BigDeer Archives - Page 206 of 342

18 04, 2016

Hunters Beware: Lone Star Tick Can Cause Meat Allergy

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

I was talking to a young lady, Katie, at a turkey hunting event here in Virginia last weekend. “I’d sure like to have one of those burgers, but I can’t eat red meat,” she said. “Really?” I asked. “Yeah, I was working on an environmental project down in the Carolinas a few years ago, and got bitten by a tick. Soon after I ate a steak and got really sick. Long story short, an allergist did a test and found out the tick bite had caused me to become allergic to red meat. It's terrible!” A bite from the Lone Star tick can cause the alpha-gal allergy that Katie and thousands of other people have developed. In Katie’s case, while [...]

14 04, 2016

VIDEO: How to Clean a Hunting Rifle

admin2020-06-10T09:16:48-04:00April 14th, 2016|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads|1 Comment

Jim emailed me about the video we produced on cleaning a rifle. He said he watched it, followed our steps to a tee, let the rifle sit awhile and then went to the range to sight-in again. "I have killed a lot of deer with this rifle over the years, but it never really shot all that great," he said. "Two and a half inches is about the best group I could ever get. But after cleaning the barrel like John advised in the video, the rifle now shoots just over an inch MOA." A thorough cleaning can do that, especially if you have neglected your rifle's barrel lately. Our video, featuring the expertise of Remington's John Fink, runs about [...]

13 04, 2016

UPDATE: Iowa Roadkill “Titan” Buck Scored 195 1/8

admin2020-06-10T09:16:48-04:00April 13th, 2016|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer|Comments Off on UPDATE: Iowa Roadkill “Titan” Buck Scored 195 1/8

We first posted on this monster last December when this photo montage was blowing up on social media. Speculation was the rack would score 200, maybe as high as 206. Although there is still not as much information as you would think on this giant, the head did make an appearance at the 2016 Iowa Deer Classic, where it took home top honors in the “Most Unique” category. The buck, known as “Titan” to the locals who had seen him, was found dead near Knoxville, Iowa. The head was entered into the classic by Carol Tompkins. Score 195 1/8, with exceptional mass, so not far off the speculation. No doubt there are trail-camera photos of Titan out there—if anybody has [...]

11 04, 2016

Deer Habitat Work: Cutting, Pruning & Seed Selection

admin2020-06-10T09:16:48-04:00April 11th, 2016|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Management|Comments Off on Deer Habitat Work: Cutting, Pruning & Seed Selection

Part 2 of our exclusive 3-part series “Manage the Land, Manage the Deer” from our good friend Flatlander, who lives, hunts and manages ground in his home state of Illinois: As we move through the early spring trees are leafing out but not in full foliage, so this is still a good time do to some chain saw or hand saw work, as we discussed in Part 1 of this series. Find staging areas, small clearings and food plot areas near your tree stands, and cut away all overhanging limbs up to about 12 feet high, EXCEPT one. Leave one limb with a low-hanging branch, and prune that branch so the limb is eye level. This will become a licking [...]

8 04, 2016

Recipe: Grilled Venison Beer Brats

admin2020-06-10T09:16:49-04:00April 8th, 2016|BigDeer|6 Comments

Perfect for a spring or summer Friday night, these deer brats are amazing: Shoot deer. Gut deer. Transport deer to processor and have brats made. (These jalapeno cheese brats came from the buck I shot in the Crazy Mountains of Montana last November, and were made by H&H Meats in Missoula, though a deer you shoot and gut anywhere will do.) Simmer thawed brats in mixture of half-water, half-beer for 20-25 minutes. Do not boil brats, just a low, slow simmer on medium heat. Roll brats occasionally. As brats simmer, sip remainder of leftover beer. Heat gas grill and chill one more beer. After 25 minutes, remove brats from stove and drain water/beer mix. Reduce grill to medium-low. Add brats [...]