BigDeer Archives - Big Deer

9 11, 2025

.35 Remington: Thick-Woods Buck-Thumping Cartridge

Clay Hanback2025-11-09T11:55:53-05:00November 9th, 2025|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, trijicon, whitetail deer|0 Comments

I bet most of you hunters under the age of 40 have never have heard of the .35 Remington, much less ever owned a rifle chambered for it. The cartridge gained popularity in the 1950s and ‘60s, when Marlin and Winchester chambered lever-actions for the .35 Rem. People who hunted thick woods, from northern Michigan to Maine to anywhere in the country where most shots are 100 yards and in, loved the hard-hitting cartridge that dropped deer on the spot. The niche round continued to be popular into the 1980s and ‘90s. I began hunting with the .35 Rem. in 2018, when Marlin, owned by the now-defunct Remington Arms Company at the time, chambered a new Model 336 lever for [...]

7 11, 2025

How Not to Get a Game Warden’s Ticket!

Clay Hanback2025-10-26T10:35:29-04:00November 7th, 2025|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Hunting News, whitetail deer|0 Comments

As well-intentioned a hunter as you are, it is easier than you think to get lackadaisical, slip up and inadvertently break a hunting law. Here are 5 common violations and how to avoid a game warden’s ticket. Know the Regulations Season dates and bag limits change, the use of bait may be restricted, ever-evolving CWD rules are implemented… Whether you’ve hunted your state for 2 years or 20, it is your responsibility to read the regs from cover to cover and keep up to date with any and all rule changes before each season. If hunters would just do it, 95% of inadvertent violations could be avoided. If you go out of state to hunt, you really need to ready [...]

5 11, 2025

8 Muzzleloader Hunting Tips

Clay Hanback2025-10-26T10:16:40-04:00November 5th, 2025|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, sportsman channel, whitetail deer|0 Comments

I’m hunting the early muzzleloader season in Virginia right now, which reminds me of these tips: Drop two 50-grain pellets of Triple Seven (or even three if you use a Remington Ultimate Muzzleloader like I do). Most modern muzzleloaders will shoot just fine with 100 grains. Insert your saboted bullet of choice at the muzzle, and start it down the bore with a short starter. With your ramrod, seat the bullet firmly all way down and on top of the powder, but don’t tamp it or beat it hard. You just want a good, firm seat. Once fully loaded, leave the ramrod in the barrel and mark it with a Sharpie. Check the “fully loaded” reference mark each time you [...]

2 11, 2025

Are Deer Hunters Shooting Enough Does?

Clay Hanback2025-10-26T09:58:10-04:00November 2nd, 2025|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, whitetail deer|0 Comments

State biologists and experts with the National Deer Association have raised concerns about the too-low doe harvest in most corners of America. “From 2000 to 2015, doe harvest far exceeded buck harvest, sometimes by as much as 31%, but we haven’t seen a season like that in 10 years,” says Kip Adams, wildlife biologist and NDA’s Chief Conservation Officer. “Deer populations are strong and growing in most areas, so it’s critical we continue working to boost the doe harvest nationally.” The NDA points to some states where hunters are not shooting enough does: Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Even in Texas, where people shoot more does every year than in any state, the harvest is [...]

28 10, 2025

3 Stands for Hunting Thick Cover in the Deer Rut

Clay Hanback2025-10-26T09:45:08-04:00October 28th, 2025|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, sportsman channel, whitetail deer|0 Comments

Three days or so before the peak of the rut, many does pile into stands of thick cedars or pines. They’re tired of being chased over hill and dale by horny bucks, so they try to hide out in the thickets. Of course, the boys pitch in there and keep harassing them. Check an aerial photograph for a small clearing in the greens, like a third-row thinning in planted pines. Sneak in there (great quiet walking) and set up in a ground blind on the downwind side of the opening. A doe might pop out to browse with a buck on her heels, or more likely she’ll flash across, still trying to dump a rowdy 8-pointer. An old buck is [...]