Big Deer Blog

25 10, 2018

Gun Hunters: Protect Your Hearing

2020-06-10T09:15:27-04:00October 25th, 2018|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting|5 Comments

Had my annual physical recently, and glad to report that, knock on wood, I’m doing well. But doc did say, “You have slight high-frequency hearing loss in your left ear.” I have always been able to hear extremely well, able to pick up the crunch of deer hooves at long range and zero in on the direction and location of those sounds. Hearing has been my greatest attribute as a hunter, and to know I’ve lost even a bit of that is disturbing. Audiologists point out that exposure to noise greater than 140 dB can permanently damage hearing. Almost all guns create noise over that level. A .22 can produce noise around 140 dB, while larger calibers can produce sound [...]

22 10, 2018

Rifle Scope Tip: Mount It Low

2020-06-10T09:15:27-04:00October 22nd, 2018|BigDeer|Comments Off on Rifle Scope Tip: Mount It Low

I was texting with my friend John Fink, a firearms and optics expert who works for Trijicon. I am fixing to mount a couple of world-class Accupoint scopes on new rifles, and asked John’s advice for doing so. His reply: You typically want to mount a scope as low as possible on a rifle. The height of the rings you’ll need is determined by the objective diameter of the scope.  Good rule of thumb is mount a scope as low as possible without the objective bell touching the barrel, and at the back end, allowing clearance at the eyepiece for free operation of the bolt. A low mount makes the scope rock solid, and leads to good accuracy. In the [...]

18 10, 2018

October Deer Tip: Hunt Mast And Browse

2020-06-10T09:15:27-04:00October 18th, 2018|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on October Deer Tip: Hunt Mast And Browse

Some good hunters I know don’t hunt their best stands until around Halloween, and then they hunt them hard for the next 3 weeks. Their strategy is sound: put no pressure on bucks until they start rutting and moving more in daylight hours.   Good in theory, yes, but I don’t believe that approach is practical for most of us. You’re busy…you hunt when you can. If that happens to be in October, great. The woods are beautiful, the weather is nice and there are fewer people in the timber than there will be come November. There are opportunities to get your buck, and here is one thing to keep in mind. Grant Woods, one of the premier whitetail scientists [...]

17 10, 2018

DIY Deer Project: Wood Pallet Ground Blind

2020-06-10T09:15:51-04:00October 17th, 2018|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Hunting|1 Comment

Saw this and thought it was a cool way to save a few bucks. As the story indicates shipping pallets are usually free, as many businesses just want to get rid of them. You haul them off and everybody’s happy: The one-man, full-height blind consists of 6 pallets, two 2×2 corner strips, and a handful of wood screws….  have all your pieces cut (including shooting windows) and ready to assemble prior to going into the woods with it. Then all you need is a cordless screwdriver and you can erect the blind at your hunting spot… For a roof add a couple of wood slats and a scrap piece of tarp…staple roofing felt around the inside to make it warmer…wrap [...]

15 10, 2018

October 20: The Best Deer Hunting Starts This Weekend

2020-06-10T09:15:51-04:00October 15th, 2018|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on October 20: The Best Deer Hunting Starts This Weekend

Historical “rut curves” assembled by whitetail biologists over decades show that bucks really begin to rev up their scraping around October 20. Better yet, the data show that 5 to 7 percent of a herd’s does are bred by bucks on October 21, give or takes a few days. That’s not a lot, but good things happen when bucks start to rip scrapes and prowl for the first estrus does. The more they are on their feet, the better your chances of shooting one. The big thing that can kill October hunting is warm weather. But when a cold snap blows in and drops the temperature 20 or 30 degrees, perfect. The cooler weather will kick deer into moving more. [...]

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