BigDeer Archives - Page 263 of 344

10 10, 2014

BIG DEER TV Hunts California

admin2020-06-10T09:19:54-04:00October 10th, 2014|Big Deer TV, BigDeer|3 Comments

As you read this I will have traveled up into Oregon and be in the midst of a 10-day quest for mule deer after a fine week of hunting in the Central Coast of Cali, near the town of Paso Robles, or “Pass of the Oaks.” The highlight of the trip was obviously shooting the 130-class 3x4 buck; B&C minimum for a Columbian blacktail is 135, so this is a great and above average deer, about as big as they for these parts. Twenty inches wide, even had one small eyeguard. Note the compact camera rig we used—Nikon DSLR, 80-200 mm lens here I believe, w/shotgun microphone. Cameras for filming the outdoors have come a long way. I remember not too [...]

8 10, 2014

How to Hunt October Bucks

admin2020-06-10T09:19:54-04:00October 8th, 2014|BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|5 Comments

Some really good buck hunters I know don’t hunt their best covers and stands until around Halloween and into November, as the rut starts rocking. Their strategy is sound—put no pressure on the bucks until there are moving more with their guard down, and especially in daylight. But I don’t believe that kind of thinking and approach are best for most guys. You’re busy, and you hunt when you can. If that happens to be now in early October, great. The woods are turning beautiful, there are fewer hunters roaming around than there will be in November, and there are good opportunities to get your buck. My friend Grant Woods, one of the premier whitetail scientists in the U.S. and [...]

7 10, 2014

12 Ways to Better Venison

admin2020-06-10T09:19:54-04:00October 7th, 2014|BigDeer|4 Comments

My friend and good hunter Will Brantley says he has eaten some really fine deer meat, and some really bad, tough, gamey deer meat. In this post he outlines 12 mistakes that can turn good venison bad in a hurry. It’s great advice as most hunting seasons kick off across the country. BTW, do you cut up and process the deer you kill, or take them to a butcher?

6 10, 2014

North Carolina: Man Kills 160-inch Buck 1 Year After Fall From Tree Stand

admin2020-06-10T09:19:54-04:00October 6th, 2014|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer|6 Comments

Last October 19, Brad Duke fell 20 feet when a strap on the top section of his tree stand ladder steps broke. Brad lay unconscious for 2½ hours, then stumbled to his truck and drove home. His wife drove him to the hospital, where x-rays revealed he had a cracked vertebrae and 3 broken ribs. Doctors told Brad surgery was a possibility, but he’d have none of that. He signed himself out of the emergency room 45 minutes later and went home, spent 3 weeks in bed and “then got in the gym and started lifting weights.” Fully healed, Brad was back in a tree stand in Granville County on Saturday, September 13. As fate would have it, the same [...]

3 10, 2014

VA Bucks: Bow Seasons Opens Oct.4

admin2020-06-10T09:19:54-04:00October 3rd, 2014|BigDeer, Deer Management|6 Comments

A buddy sent me this cam pic awhile back w/the message: Out of velvet, it's go time! This is a great, mature buck for our part of the country (hell, any part of the country) and I hope my friend gets a crack at him. Also on the eve of the archery opener, would like to wish all my fellow Virginia hunters a safe and successful year. Of course I wish the same thing for all you other guys, but gotta give some special props to my boys all over the Commonwealth. Hunting will be good to great in most areas of the state. We've got acorns this year (none in 2013) so the bucks will be fat, though not as visible in numbers as last [...]