BigDeer Archives - Page 31 of 343

25 06, 2023

5 Tips For Family Camping

Clay Hanback2023-06-25T09:49:59-04:00June 25th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, sportsman channel|Comments Off on 5 Tips For Family Camping

The 4th of July is right around the corner, and many families will head to campgrounds. Some things to keep in mind: Get the Kids Involved When you take kids camping, keep them busy and off their phones and portable gaming devices. Start out with a little required work—setting up the tent, collecting firewood, etc. Then move on to a whole lot of fun. Go hiking with your son or daughter, show him or her animal tracks, fish for trout or bream, etc. The more active your kids are the more fun they’ll have, and they more they’ll enjoy the outdoors and camping and want to go with you again. Fire Up Make sure open-air fires are legal and safe [...]

21 06, 2023

Why a Deer Eats a Snake

Clay Hanback2023-06-21T14:50:29-04:00June 21st, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|2 Comments

By now you’ve probably seen the video of a whitetail doe eating and inhaling lengthwise a 2-foot-long snake. The video, taken by Trey Reinhart with his phone while driving along a road in Texas, has gone viral on Twitter with more than 18 million views. Wait, aren’t deer herbivore? Plant-eaters? Yes, and while it’s rare, a deer will sometimes eat animals or animal matter that it runs across. Most documented cases of carnivorous meals have been deer eating the eggs from a bird’s ground nest. Deer have also been know to eat tiny songbird chicks. A few years back, a photo of a deer standing in a creek with a fish in its mouth went viral. I read where some [...]

19 06, 2023

Will 2023 Be a Bad EHD Year for Deer?

Clay Hanback2023-06-19T11:00:00-04:00June 19th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Hunting News, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Will 2023 Be a Bad EHD Year for Deer?

While the first whitetails that will perish this summer from epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) won’t show up in numbers until August or September, I am starting to study the drought maps and make some predictions. First the good news. Many areas in the West and Deep South have received plenty of moisture, so I think any outbreaks of EHD will be spotty and insignificant. But I see potential trouble spots in the Midwest, particularly in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, where conditions range from abnormally dry to exceptional drought in many areas. Moderate drought conditions also exist eastward across the upper Midwest to Pennsylvania and south into the Virginia Piedmont where I have a deer camp, so I’m on the [...]

16 06, 2023

How Spring and Summer Drought Affects Whitetail Deer

Clay Hanback2023-06-16T10:16:33-04:00June 16th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Hunting News, whitetail deer|Comments Off on How Spring and Summer Drought Affects Whitetail Deer

As you can see by this map, much of whitetail country, from Texas to Michigan to Pennsylvania, is abnormally dry to moderate drought. A few pockets in the Midwest are extremely dry. Here in the Virginia Piedmont where I live and hunt, we’re 7 inches short of normal rainfall, and the corn and beans are parched and only inches high in many areas. How will these dry conditions affect the deer herds, and how might it affect the hunting this fall? First, in areas where there is insufficient moisture, crop and native plant growth is stunted, and the plants lack the nutrition that deer need for prime health. Biologists point out that drought conditions make new growth on shrubs harden [...]

14 06, 2023

Number 1 Tick Prevention Tip

Clay Hanback2023-06-14T09:24:11-04:00June 14th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Gear Reviews, Hunting News|Comments Off on Number 1 Tick Prevention Tip

Over the next few months, we’ll be outside hiking, fishing, scouting deer, setting trail cameras and otherwise having loads of fun in the outdoors. We sure don’t want a nasty tick ruining the party, and possibly infecting us or loved ones with Lyme or another disease, so read on. According to Dr. Thomas Mather, Tick Expert at the University of Rhode Island, the biggest mistake you can make is not wearing tick-repellent clothing. “Ticks are out there, and they're likely to get on you if you go into their habitat. (Wearing) permethrin-treated clothing, especially socks and shoes sprayed with permethrin, is the easiest way you can help repel ticks and potentially keep them from biting you. It's essential to take all preventive measures. [...]