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13 05, 2016

Deer Habitat: Best Food and Cover

admin2020-06-10T09:16:48-04:00May 13th, 2016|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Science|1 Comment

My favorite science blog, Deer Forest Study, posted on the ideal habitat for whitetails, and from that post here are important things you need to know about deer food and cover. BEST DEER FOOD: Early successional forest (regenerating stands of woods less than 6-8 years old) provides 1,000-2,000 pounds per acre of woody browse, forbs and soft mast. This type woods habitat can support about 60 deer/square mile during the winter, far surpassing other forest age classes. Do you hunt a woods like that? Is that where you find deer feeding? Biologist Jeannine Fleegle points out that the list of food for deer is long and varied and includes browse, forbs, grasses, mast, fungi, algae and even mosses. It is no [...]

11 05, 2016

Top 10 States: Giant Non-Typical Whitetail Bucks

admin2020-06-10T09:16:48-04:00May 11th, 2016|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|1 Comment

The odd monstrous non-typical is walking in every state, but without question your odds of seeing one are best if you live in the Midwest, or own or lease ground there, or travel there to hunt. This region has the most soybeans and the best genetics for growing big, bad freaks. Some Midwestern states don’t allow gun hunting until after the November rut, and even then much of it is limited to slug or muzzleloader. This allows a good number of bucks to live past 4 or 5 years and begin to sprout antler junk. You can hunt anywhere in the Midwest and have a fighting chance of encountering a freak, but your odds go up if you hunt [...]

10 05, 2016

British Columbia: Harold Smith Buck Mystery

admin2020-06-10T09:16:48-04:00May 10th, 2016|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer|2 Comments

Say “Canadian whitetails” and we immediately think of Saskatchewan or Alberta, but southeastern British Columbia has a good population too, and some good bucks. BC is on my bucket list of places to hunt whitetails, and maybe combo for a mule deer, and our TV producers are researching potential opportunities. During our research I ran across an interesting old story about this BC buck. Is the gigantic non-typical shot more than 60 years ago a whitetail or a muley? Or maybe a hybrid? According to research and a blog by Dan Cole: "The Harold Smith buck from British Columbia has a long history of controversy…. Many antler experts and collectors…have long believed it to be a mule deer. For many [...]

5 05, 2016

Virginia: Monster Buck (201 7/8”) to Appear on BIG DEER TV

admin2020-06-10T09:16:48-04:00May 5th, 2016|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, Remington|1 Comment

The new season of Big Deer TV premieres in July on Sportsman Channel and airs through the end of the year. More later on days and air times. One of the episodes we’re working on right now is a compilation of conversations and interviews I’ve had with regular hunters across the nation who have shot monster whitetails. I love to hear these guys tell their stories of the 180- to 200-inch dream bucks they shot, and I think you will too. One of those stories comes from Virginia and really hits home. The giant was shot less than 30 miles from my house by a great old country boy, Jimmy Taylor. Actually Jimmy and his buck appeared briefly on my [...]

4 05, 2016

Vermont Deer-Poaching Couple

admin2020-06-10T09:16:48-04:00May 4th, 2016|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Hunting News|1 Comment

Wayne and Jennie Dion are not your typical deer thieves. Most poachers are young and misguided males, many of whom are into drugs. But the Dions, both well into their 60s, could illegally kill deer with the best of them. Several years ago Vermont Fish and Wildlife officials got wind of suspicious activity at the Dion property in Northeast Kingdom and began an extended investigation. Over time the wardens found well-worn deer trails leading from the woods to the couple’s backyard, which was hidden from the neighbors by a thick cedar hedge. The stunner: Wardens discovered a sliding port complete with a gun rest cut into the back of the house. Five spotlights were pointed towards the backyard, at the [...]

Big Deer Blog

Deer Habitat: Best Food and Cover

Top 10 States: Giant Non-Typical Whitetail Bucks

British Columbia: Harold Smith Buck Mystery

Virginia: Monster Buck (201 7/8”) to Appear on BIG DEER TV

Vermont Deer-Poaching Couple