A weird thing happened the other day to our favorite outdoor couple, Zach and Ellie: Hey Mike: We went hunting Saturday, January 17th and saw the big boy we have been after, but this time he didn't have any antlers! So we decided to walk out into our wheat field where he usually goes and look what we found. Finding the sheds of the deer you’ve been after all year is the best feeling and the worst feeling at the same time.—Zach and Ellie from Southern Illinois      

Today’s guest blog from Dan L. who has been reading the BIG DEER blog for many years. Love these stories of guys hunting hard till the bitter end: Hey Mike: In the area of western Wisconsin where I hunt there is a metro zone that stays open to bowhunting until the 31st of January to give us cold-weather lovers an extra crack at a good deer. We set up a stand in a cluster of 10 mature pines nestled at the base of a wooded bluff. In the pines we typically have a late-season food source. Deer bed up the ridge a bit and move toward the feed. We had 12 bucks on camera in that stand of pines, and had [...]

While the hunting is over for most of you, it is just getting good in some areas of the Deep South, most notably Alabama where the peak of the rut is due to explode any day. If you’re hunting down there the next couple of weeks, here are some rut tips.  Alabama hunter Logan Bell, 21, got a jump on the rut and rang in 2015 in a big way. He killed this fine old buck on New Year’s Day in Talladega Co. Shot him w/a lever-action .30-30. Cool, old-school, anybody else still shot a .30-30?  

Mike: Thanks for taking interest in this story. The history of this camp and this man is the subject of a book I am currently working on. I hope you and others enjoy the tale as much as I have enjoyed being part of it.-- Cody Voermans November 2014 In my life I’ve met some fine and successful hunters. Most of them have accolades of huge trophies and wild adventures, but none that can match the dedication and pure love of the sport that my 94-year old Grandfather Pat McVay has. For the last 50 straight years, at the start of the Montana deer season, my grandfather has pitched his old canvas wall tent behind the earthen dike of a small reservoir overlooking the Missouri [...]

You are miles from your truck trying to fill your last deer tag, or shed-hunting, or maybe just hiking in the snowy woods or mountains. Suppose you get turned around and it’s getting dark, or you slip and fall into a frozen stream…? At the very least you will be cold and miserable; at the very worst you could die. Never venture outside in the winter without an emergency fire plan. Fire Gear These essentials weigh next to nothing; carry them in a waterproof pouch in your pack. Butane lighter: Old school was to carry some waterproof matches in a Baggie, and I still do that sometimes. But better is to pack a modern survival lighter, like the Cabela’s Alaskan Outfitter. It [...]