of spots, their size, and how they are dispersed on a baby deer’s reddish coat. The spots serve as critical camouflage for fawns during their first weeks and months of life. At birth, fawns are scentless. Their spotted coats blend with the filtered light in the woods or in a field, helping to hide the little deer from [...]

17 05, 2023

Best .30-06 Loads for Deer Hunting

Clay Hanback2023-05-17T14:09:47-04:00May 17th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, Hornady, whitetail deer|0 Comments

The .30-06 Springfield, developed by the U.S. military in 1906, has become one of the top hunting cartridges of all-time. For decades it has ranked as one of the most popular deer hunting rounds in America based on ammo sales (along with the .30-30 and .270). Every store in America that sells ammunition, from the Cabela’s in Maine to a mom-and-pop hardware in the remote Heartland, will carry at least a few boxes of 150-grain loads, the most common .30-06 round for whitetails. No matter where you live and hunt, you’ll find ’06 deer rounds and bullets at the ready. While there are faster and sexier new rounds on the market, like the 6.5s, the proven ballistics of the .30-06 [...]