From longtime BIG DEER blogger Cory S.: Hey Mike! Wanted to pass along a pic of what happened a few hours ago. My wife and I were driving with my daughter when a doe suddenly crossed in front of us. Apparently she was "hot" because a couple of seconds later a massive 10 pointer exploded out of the woods and took the car out! The buck bounced off, got up, looked at us like we were crazy and then got back the chase for the doe! Incredible animals I tell ya! We are all ok. Olivia was a mess and crying though, she thought she had hit and killed the deer. My daughter and I told her the buck was [...]

Thanks to Eric for alerting us to this monster kill: Mike: Here is the deer I was telling you about. It was scored at a place they refer to as the Dump, a bar that has a big buck contest.  I work with a guy who is an official scorer for Pope and Young who helps this bar score deer. He didn't score it, but he knows the guy that did. I was told the G-2s were around 7 inches and the 3s and 4s look to be 10 plus. I was also told that the mass measurements were between 45 and 50 inches total.  I understand the first gross score to be 202 5/8 typical. I am hoping to contact the hunter and get more info [...]

Mike: A little while back in a blog you had a picture of a buck that scored in the 120s and asking if the average hunter would kill him. Well here is my answer to that question. He's a basic 8 with a couple stickers. Here in Pa. I do not pass on a buck of this size with either bow or rifle and it doesn't matter if it is early archery season or the last day of rifle season. The fact is that here in Pa., as well as most public land anywhere in the USA, he is a shooter to 95% of the deer hunters I know. He is not my largest buck by a long shot but [...]

To monitor the upcoming rut in your area and to keep tabs on what your fellow hunters are seeing and shooting, go to the BIG DEER Rut Report, click on your region and join the conversation. Be sure to post pictures of any big rubs or scrapes or other interesting stuff you find in the woods, and for sure post pictures of the deer you shoot. Good luck! For now while you’re here, tell me what’s going on in your woods. Are they starting to rub and scrape heavy yet? What are you seeing? Is the deer movement good? Are you hunting this weekend?