Big Deer TV Archives - Page 109 of 196

13 01, 2020

How to Find Shed Deer Antlers

Clay Hanback2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00January 13th, 2020|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Shed Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on How to Find Shed Deer Antlers

Why do whitetail bucks spend so much time and energy growing antlers over the summer only to shed them five or six months later? “Scientists have pondered it for years and we still don’t know,” says whitetail biologist Dr. Mick Hellickson, who points to a couple of theories. Some scientists believe bucks shed annually so they’ll have the potential to replace damaged antlers. If a buck had to live his entire life with snapped tines or a broken beam he couldn’t fight his rivals or posture for does. A second theory suggests that bucks shed and grow new racks 10 to even 30 inches larger the following year to keep pace with their increasing weight and girth as they mature [...]

6 01, 2020

Big Deer TV 2020: VA Blackpowder Drop-Tine Buck

Clay Hanback2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00January 6th, 2020|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Big Deer TV 2020: VA Blackpowder Drop-Tine Buck

One of our most popular segments on Big Deer TV is “American Deer Hunter,” in which we interview hunters from across the country about the dream bucks they shot. Their stories are genuine, fascinating and full of lessons that can help you become a better hunter. Last fall we caught up Wayne Mills and filmed the story of the drop-tine giant he shot years back. It will appear on a new episode of my show in summer 2020. Wayne Mills had hunted his lease in Culpeper County, Virginia three days a week since the opening of archery season in October. In late summer and early fall, he had gotten trail camera shots of two really nice bucks, so he had [...]

17 12, 2019

Virginia’s Widest Deer Rack Ever—32 Inches!

Clay Hanback2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00December 17th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Virginia’s Widest Deer Rack Ever—32 Inches!

Prologue: Last Saturday my camera crew and I traveled down to Mecklenburg County, Va., and met Jim Wilson, who back in 2012 shot this incredible buck that gross-scored 186 and change. Most distinctive, as you can see, is the width of the rack—32 inches! This is the widest rack ever recorded in Virginia, and the 7th widest whitetail rack ever documented in the U.S. You’ll see and hear Jim’s interview on a new episode of Big Deer TV on Sportsman Channel in 2020. For now, here is the story of Mr. Wide in Jim’s words: August 2012. I had been discarding apples from the tree in my yard in the field behind my house. I noticed the apples were disappearing [...]

12 12, 2019

Early Post-Rut: My New Best Time To Hunt Deer

Clay Hanback2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00December 12th, 2019|Big Deer TV, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, whitetail deer|2 Comments

Last weekend I wrote an article for Outdoorlife.com entitled, Why Post-Rut is the New Best Time to Hunt Whitetails. In it I wrote: Each year I hunt in several states in early to mid-December, from Kansas to Oklahoma to Virginia. I am witnessing good to great deer movement, and more late rutting activity than ever before. Such good activity, in fact, that the early post-rut is becoming my most productive time to hunt. In early December bucks are tired and battered, but still running on a last jolt of testosterone. Sometimes a buck makes fresh rubs, so look for them. While bucks generally don’t paw scrapes this late, they often cruise back through creek bottoms and draws where they scraped [...]

4 12, 2019

Deer Hunting: How To Use The Wind To Your Advantage

Clay Hanback2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00December 4th, 2019|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Deer Hunting: How To Use The Wind To Your Advantage

To a buck you’re a big, walking stink-ball, like Pigpen in Peanuts if you’re old enough to remember. You need to clean up your act, and we’ll get to that later. But for starters, here’s how to read and play the wind and use it to your advantage. The truth is, no matter how badly you stink you can still punch your tag if you hunt in a spot where a buck can’t smell you. App Check On your phone’s weather app, check the hourly for the day and times you’ll hunt. For example, say you find that the wind will be out of the W at 10 mph at 6:00 a.m, but at 8:00 it will turn NW or [...]