28 05, 2014

Should You Shoot a 3.5-Year-Old Buck?

2020-06-10T09:22:49-04:00May 28th, 2014|BigDeer|14 Comments

For 95% of America’s whitetail hunters, especially those of you who hunt on public land, the answer is YES. Trouble is, too many young and/or inexperienced hunters watch too much television. A great-looking 8- or 10-pointer steps out and some guy or gal whispers into the camera, Nice buck, but he needs another year…or he’ll be shooter in a year or two… BTW, I hate that overused saying, He needs another year... Anyhow, the young hunter plays off what the TV “expert” says and does, and passes up a 120- to 140-class buck that he or she should have shot. I was glad to see my friend Lindsay Thomas of the QDMA put the right perspective on it. The QDMA sometimes gets a [...]

27 05, 2014

Virginia’s Biggest Bobcat?

2020-06-10T09:22:49-04:00May 27th, 2014|BigDeer|5 Comments

This picture has been making the rounds on Facebook and forums for a while. The person who sent it to me says it was killed here in Virginia (the hardwoods look right) but it is rumored to have come from a couple other states too (this is how these Interweb rumors work). Anyhow, look at the size of that thing. If legit, from the looks of it, this cat would weigh maybe twice as much as the average Virginia bobcat, which tips the scales at 25 pounds max. Something doesn’t look right about the head/neck? But who knows, it could be right, and the size of the critter is a camera angle thing. Seen this picture before? What do you think?

23 05, 2014

Memorial Day Tribute from BIG DEER TV

2020-06-10T09:22:49-04:00May 23rd, 2014|BigDeer|3 Comments

My best hunts of the year are the ones I take with wounded veterans like Ken (left) and Calvin. Ken served in both the U.S. Marines and Army, and was injured during one of his tours in Iraq. Young Calvin lost a foot and lower leg in Afghanistan. It was an honor for me to hunt deer with these heroes in my Virginia homeland last November. Thanks to the Outdoor Recreation Heritage Fund for helping to make that happen. You will see the episode on #BIG DEER TV on the Sportsman Channel later this fall. We talked long into the nights on our hunt, and both Ken and Cal told me intense and inspiring war stories...they said that in spite of their injuries, they'd do it again [...]

22 05, 2014

America’s Top Hunting Cartridge

2020-06-10T09:22:49-04:00May 22nd, 2014|BigDeer|4 Comments

A few years ago, Boone and Crockett compiled data from their record book entries and found that hunters are shooting more big animals with the .300 Mag. than with any other caliber. Would you have guessed that? Because I have 200-pound whitetail deer on my mind most of the time, I would not have imagined the .300, until I started thinking about it. Many of the “book animals” are big and heavy—brown bears, moose, elk, muskox--and so some version of the .300 Mag. makes sense. Plus, the .300 is very popular out West among mule deer hunters. In their data B&C did not distinguish among specific variations of the .300 Mag.; trophies killed with the .300 Win. Mag, .300 WSM, .300 [...]

21 05, 2014

Montana Longbow Buck

2020-06-10T09:22:50-04:00May 21st, 2014|Big Deer Stories|5 Comments

One of my favorite stories from the BIG DEER archives: Our friend Eliot Strommen (Luke’s dad) shot this massive buck on his Montana ranch several years ago. My friend Randy took this portrait of Big E and the “Sticker Buck.” I think it is a fantastic picture. Luke, who had a lot of history with this buck, and who had found his sheds 3 years in a row, says the brute was least 6.5 years and maybe 7.5. Most of us will never shoot a buck so old. Most of us will certainly not do it with a longbow and wood arrow. Eliot and Luke never scored the buck officially. These guys hunt for the fun, the challenge. the mystery...don’t worry with stuff like official scores or record books. But Luke and [...]

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