BigDeer Archives - Page 108 of 342

20 11, 2019

Hunt The Rut: What Is A “Buck Excursion?”

Clay Hanback2020-06-10T09:14:52-04:00November 20th, 2019|BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Hunt The Rut: What Is A “Buck Excursion?”

A recent post at QDMA starts out like this: One thing researchers have deciphered in recent years using GPS technology is a somewhat new behavior that white-tailed deer do called an excursion, which is a brief trip or trips outside their established home range. This behavior especially occurs during the rut, and I have a personal story from the 2018 season to prove it. We have been running 8-10 trail cameras for years on a 1,000-acre farm in the Virginia Piedmont. Imagine our shock and excitement when we checked a card and saw one image of this awesome buck from November 18, obviously an older deer with a ton of character. We had never seen this freak before, no images [...]

18 11, 2019

Outdoor Life’s 101 Best Tips For Hunting The Deer Rut

Clay Hanback2020-06-10T09:14:52-04:00November 18th, 2019|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, whitetail deer|1 Comment

Back in the early 2000s, before I had my own TV show and started the Big Deer Blog, I was the Deer Hunting Editor for Outdoor Life (OL) magazine. I had that dream gig for nearly a decade and wrote 100s of columns and dozens of feature articles for the magazine, back in the days when people still bought and read paper magazines. Then came TV and YouTube and blogging, and I drifted away from OL and the other hunting publications I wrote for, many of are now, sadly, defunct. Funny how things have a way of coming full circle. I majored in English in college long ago, and writing has always been my passion and still is. So a [...]

15 11, 2019

Flashlight Review: Fenix PD35TAC For Hunters

Clay Hanback2020-06-10T09:14:52-04:00November 15th, 2019|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Gear Reviews|Comments Off on Flashlight Review: Fenix PD35TAC For Hunters

Let me get right to the point. I have tested and used hundreds of lights in the outdoors over the years, from cheap headlamps to high-tech flashlights and lanterns that cost hundreds of dollars. I have finally found the best and most versatile one for use in the outdoors, including deer hunting. And its affordable. As its name implies, the Fenix PD35TAC is designed for tactical employment, but the developers cleverly added an Outdoor Mode for multipurpose illumination, making it great for hunters, hikers and campers. Specs and Features At 5½ inches long and weighing just 89 grams, this compact flashlight is the right size for hunters who juggle a good amount of gear on the walk or from a [...]

13 11, 2019

Wisconsin Bowhunter Tags 10-Point “Sneezy” Buck

Clay Hanback2020-06-10T09:14:52-04:00November 13th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Wisconsin Bowhunter Tags 10-Point “Sneezy” Buck

This guest post is from Kyle Biba, Wisconsin bowhunter and long-time reader of Big Deer Blog: Saturday November 2nd proved to be a very special day for me as I was able to write the final chapter on a 4.5-year-old 10-pointer we called “Sneezy.” The story started in early fall 2018 when Sneezy first appeared on our farm. He showed up on camera in mid-September, already having broken off multiple points. I encountered Sneezy on October 12th last year in one of our clover plots. It was at that time he gained his name of Sneezy. As I watched him, it sounded like he was having an actual sneezing attack! I was able to get some tremendous footage of him [...]

12 11, 2019

19 Proven Ways To Hunt The Whitetail Rut

Clay Hanback2020-06-10T09:14:52-04:00November 12th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, whitetail deer|Comments Off on 19 Proven Ways To Hunt The Whitetail Rut

For 7 years Russ Van Zoeren of Twin Lake, Michigan, had traveled to Kansas to bowhunt on public land. November 10 on the 8th year, he fired his first arrow. After a heat wave with temps in the 80s, storms and a cold front crashed through the night of the 9th. The mercury plummeted into 30s and a northwest wind of 25 shook the leaves off the trees. Next morning at 8:15, a buck stepped out of a fence row and marched down the same trail Russ had walked on to his tree stand. His brow tines were huge and forked! At 13 yards the giant stopped to smell a scrape that Russ had doctored with hot-doe scent. The arrow [...]