BigDeer Archives - Page 91 of 343

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 [...]

7 12, 2020

How To Judge Bucks After The Rut

Clay Hanback2020-11-24T08:59:40-05:00December 7th, 2020|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, whitetail deer|Comments Off on How To Judge Bucks After The Rut

Lindsay Thomas of the National Deer Association is an expert at sizing up bucks on the hoof. I asked him to give us some tips for the December post-rut. “Judging the age of a buck after the rut can be difficult for the same reason it's tough prior to the rut,” he says, “because not all of the important aging characteristics are in place. “We don't recommend estimating the age of bucks in summer because all of them have skinny necks. Until testosterone rises as the rut approaches, you don't get the neck swelling that helps distinguish older bucks from younger bucks. “Over the course of the rut, we know bucks can lose a lot of weight from the exertion [...]

2 12, 2020

How To Rattle Bucks In December Post-Rut

Clay Hanback2020-11-23T11:04:13-05:00December 2nd, 2020|BigDeer|Comments Off on How To Rattle Bucks In December Post-Rut

One cold, still morning in early December, we hiked down into a canyon near the Cimarron River in western Oklahoma and set up on a rocky outcropping. As pink dawn was breaking, my friend Kenny hissed, "Buck in the river.” I peeked at the deer, an old fellow with a bull chest, thin hips and a gray face. I hadn’t looked at his rack yet but I knew he was a shooter, probably 5½ years old. “Eight pointer, gnarly,” Kenny reported from behind his binoculars. “He’ll be on our side of the river in a few steps.” The old warrior stepped out of the misty river and disappeared into thick brush. He popped out 250 yards away and I was [...]