BigDeer Archives - Page 90 of 342

21 12, 2020

Best Tactics for the Second Deer Rut

Clay Hanback2020-12-21T09:55:20-05:00December 21st, 2020|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Best Tactics for the Second Deer Rut

At first I figured some guy on the next ridge had spooked the jittery doe that dashed past my stand. But then I had a premonition: Was something more happening here? I readied my .270, just as the 9-pointer prowled forth, grunting with his nose to the ground. Easy shot. That would have been your classic rut hunt, except for one thing. I killed that gnarly buck on a cold day in late December, a good month after the breeding season had peaked in Virginia. Understanding the Second Rut Many hunters think the rut is confined to 2 or 3 weeks in mid-November, but it’s not. There is more “trickle breeding” going on into December than you might imagine. Bucks [...]

17 12, 2020

Illinois Bowhunter Bags 302-Pound Buck

Clay Hanback2020-12-08T13:55:18-05:00December 17th, 2020|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Illinois Bowhunter Bags 302-Pound Buck

Today’s guest post (part II) is from Ellie and Zach Atkins, BIG DEER’s favorite hunting couple: Hey Mike, it's Zach, so I'll tell you my story now. I take “rutcation” every year from November 1st-15th from work. Well, this year was amazing! I saw a ton of deer but I was after 2 particular bucks, and by the end of my vacation I only saw them twice. They weren't close enough to shoot. My rutcation ended and I went back to work. The following weekend coming up would be shotgun season here in Illinois, on November 20th. On November 17th, my birthday, Ellie told me, "Hey, go try and buy a buck tag for Mclean County and go out this weekend [...]

16 12, 2020

Illinois Huntress Bags One-Eyed Buck

Clay Hanback2020-12-08T13:48:42-05:00December 16th, 2020|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|1 Comment

Today’s guest post is from Ellie and Zach Atkins, BIG DEER’s favorite hunting couple: Hey Mike, it's Ellie and Zach here from Illinois. I wanted to submit our hunting photos and stories from the 2020 season. First, I'll start with Ellie’s. Last year Ellie and I bought a house in late September. So pretty much the entire October 2019 season consisted of packing and moving stuff. Almost every evening as we unloaded boxes and put our house together our cellular trail camera kept going off over and over with the same buck walking the same path. Ellie looked at me and said, "Next year we gotta focus on early season and go down and hunt that stand." Well sure enough, [...]

10 12, 2020

Tennessee: Hunter Kills Two Big Bucks On Back-To-Back Hunts

Clay Hanback2020-12-08T11:17:57-05:00December 10th, 2020|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Tennessee: Hunter Kills Two Big Bucks On Back-To-Back Hunts

Today’s great guest post is from Zach Shipley, who had the deer season of a lifetime on farm that he and his dad lease in southeast Tennessee near the Cumberland Plateau region: Mike: I’ve been a die-hard whitetail hunter for 30 years and have dreamed of harvesting a true trophy buck ever since my dad got me interested in deer hunting when I was 6 years old. I’ve been fortunate enough to harvest several “nice” bucks over my years of hunting, but this past muzzleloader season was truly a season like no other. I went to my stand on November 17, 2020 after working all night the night before. I sat all day and at the end of my hunt, [...]

8 12, 2020

Vampire Buck: Deer With Fangs

Clay Hanback2020-12-08T10:04:53-05:00December 8th, 2020|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Vampire Buck: Deer With Fangs

I just saw on Twitter where an Indiana hunter shot a buck with fangs. I have been hunting whitetails for more than 40 years, and blogging about deer for 2 decades. The Indiana deer is only the third “Vampire Buck” I’ve heard about (the others were in Texas and Oklahoma). Here’s the scoop on deer w/fangs. Some 7 million years ago, dating back to the Miocene Epoch, ancestors of the modern whitetail had long, curved, sharp canines. Paleontologists say the small deer-like animals used the fangs, or tusks, for survival. Over time, whitetails evolved antlers for defense, and the upper canine teeth regressed. While lower canines are present in all whitetails today, upper ones are uncommon. Brian Murphy, a well-known [...]