BigDeer Archives - Page 69 of 345

28 12, 2021

6 Late-Season Deer Tactics

Clay Hanback2021-12-26T11:58:59-05:00December 28th, 2021|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on 6 Late-Season Deer Tactics

Only One Wind: Back in the rut you never knew exactly from which direction a buck would come, so some days you probably cheated and hunted one of your best stands on a marginal wind. But now that deer have been pressured, there is only one good wind and little margin for error. In the evenings, deer move straight from their beds to a cornfield, beans or other last food source. The wind can’t blow anywhere back toward that bedding cover, nor can it swirl out into a piece of field where the does will pop out first. Set up downwind of a trail or funnel where your scent will blow back into a dead zone where you figure no [...]

26 12, 2021

Chart: Wind Drift Of Hunting Bullets

Clay Hanback2021-12-22T09:55:13-05:00December 26th, 2021|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on Chart: Wind Drift Of Hunting Bullets

Caliber Bullet wt. (grains) Bullet Drift 10mph Crosswind (inches) 100 yds. 200 yds. 300 yds. .243 100 .5 2.5 6 .25-06 117 .7 2.8 6.5 .270 130 .7 2.8 6.5 7mm-08 140 .8 3.1 7.3 .280 140 1.2 5 11.8 7mm Rem. Mag. 150 .5 2.2 5 .308 150 .6 2.8 6.5 .30-06 165 .7 2.8 6.5 Note how as the range to a deer increases, so does wind drift. And remember, wind drift is even more magnified in a 15 to 30 mph crosswind. Out to 200 yards in a 10 mph crosswind, you really don’t need to compensate, but when shooting at a target or an animal that is 250 to 300 yards [...]

22 12, 2021

8 Stocking Stuffers For Deer Hunters

Clay Hanback2021-12-20T10:09:24-05:00December 22nd, 2021|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on 8 Stocking Stuffers For Deer Hunters

Call: A new grunter is perfect. It’s just the right cost and size. Headlamp: A deer hunter can never have too many headlamps because they go missing all the time, either lost in the bottom of a daypack or dropped on the way to or from a stand. Spend $15 to $100 for a lamp, a wide range of them is available. Gloves: A good pair of leather shooting gloves, or a waterproof camo set makes the perfect stocking stuffer. One of the best gifts I ever got was a pair make out of the tanned hide of a buck I shot. My wife saved the hide and sent it off to a tannery/leather maker. Shooting Glasses: A good pair [...]

20 12, 2021

How Long Do Whitetail Deer Live In The Wild?

Clay Hanback2021-12-20T09:32:42-05:00December 20th, 2021|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|1 Comment

In the wild, a doe or buck that survives 4 or 5 years has lived a good, long life. Six or 7 years or more is ancient and rare for a wild deer. So I found it fascinating to read a report from Pennsylvania a few years ago that confirmed 2 wild does, which had been captured, ear-tagged and released, had lived to at least 13! One of those does was documented on a trail camera, and the other was shot by a hunter. That a deer could live 13 years in the wild with all the cars, coyotes and hunting pressure is yet another testament to how amazing whitetails are. As for the pictures here, I shot this fully [...]

13 12, 2021

Gene Wensel’s 222” Recurve Buck

Clay Hanback2021-12-13T14:36:15-05:00December 13th, 2021|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|1 Comment

I ran across an article written by legendary bowhunter Gene Wensel, whom I have long admired for his knowledge of the whitetail, his fine writing and most of all his genuine and deep-felt love of the outdoors and hunting. This passage is from from the story of Woody, the giant buck that Gene shot on December 30, 2004 (that's Gene in the foreground of the photo and his brother Barry in the back). The 222” non-typical is likely the highest-scoring whitetail ever killed with a recurve bow, arrow and broadhead. Gene wrote: “Hunting is a basic human instinct no different from eating, breathing, sleeping or reproducing. Every human is born with an instinct to hunt. I heard someone say that [...]