Big Deer Blog

In this post yesterday I showed you the latest entry to our collection of whitetail deer with mysteriously swollen noses. Here’s a little more from Courtney Stanley, who shot the rutting buck in January 2015 near Furman, AL: Mike: I had him on a camera a few miles away. I was bleating and grunting and he came out by himself. He weighed 160, and only had a scar on his lip (although his nose was clearly swollen). I gave the head to my taxidermist and he is in close contact with QDMA; he sent the head over for them to examine, and I’ll let you know what we find out.—C.S.

For 6 years we’ve been building a databank of deer afflicted with mysteriously swollen snouts. We call them “big-nose” here on BIG DEER; they are also referred to as “Bullwinkle” in some circles. The first case we reported was a big-nose buck from Michigan. Subsequently we have documented whitetails with swollen snouts from Texas, South Carolina, Florida and Minnesota. Yesterday I got this picture from Courtney, who just shot this big-nose buck near Furman, Alabama. No doubt the biggest buck we’ve seen with a swollen nose! So what causes it? As this article from QDMA explains: “The swollen snouts of afflicted deer result from chronic (long-term) inflammation of the tissues of the nose, mouth and upper lip… How and where deer acquire the Bullwinkle bacteria [...]

Can you shoot an arrow through a mysterious vacuum of tissue and air beneath a buck’s spine and above the lungs, and have that deer run off to live another day? Or will a broadhead shot here most certainly clip the lungs and/or cut vital arteries and kill the deer, even if you never find it? If you’ve ever pulled a shot high—and who amongst us hasn’t?—you’ve agonized over this as you tracked on a sparse blood trail, looking for a “dead” deer that might never have materialized. Is this “no man’s land” conundrum for real, or a myth? Dr. Grant Woods, one of the nation’s top deer biologists and a hard-core bowhunter, told me one time:  "This is a frequent [...]

Deer season might be over, but get you one more fix with the BIG DEER TV marathon, today 4-8 PM only on Sportsman Channel. Set your DVR! Thanks for your awesome support!    

Another deer season is over, and it’s time to clean our rifles and put them away for a few months. The best advice I’ve ever seen comes from an old book entitled “Do-It-Yourself Gun Repair” by Edward Matunas (out of print). I’ve been following Ed’s routine for years, and it’s the best. --You’ll need a cleaning rod, brush, jag, patches and solvent. The best rod is a spring-steel model with a plastic, nylon or similar coating and a swiveling handle. --Choose Shooter’s Choice or Hoppe’s No. 9 solvent. --Always use a cleaning-rod guide to protect a gun’s receiver from the sharp jag, and also to protect the rifle’s throat from damage. --Insert the rod into the bore from the chamber end [...]