On page 86 of Giant Whitetails, a book I edited and helped write years ago with my friends Mark and Terry Drury, Terry said: There’s something magical and mystical about bowhunting on Oct.31. I don’t know if it’s the deer gods, or the spirits, or what. But Halloween has been good to both Mark and me.” It’s an enchanting time because bucks are prowling and scraping and venting pent-up sexual energy, but most does are still a week or longer from estrus. Next to the peak of the rut, it’s my second favorite time of the year. Definitely hunt tomorrow, because under the influence of this waning full moon, I expect some good bucks to move in daylight, especially in the midmorning [...]

Every year hot-shot hunter Mark Drury and I put together a guide to help you hunt the rut well during the various moon phases. If you missed our 2015 guide, click here to read it all. But for today's blog, let’s focus on the full moon, which hangs big and bright in the sky right now. While Mark and I both prefer a full moon that occurs in early November because it exposes the seeking phase of the rut, we’ll take this one, even though it’s early. For years Mark and I have texted back and forth from tree stands across America, talking about the rut action and what we’re seeing. Our best moon theory keeps building momentum each year: In the rut, mature bucks move [...]

Recently from an anonymous source: Potential world record...clean 7x7, maybe with 30” beams. Gross in the 220s some think. Has anybody see this giant before, or know more...is this for real?

A boy or girl’s first buck is monumental, a rite of passage as he or she enters into our deer-hunting fraternity. Meet Elijah Johnson with his first buck, a fine 6-pointer from DeKalb County. Elijah, using a .44-caliber rifle, got him at 7:30 a.m. on September 27, 2015, a day he will remember for a long time. Way to go buddy! Send me a picture of your kid’s first buck to mikehanback@yahoo.com. I will proudly post them all.

I posted on this giant awhile back when there were no details of the kill. I said then, “I have seen some snide comments on social media that this deer might be a pen deer, but who knows, anytime somebody kills a really big buck jealous people say that. I do hope it’s wild and legit.” Well, happy to report it is. The Wichita Eagle posted the full story. A few excerpts: Clayton Brummer may only be 16, but he knew enough to not let a world-class non-typical buck get away on Sept. 8. “When he stepped out of the corn, he gave me ‘the look,’ the one that tells you he’s seen you and he’s getting ready to run,” [...]