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9 08, 2017

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD): Rules for Transporting Deer Across State Lines

admin2020-06-10T09:16:11-04:00August 9th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science, Mule Deer|1 Comment

I recently attended the National Deer Summit and was struck by the dire reports of CWD that came from the country’s top deer scientists. Map Source: Tennessee WRA To a man and woman, all the experts agreed that CWD is the most serious threat to our deer herds and hunting that we’ve faced in decades, and possibly ever. To a person they said the thing we must do to stop the spread of CWD is to immediately monitor and restrict the movement of deer and deer parts across state lines. First is to immediately stop the interstate transport of live deer to penned facilities, something that does not affect the 99.9% of us that hunt wild deer. Second is to [...]

6 08, 2017

Legendary Whitetails: The Iowa Knife-Handle Buck

admin2020-06-10T09:16:11-04:00August 6th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Hunting|3 Comments

Some bucks and stories are legendary. This is one of them: Back in the early 1970s out in Iowa, a man stopped and asked a farmer for permission to fish and trap turtles in his ponds. As they talked, the guy noticed a huge pile of sheds inside a nearby barn. The farmer told the man he could have them all, except for the one side of a gigantic rack with 8 long points. The farmer was saving that one for a friend who used deer tines to make knife handles. At this point in the story, accounts vary. Some say the turtle trapper picked up both sides from the pile, and found them to be nearly identical. Others [...]

4 08, 2017

2017 EHD Tracker: Deer Disease Reported in SE Kentucky

admin2020-06-10T09:16:11-04:00August 4th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science|4 Comments

It’s that time of year again when hunters and wildlife managers nervously wait and see if Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease will hit their region, and if so how bad of a deer-killing year it will be. EHD, which is transmitted to whitetails by biting midges, typically occurs from August through October, until the first frost in an area kills the midges that carry the disease. Let’s hope this year’s first reported case of the disease, in Kentucky in July, is random and not a harbinger of bad things to come across the U.S. later this summer. This is the first reported outbreak of EHD in the Bluegrass State since 2007. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife officers say a dozen sick and dead [...]

2 08, 2017

How NOT to Shoot a Button Buck

admin2020-06-10T09:16:11-04:00August 2nd, 2017|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Hunting News|1 Comment

There are few among our BIG DEER army who would shoot a button fawn buck on purpose, but every one of us has accidentally done it. We have an antlerless tag and drop a fat “doe” to fill the freezer…we walk up to the deer and go, “Uh, oh,” as we see its nubs and male parts. It’s an honest mistake that anybody can make, and that’s why harvesting a young buck with less than 2” of antler is legal in most states (check your regulations). But you obviously never want to shoot a button. These pointers from the Michigan DNR will help you differentiate an adult doe from a buck fawn, so you won’t mess up again. --Check body [...]

30 07, 2017

Best Woods Spots For Trail Cameras

admin2020-06-10T09:16:11-04:00July 30th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|1 Comment

Mike: Missouri just banned all feeding and minerals, even salt, in the county that I hunt due to two cases of Chronic Wasting Disease. Seems like a dramatic ruling for just two cases, but that is the way it goes. When I put out trail cameras now, do you think that without the attractant, deer will still visit the same places? Or am I at square one? Eighty percent of the 400-acre farm I hunt is just woods, no food plots. Any suggestions?—Marc from MO Marc: While it seems like an overreaction, scientists across the country have increased the alarm about the threat of CWD, so we all should expect more decisions like that. To your question, if you have used the same mineral [...]

Big Deer Blog

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD): Rules for Transporting Deer Across State Lines

Legendary Whitetails: The Iowa Knife-Handle Buck

2017 EHD Tracker: Deer Disease Reported in SE Kentucky

How NOT to Shoot a Button Buck

Best Woods Spots For Trail Cameras