BigDeer Archives - Page 204 of 343

18 05, 2016

Tennessee: New Buck Law for 2016 Deer Season

admin2020-06-10T09:16:48-04:00May 18th, 2016|BigDeer|2 Comments

The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission (TFWC) has changed the legal definition of a buck deer for the 2016-17 hunting season. Previously, a deer with tiny spikes less than 3 inches long was considered “antlerless,” and did not count against a hunter's annual 2-buck limit. Under the new rule, any deer with boned antler “protruding above the hairline” is considered a buck and will count toward the hunter's limit. I believe that button buck fawns, where the hairline is not broken by antler, will still be considered antlerless, but don’t quote me on that. The new rule has caused a stir with Tennessee hunters. Many people point out that it can be difficult to distinguish a buck with tiny spikes [...]

16 05, 2016

Deer Management: Planting and Mowing Food Plots

admin2020-06-10T09:16:48-04:00May 16th, 2016|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|Comments Off on Deer Management: Planting and Mowing Food Plots

Part 3 of our series on simple and awesome work you can do this spring to improve your deer hunting this fall, from veteran Illinois hunter and land manager Matt “Flatlander” Cheever. Hi Mike: I know it’s tough for folks to think about land management when the fishing is getting good and successful turkey seasons are being celebrated but this is truly the time to line up success in the BIG DEER woods this fall. Planting season is in full swing, from gardens to agriculture fields, and it’s the perfect time to be working on your deer food plots. That said, remember to save some of your plot areas for a later summer planting for crops like turnips, beats and [...]

13 05, 2016

Deer Habitat: Best Food and Cover

admin2020-06-10T09:16:48-04:00May 13th, 2016|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Science|1 Comment

My favorite science blog, Deer Forest Study, posted on the ideal habitat for whitetails, and from that post here are important things you need to know about deer food and cover. BEST DEER FOOD: Early successional forest (regenerating stands of woods less than 6-8 years old) provides 1,000-2,000 pounds per acre of woody browse, forbs and soft mast. This type woods habitat can support about 60 deer/square mile during the winter, far surpassing other forest age classes. Do you hunt a woods like that? Is that where you find deer feeding? Biologist Jeannine Fleegle points out that the list of food for deer is long and varied and includes browse, forbs, grasses, mast, fungi, algae and even mosses. It is no [...]

11 05, 2016

Top 10 States: Giant Non-Typical Whitetail Bucks

admin2020-06-10T09:16:48-04:00May 11th, 2016|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|1 Comment

The odd monstrous non-typical is walking in every state, but without question your odds of seeing one are best if you live in the Midwest, or own or lease ground there, or travel there to hunt. This region has the most soybeans and the best genetics for growing big, bad freaks. Some Midwestern states don’t allow gun hunting until after the November rut, and even then much of it is limited to slug or muzzleloader. This allows a good number of bucks to live past 4 or 5 years and begin to sprout antler junk. You can hunt anywhere in the Midwest and have a fighting chance of encountering a freak, but your odds go up if you hunt [...]

10 05, 2016

British Columbia: Harold Smith Buck Mystery

admin2020-06-10T09:16:48-04:00May 10th, 2016|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer|2 Comments

Say “Canadian whitetails” and we immediately think of Saskatchewan or Alberta, but southeastern British Columbia has a good population too, and some good bucks. BC is on my bucket list of places to hunt whitetails, and maybe combo for a mule deer, and our TV producers are researching potential opportunities. During our research I ran across an interesting old story about this BC buck. Is the gigantic non-typical shot more than 60 years ago a whitetail or a muley? Or maybe a hybrid? According to research and a blog by Dan Cole: "The Harold Smith buck from British Columbia has a long history of controversy…. Many antler experts and collectors…have long believed it to be a mule deer. For many [...]