Big Deer Blog

The Iowa DNR maintains an impressive record book of the biggest bucks shot in in the state with both bows and guns. The 244 6/8” giant that Kelly Doyl shot in Buchanan Co. in 2010 still ranks #1 in the muzzleloader non-typical category. This buck first appeared on the blog in March 2011: Hi Mike: I enjoy watching your show and viewing your website. I especially enjoy seeing all the giant deer from around the country that end up on here. In October of 2010, during the early muzzle loader season here in Iowa, I harvested a buck that has 27 scoreable points. After the 60-day drying period, it taped out at 249 5/8 gross. Its official net is 244 6/8. At [...]

Take a shower every day? Some doctors say we are overdoing it. A Boston dermatologist says, “We over-bathe in this country.” She points out that showering too often can dry out and irritate skin, and wash away the good bacteria that naturally exist on your skin. This article suggests that "while your activity level and climate will affect how often you’ll want shower, you can probably skip the daily shower and take one every two to three days... If you’re so inclined, you can clean the grossest parts of your body with a soapy washcloth or cleansing towelette to remove odor-causing bacteria on non-shower days (face, underarms, genitals, and rear end…)" But even if you don’t shower every day, "you should put on [...]

If you shoot a 4- or 5-year-old deer you’ve tagged an old one, right? Well, that deer would be considered mature, but it could have lived longer, possibly a lot longer. In captivity, whitetail does have been documented to live 18 to 25 years, and bucks 14 years! But what about the wild whitetails that we hunt? Well, individual animals live much longer than you think. Recent data from Pennsylvania confirms 3 does to be at least 13.5 years old! One ear-tagged doe showed up on a trail camera; another was shot by a hunter in muzzleloader season; and a third has been spotted in a person’s backyard. Biologists captured, tagged, recorded and released all three back into the wild in 2003. That [...]

During the recent par 3 contest last week at Augusta during the Masters, I watched golfing legend Jack Nicklaus shoot an amazing hole in one. That reminded me of a true story that a legend in our bowhunting world, Gene Wensel, told me one time. Many years ago, when Gene was hunting and guiding for whitetails out on the Milk River in Montana, he would occasionally host Jack Nicklaus for a week of bowhunting. One morning as they headed out Gene said proudly, “Jack, I’m taking you to a tree stand I hung stand myself. You're gonna shoot a monster buck there this morning." They arrived early in the pre-dawn gloom. Gene snuck around but couldn't find the stand. He told [...]