10 06, 2019

West Virginia’s 4 Archery-Only Deer Counties

2020-06-10T09:15:19-04:00June 10th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on West Virginia’s 4 Archery-Only Deer Counties

Last fall Donny Baisden scouted and hunted and shot this awesome unicorn buck in Logan West Virginia. The giant scored 182 5/8. Bucks of this caliber have been coming out of not only Logan but also Wingo, McDowell and Wyoming counties for the last 40 years. It’s been one of bowhunting’s best-kept secrets! In the early 1970s whitetails were scarce, almost nonexistent, in southern West Virginia. “I spent a lot of time in the woods as a youngster, yet I can recall seeing only five deer,” said local hunter and writer John McCoy. “Three were on the property of a coal company that maintained a game preserve, and two moseyed out of the woods across from the school I attended. [...]

8 04, 2019

Ohio: 2018 Deer Harvest Down, But Big Buck Kill Up

2020-06-10T09:15:19-04:00April 8th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on Ohio: 2018 Deer Harvest Down, But Big Buck Kill Up

Hunters checked 172,040 whitetails deer during Ohio’s 2018-2019 season, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). That’s down from last year, when 186,247 deer were checked. Some of the decrease can be attributed to poor weather throughout the fall of 2018. While the overall harvest was down, the number of big bucks killed with a bow was impressive. In the photo: Gary Bendele shot this giant (170 net Booner) with his bow on November 8, 2018 in Fayette County. Ethan  Featheroff’s monster non-typical, shot last October, grossed 220! Facts about deer hunting in Ohio: Regulations set by ODNR over the past four seasons have been designed to allow for moderate herd growth throughout most of the state; herd [...]

1 04, 2019

2018 Pennsylvania Deer Harvest Highest In 14 Years…State “has never managed whitetails better.”

2020-06-10T09:15:20-04:00April 1st, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science|1 Comment

From the York Dispatch: "The (Pennsylvania Game Commission) reported that a total of 374,690 deer were harvested during the state’s 2018-19 hunting seasons, which closed in January. "That total tops the previous year’s harvest of 367,159 by about 10 percent." The 2018 antlerless harvest of 226,940 was up about 10 percent over last year. Data show that most does—64%--killed by hunters were 2.5 years old, and the remainder were 1.5 years old. The 2018-19 buck kill of 147,750 was down 10% from the previous season. The commission says that steady, heavy rain during opening weekend of gun season was the biggest reason for the decline—it kept a lot of hunters out of the woods, and the bucks didn’t move well in [...]

11 03, 2019

2018 Virginia Deer Harvest

2020-06-10T09:15:25-04:00March 11th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|Comments Off on 2018 Virginia Deer Harvest

In my home state of Virginia last season, hunters harvested 190,636 deer, including 96,239 antlered bucks, 12,342 button bucks, and 82,055 does. Bowhunters killed 26,676 of those deer. For the first time since crossbows became legal for all archery hunters in fall 2005, the number of whitetails taken with crossbows exceeded the number taken with vertical bows. Blackpowder hunters shot 43,749 deer during the popular November muzzleloader season. Firearms hunters (rifles and shotguns) killed 120,074 deer, or 63% of the total. Approximately 161,800 deer (85%) were checked using the Department’s electronic telephone and Go Outdoors Virginia online checking portal. Virginia Deer Project Coordinator Matt Knox expected the fall 2018 harvest total to be down for 2 reasons. First, much of [...]

4 03, 2019

Ohio Bowhunter Builds Incredible Fighting Buck Mount!

2020-06-10T09:15:25-04:00March 4th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on Ohio Bowhunter Builds Incredible Fighting Buck Mount!

Last November bowhunter Lee Fackler shot a huge 17-point buck in Putnam County, Ohio, but in reality he scored a 27-pointer. As you can see below, Lee's buck had a recently expired 10-point buck entangled with it. Lee tagged his buck and called in the Ohio DNR, which gave him a salvage tag for the second deer. UPDATE: Lee recently picked up the 2 heads, which his taxidermist had mounted separately. Lee went home and built this awesome display and fitted the bucks back together in fighting form as he had encountered them that day last November. Incredible job sir, looks amazing! Special thanks to Nikisha Fackler for providing these pictures                   [...]

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