Big Deer Stories Archives - Page 7 of 113

8 10, 2019

Oklahoma Bowhunter Rings In New Season With 200-Inch Giant

bluemillion2020-06-10T09:14:52-04:00October 8th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting|1 Comment

From Oklahoman.com: Jeff Booth almost didn’t take his bow with him (last) Wednesday. He was planning to drive up from his Broken Arrow home to his hunting lease in northeast Oklahoma to just put up a camera near a deer stand. He figured the chances of killing a nice buck on the second day of archery season in 90-plus degree weather were remote at best. “I have never killed a good deer in October,” said Booth. Booth had a change of heart, however, and grabbed his bow at the last minute. He decided if he was going to drive all that way, he might as well take his bow and sit in the deer stand for a while. He is [...]

7 10, 2019

Hunters Can Contract Tuberculosis From Deer

bluemillion2020-06-10T09:14:52-04:00October 7th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|2 Comments

If Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) and Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) were not enough, now we deer hunters need to know about another disease. Hunters can contract a form of tuberculosis from deer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that a 77-year-old Michigan man was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis. He had no known contact with any human infected with TB, but he had hunted and field-dressed deer for decades. Many deer test positive for bovine TB in the northeastern Lower Peninsula of Michigan where the man lived and hunted. The CDC says the man may have inhaled the bacteria that causes tuberculosis while he was gutting a deer. Officials don’t know when that might have happened, but the [...]

3 10, 2019

Deer Hunting: 7 Tips For Aging A Mature Buck

bluemillion2020-06-10T09:14:52-04:00October 3rd, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on Deer Hunting: 7 Tips For Aging A Mature Buck

A really old buck looks old, like this one in the picture. His body is thick and blocky. Mature deer, say 5½ years and older, are just heavy. Their chests are very deep. When not alarmed, he moves slowly and with purpose, like he owns the joint. When you are aging a buck before the rut has occurred, look at stomach girth, provided you get a good, broadside view of the animal. “The older a buck gets, the bigger his belly gets,” notes whitetail biologist Mickey Hellickson. “If the bottom line of the stomach sags noticeably lower than the bottom line of the brisket, the buck is likely mature.” This characteristic does not work well after the peak of rut, [...]

25 09, 2019

How To Hunt Deer In October

bluemillion2020-06-10T09:14:53-04:00September 25th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on How To Hunt Deer In October

Some really good hunters I know don’t hunt their best spots until around Halloween, and then they hunt them hard for the next two weeks. Their strategy is sound: put no pressure on bucks until they start rutting and moving more in daylight hours. Good in theory, yes, but I don’t believe that approach is practical for most of us. You’re busy…you bowhunt when you can. If that happens to be in October, great. The woods are beautiful, the weather is nice and there are fewer people in the timber than there will be come November. There are opportunities to get your buck, and here are some things to keep in mind. Food in the Woods Grant Woods, one of [...]

23 09, 2019

North Carolina 2019: Big Year For Big Bow Bucks!

bluemillion2020-06-10T09:14:53-04:00September 23rd, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|Comments Off on North Carolina 2019: Big Year For Big Bow Bucks!

Every year when bow seasons open in September in some states across the country, one state gets particularly hot for big bucks. This year it’s North Carolina, where the archery season opened September 8. First we blogged about the 160-inch velvet 8-pointer that Brandon Johnson killed on opening day. Since then we’ve heard of 4 more NC giants. We got word of all these bucks from the Carolina Sportsman website. If you hunt or fish in the Carolinas, you need to check out and bookmark this site, it’s a fantastic regional resource. Jonathan Phillips of Pittsboro, NC shot this 9 1/2-year-old buck (above) on opening day. The Chatham County deer scored 137 5/8, proof that rack score means little. Anybody [...]