Big Deer Stories Archives - Page 10 of 112

26 07, 2019

South Carolina 9th State to Require Synthetic Deer Lures

bluemillion2020-06-10T09:14:53-04:00July 26th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|Comments Off on South Carolina 9th State to Require Synthetic Deer Lures

In this day and age of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) South Carolina becomes the 9th state to prohibit the use of natural deer urine, and to require hunters to use synthetic deer lures only. The new regulation takes effect with the start of the 2019-20 whitetail season. Earlier this summer Tennessee also issued a new regulation that requires the use of synthetic scents. Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont and my home state of Virginia are the other states that have banned natural deer and elk urine. In a press release, the South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources wrote: “the department is following the lead of other states in proactively prohibiting the use of (natural attractants) in order [...]

22 07, 2019

2019 Summer Scouting: Giant Drop-Tine On Trail Cam!

bluemillion2020-06-10T09:14:53-04:00July 22nd, 2019|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|Comments Off on 2019 Summer Scouting: Giant Drop-Tine On Trail Cam!

“Some men are obsessed with good guns, fine wine and beautiful women. I am consumed with shooting a drop-tine buck.” I wrote that on January 1, 2008, the day I launched this Big Deer Blog. To this day I am still enamored with antler tines that grow down rather than up. Imagine the excitement yesterday, July 21, when I opened the Spartan Camera app on my iPhone and this giant popped up! First time we’d seen him this summer. Exciting. While we get images every summer of solid bucks on the farms I hunt in Virginia, this one is exceptional. Even more exciting is that this buck’s rack will grow a bit more over the next 3 weeks. By mid-August [...]

16 07, 2019

Big Deer: James Pope’s 204 0/8” Kansas Buck

bluemillion2020-06-10T09:14:53-04:00July 16th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on Big Deer: James Pope’s 204 0/8” Kansas Buck

Hey Mike: This is James Pope from Lumberton, Texas. On November 10, 2018 I killed the deer of a lifetime on a small farm in southeast Kansas. I’m reaching out to you because I believe you have hunted with the same outfitter, Keaton Kelso. He spoke highly of you and how much he enjoyed having you in camp. I’ve had my deer officially scored and it was been accepted into the Lifetime Awards of B&C with a net non-typical score of 204 0/8!–Thanks, James James, thanks for the sharing the pictures of your Kansas giant, and for the nice words. That is one incredible archery buck my friend. Seeing James’ 2018 monster pop up in my email last evening was [...]

15 07, 2019

8 Best Spots for Trail Cameras

bluemillion2020-06-10T09:15:18-04:00July 15th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|Comments Off on 8 Best Spots for Trail Cameras

One August day Iowa hunter Jay Gregory glassed a giant buck in one of his soybean fields. He snuck into a thick marsh a half-mile from where he spotted the deer and set up some trail cameras. Over the next 7 weeks he got 5 photos of the buck–not a lot, but enough. The image time-stamped 9:00 a.m. on October 24 was gold–it showed the hard-antlered monster at the waterhole in broad daylight. Jay moved in with a tree stand and arrowed the beast a few days later—it gross-scored 198. After spotting a big buck in an ag field or food plot, sneak in and set a couple of cameras on well-used trails near the closest river, creek or marsh. [...]

12 07, 2019

Should You Shoot Straight Down At A Deer?

bluemillion2020-06-10T09:15:18-04:00July 12th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on Should You Shoot Straight Down At A Deer?

Mike: At one of my best bow stands, deer often walk in and stop right below my stand, 17 feet straight down and less than 10 feet from the tree. I have passed those shots but maybe I should be taking them, shooting down through the front shoulders of the deer and below the neck. What do you think? Hard to pass such close shots, but I’m not sure of the angle.—Doug from Michigan I was in a stand in one day last September, thinking about Doug’s question. A trail ran directly under the stand I was in and 5 feet from the toe of the tree. Five does walked under me that evening, and I envisioned trying to kill [...]