Hey Mike, long time follower of the Big Deer Blog. The bucks in the photos have been traveling together this summer.  I have yet to capture them on camera during daylight hours. I'm thinking the rut may be the only time they break their nocturnal pattern.  I plan to be ready!   Curious to know what you think the buck on the right would score...seems to have some good mass in those main beams. –Travis, somewhere in the Midwest Thanks Travis. Tough to score from cam images sometimes, but I’d put him in mid- to high 130s, pushing 140. Good mid-beam mass in the side profile, though velvet can fool you. Big thing holding this buck’s score back is short main beams. But [...]

These cool bucks are roaming somewhere in the Mid-Atlantic. First below is the latest and best image that our friend Danny has of The Freak, and I’m amazed at how much his antlers exploded in recent weeks. Danny seems to have a good fix on Freak’s pattern, good luck in a few weeks man! All pictures below are from our friend KClap:   Mike, hope you recognize the pics. I've been sending you pics of these VA Bucks for the past few years. Good signs this year! We're a group of 6 hunters managing our herd. Added 5 new plots, now we have over 20 ½- to 4-acre food plots on 725 acres. Will keep sending pictures, hopefully holding one of these [...]

The big bucks are starting to come in, archery season is less than 3 weeks away in some areas:  Mike I got this buck back on August 1st, which is my Birthday... We named him Mr. August. I'm from Georgia and this is a super stud for Ga. Age? 4.5 -5.5, score 150".... thanks, Terry The bucks below are from Rob: Here are my main two hit-listers in KY for 2015 (I hunt pubs in KY, have a lease in Indy and a buddy with hunting property in Ohio). Definitely a couple of no-doubt shooters, at least in my book.  Great bucks Terry and Rob, thanks and good luck! Send me your latest cam pictures to share with the BIG DEER [...]

Most biologists I have talked to say the majority of antler growth was completed a week or so ago in early August. Now during mid- and late August, antlers are hardening. In early to mid-September the velvet dries and is shed, usually in only a matter of hours. BTW, the cue for the antler hardening and velvet shedding is the change in photoperiod caused by increasing darkness and decreasing daylight, which results in a buck’s increase in testosterone. And which means hunting season is right around the corner!    

I vent on some pet peeves of mine: I enjoy a cold beer or 2 after a hunt, especially around a camp fire, but I’ve got a problem with guys who drink long and hard into the night in deer camp. I know you’re on your fall vacation and doing some male bonding, but be cool. Drunks, even buddies, argue and fight. A couple of years ago I watched a soused little guy cold cock a 250-pound dude that had moved in on a spot where the skinny fellow was trying to kill a big buck. If you’re hung over you can’t hunt well, or safely. Stay out of the woods until you sober up. Why do people throw paper cups, cake wrappers and [...]