Big Deer TV Archives - Page 143 of 181

15 05, 2017

How to Field Judge a Black Bear

admin2020-06-10T09:16:29-04:00May 15th, 2017|Big Deer TV, BigDeer|1 Comment

It’s Black Bear Week on Big Deer! Out West and up into Canada, hunters are watching baits, floating rivers or spot-and-stalking for bruins. The hunting will continue into June in some areas; here are some tips if you go. Is that fur ball in your binoculars big enough to take a shot at? For deer hunters, a black bear can be tough to size up. If you only have a few seconds to make your decision remember 2 things: --A mature shooter bear has big, thick shoulders and a roly-poly belly that sags low to the ground; the belly drags, or appears to. If you can see a lot of clean air between the bottom of the belly and the [...]

12 05, 2017

Do Deer Feed On Dead Human Bodies?

admin2020-06-10T09:16:29-04:00May 12th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|3 Comments

Suppose a hiker or a hunter gets lost in the woods, dies and is not found for months. Or some thug murders a guy and dumps the body in a remote area. Sure, a fox, coyote, bear or vulture or other scavenger would pick the body. But would a deer eat the decaying remains too? Sounds absurd, but... From an Abstract published in the Journal of Forensic Science: Herein, we report on the first known photographic evidence of deer gnawing human remains. As described in nonhuman scavenging literature, forking of the bone characterizes the taphonomic effect of deer gnawing in this case, which is distinct from the effect caused by other scavengers. This type of osteophagia during the winter season [...]

5 05, 2017

How to Bowhunt City Bucks

admin2020-06-10T09:16:29-04:00May 5th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|Comments Off on How to Bowhunt City Bucks

People are shooting huge whitetail bucks in small tracts in cities and suburbs where bowhunting is permitted. In Connecticut, northern Virginia, New York—and out in Missoula, Montana. Last week I filmed a TV segment with Kevin Robinson; the heavy 8-point rack with killer brow tines is from his 2016 Montana suburbs buck. Kevin will tell his story on an episode of BIG DEER TV later this fall, but here are a few of tricks. When archery season opens in early September, Kevin hunts high in a draw that overlooks town in the evenings. His tree stand is tight to one of two deer trails that run up and down the mountain. He knows these suburban bucks, and if a big [...]

3 05, 2017

Whitetail Body Language: Why Does Box with Their Feet

admin2020-06-10T09:16:29-04:00May 3rd, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on Whitetail Body Language: Why Does Box with Their Feet

Our friend Zach sent us this great cam picture a few years ago of two does squaring off. Notice how the other girls are standing around and staring, urging them on. A deer fight is pretty much like a people fight! Why do does do this? Texas Parks & Wildlife says it better than I could on their page about whitetail body language: Female deer also establish a peck order and display aggressive behavior. Does, like bucks, use the ear drop, hard look, and sidle body language. However, since they don’t have antlers, they use their front feet to determine their dominance. If the preliminary body-language threats are not effective, the dominant doe lunges at her adversary and [...]

1 05, 2017

Georgia: 2 Big-Nose Bullwinkle Bucks

admin2020-06-10T09:16:29-04:00May 1st, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science|Comments Off on Georgia: 2 Big-Nose Bullwinkle Bucks

Here at Big Deer Blog we’ve become fascinated by whitetails with unusually big noses, and we’ve committed to building the biggest database of these unusual deer that have been shot across North America. “Bullwinkle" syndrome was first discovered around 2005. The few scientists who have examined deer with swollen snouts say the condition results from chronic inflammation of tissue in the nose, mouth and upper lip. All the cases studied by researchers have shown similar colonies of bacteria in the inflamed tissues. How deer acquire Bullwinkle syndrome is unknown. The affliction doesn’t appear to be fatal to the deer, but there are many unknowns. Bullwinkle syndrome is very rare. We’ve documented big-nose bucks from Michigan to Minnesota to Alabama and other [...]