BigDeer Archives - Page 313 of 343

19 09, 2013

When Do Buck Racks Go Downhill?

admin2020-06-10T09:23:21-04:00September 19th, 2013|BigDeer, Deer Science|1 Comment

Most of us will never see a 9.5-year-old buck in the wild, but if you did here is what his rack might look like. This funky rack came off a buck that lived his whole life in an enclosure and died of natural causes, so his age is documented. They tell me that just a couple years before his death, this buck wore a nice, typical 10-point rack. According to QDMA biologist Kip Adams, wild bucks grow their largest set of antlers between 5 and 7 years old. The racks start going downhill immediately after that and can regress very quickly due to bucks’ teeth wearing down, impacts from previous injuries and overall old age that impacts their health. How long [...]

18 09, 2013

Missouri Giant Bow Buck, 171 3/8

admin2020-06-10T09:23:21-04:00September 18th, 2013|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer|Comments Off on Missouri Giant Bow Buck, 171 3/8

Brandon Jennings of the Drury Outdoor Team killed this awesome buck on September 15: We had a weather front move in and it dropped our temps 20 plus degrees and had the deer up and moving early, but we couldn't believe our eyes when we looked to the west and saw Django headed our way at 6:00. He piddled around in the brush for a few minutes without moving more than a yard or two. My heart was beating out of my chest, then he finally made his way to 25 yards and gave me a quartering away shot… Read the full story here.

17 09, 2013

September Tactic: Grunt a Buck

admin2020-06-10T09:23:21-04:00September 17th, 2013|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science|2 Comments

A few years ago in September Taylor Fitzpatrick traveled to the Milk River in Montana to bowhunt with our friend Luke Strommen. The then 19-year-old Taylor climbed into his tree stand super early one morning, about 3:30. The air felt great, 42 degrees cool, and the full moon hung in the sky like a big pie. Taylor began seeing deer in the moon glow, moving back to their beds for the day. A 10-pointer that would score 155” walked beneath his stand and got him fired up. The sun came up hours later and he kept seeing deer. A buck with hard, fresh antlers cut across a corner of a distant alfalfa field. Taylor raised his call and floated some [...]

16 09, 2013

Warm-Weather Deer Care

admin2020-06-10T09:23:22-04:00September 16th, 2013|BigDeer|1 Comment

If you shoot a doe or buck and the air temperature is above 50 degrees, as it will be on many days over the next month to 6 weeks, get that carcass cooled down as quickly as you can. "Deer harvested in warm weather have a higher bacterial load, so it's important to dress the deer as soon as possible…remove the hide, and refrigerate the carcass," says Dr. Walter Cottrell, Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife veterinarian. “Cooling the carcass will prevent bacterial growth." And the higher the bacterial load, the quicker a deer will spoil. Click here for more warm-weather deer-care tips. Cottrell also says to never wash your deer in a creek. I have dunked and sloshed many gutted bucks in [...]

13 09, 2013

New Moon and Deer Movement

admin2020-06-10T09:23:22-04:00September 13th, 2013|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science, Hunting News|4 Comments

Did the moon phase play a major role in Danny’s shooting of the big 10-pointer “Spike” in Maryland last Friday? Blogging about the hunt, Danny wrote: Maryland bow opener was Sept 6–the morning after the new moon. The wind direction was supposed to be out of the NNE. I looked back through all the cam pictures I had, and it just so happened the last time we had a NNE wind was the morning after the new moon in August. Spike was at the location I call The Puddle on that very morning. Danny hunted “The Puddle” on September 6 and saw some 18 deer moving at first light, including a bachelor herd of 12-15 bucks. He shot the 164-inch 10-pointer [...]