Big Deer TV Archives - Page 184 of 194

17 06, 2015

Kids Hunting: What is the Right Age?

admin2020-06-10T09:19:36-04:00June 17th, 2015|Big Deer TV, Deer Hunting, Hunting News|9 Comments

I was astonished to read one time that a 4-year-old Mississippi boy shot his first deer. The local paper did a big story on it, saying the kid didn’t want a doe (he didn’t want a doe, or his Daddy didn’t want him to shoot a doe?). The boy waited for a 6-point buck and smoked him. Stories like this are cute and make us feel warm and fuzzy that our kids are getting into hunting and helping to perpetuate what we do. But how young is too young? Can a 4-year-old handle and aim a rifle safely, even with Dad holding it and pointing out the animal, which is hard if not impossible for a kid that age and size to [...]

12 06, 2015

Iowa Big Bucks Featured on BIG DEER TV

admin2020-06-10T09:19:37-04:00June 12th, 2015|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting|Comments Off on Iowa Big Bucks Featured on BIG DEER TV

Last weekend I had the pleasure of traveling across eastern Iowa with our TV crew, and meeting and filming local 3 hunters who shot giant bucks that, combined, have more than 725 inches of non-typical antler. First stop Muscatine County, where Paul Hein has taught welding at the high school for 34 years. Paul, who loves his job and the kids, also loves to bowhunt in the afternoons when school lets out. One November day in 2011, he hurried to his tree stand and shot a freakish buck with double main beams that scored 219 (above). Next it was on to Jackson County, where we met the Simmons boys. In this job I enjoy nothing more than to meet families with [...]

9 06, 2015

Custom String for Your Deer Bow?

admin2020-06-10T09:19:37-04:00June 9th, 2015|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting|Comments Off on Custom String for Your Deer Bow?

Should you replace the string that comes on your deer-hunting bow with a custom string and cables that cost you another $75 or so? I rarely do, but there could be benefits. Here are three from the 60x Custom Strings website. --A custom string is pre-stretched under several hundred pounds of tension. This eliminates peep rotation and creep on your bowstring. If you’ve ever gotten a new bow and had it all setup and shooting great but then one day your peep was crooked in your string or your cams were out of time, then you know what we’re talking about. Most new bows require several hundred shots before the bowstring is fully settled, but a good custom string will be settled in [...]

8 06, 2015

Study: Wild Cats Cause Disease in Deer

admin2020-06-10T09:19:37-04:00June 8th, 2015|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Predator Hunting|6 Comments

This is an underreported story, but potentially a bombshell. According to The Wildlife Society, free-roaming domestic cats kill approximately 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion small mammals each year The indirect impacts of cats gone wild on larger wildlife are less obvious, but one of the greatest emerging threats from feral cats is infection with Toxoplasma gondii. A study published in EcoHealth found that feral cats, through their feces, are likely driving infections in whitetails in northeastern Ohio. The study’s authors collected deer samples from a Cleveland park, as well as cat samples from the area. Nearly 60% of the deer and 52% of the feral cats tested positive for T. gondii. Older deer and deer in urban environments were more likely to [...]

2 06, 2015

Deer Science: Bucks With 3 Beams

admin2020-06-10T09:19:37-04:00June 2nd, 2015|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Science|3 Comments

Check out the 3rd beam on the left side of this rack, what caused it? A 3rd beam on a whitetail deer’s rack is the result of either non-typical genetics or an injury. If this buck were 5 years of age or older, I’d say the cause was genetics. But he’s younger than that, so the extra beam is likely the result of an injury. QDMA biologist Kip Adams agrees: “That buck injured his antler very early in the growing process that year. If the buck would have survived the season he would not have had a third beam again the following year.” I’ve never shot a buck with 3 beams, have you? Send me a picture.