Big Deer TV Archives - Page 161 of 193

13 02, 2017

Illinois Coyote Hunt: 5 Critters and a Shed

admin2020-06-10T09:16:31-04:00February 13th, 2017|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Predator Hunting, Shed Hunting|5 Comments

Longtime BIG DEER blogger Scott from MI and his buddies made their annual trek to coyote camp, and he recaps their awesome hunt: Hi Mike: We headed out about 9:30 am Thursday morning Jan. 26th from Michigan and made the 6-hour trip to northwest Illinois, to a place along the Mississippi River. The normal gang was along for the hunt, good friends John, Ryan, Mike and Jason. My dad Russ did not make the trip this year but I told him I would keep him posted with the play by play if we got some action. The weather was pretty good, mid-teens at night and mid-20s during the day. Winds were a little stronger than we would have liked, about [...]

8 02, 2017

Whitetail How-To: Hunt a Buck Rub

admin2020-06-10T09:16:31-04:00February 8th, 2017|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting|1 Comment

Mature bucks feeling the rut not only thrash trees with their antlers in November, they also see and veer over to smell, lick and rack other rubs that rival males have made. In Iowa one November day, Brian LaRue looked up and saw a monster coming. Sixty yards out the 22-pointer stopped and mauled a sapling, then looked toward Brian’s tree and lugged on in. The hunter drilled the 222-inch non-typical with an arrow. “I’m convinced he saw the big rub on the other side of my stand and was making a straight line for it,” Brian says. That’s the rub behind Brian and his beast in the picture above. My buddy Luke Strommen read that post and got to [...]

1 02, 2017

Iowa Muzzleloader: Lady Smokes 240” Velvet Buck!

admin2020-06-10T09:16:31-04:00February 1st, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting|3 Comments

Hi Mike: My wife, Lyla, harvested this buck with her muzzleloader near Osceola, Iowa on December 22, 2016 at 3:30 pm. The deer known as "The Freak" has 26 scorable points, an inside spread of nearly 24 inches and main beams 27 inches plus. He was 6 1/2 years old. The Freak lived most of his life on a 4,300-acre farm located 10 miles south of our farm and managed by Steve Snow. Every year in mid-October the deer would come back to our farm, except for 2016, when our first picture of him was on Nov. 2. The Freak remained in velvet last year, we believe, because he was wounded by a neighboring bowhunter the previous year. This is [...]

18 01, 2017

Shed Hunting: Why Some Bucks Drop Antlers in December or Early January

admin2020-06-10T09:16:31-04:00January 18th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Shed Hunting|3 Comments

Kelly aka “Shedhunter” from South Dakota sent this picture of a fresh shed he found the other day, and it got me to wondering: What causes bucks in some areas to shed their antlers early in late December or early January? QDMA biologist Kip Adams points to a couple of things. “Nutrition is important, as bucks in good physical condition generally retain their antlers longer than those who are nutritionally stressed,” he says. “Widespread early antler casting (in your area) may signify a nutritionally stressed herd resulting from too many deer for what the habitat can support.” Also, Kip says that in northern states mature bucks typically shed antlers earlier than younger, smaller deer. “(Older) bucks skip many meals during [...]

11 01, 2017

Photos: 3 Big Bucks from 2016

admin2020-06-10T09:16:31-04:00January 11th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting|2 Comments

Three gentlemen sent me photos of bucks from the 2016 season: Mike, I’m 39 years old and have been hunting for as long as I can remember. I've always managed to fill the freezer with meat but never was able to get my "trophy buck.” That all changed for me this year--15 point, double drop tine. Woohoo!--Mark Hi Mike. My father bowhunted this deer in November on our farm in Kansas. He took a shot at it and skimmed his belly. Dad was devastated, but kept his head held high for his return trip in December. He went back a couple weeks later and the buck reappeared! Dad was fortunate to kill him with the muzzleloader at 30 yards, he was [...]