Bowhunting Archives - Page 43 of 65

3 05, 2018

Mills Buck 172 6/8: Virginia’s No. 4 Archery Non-Typical

admin2020-06-10T09:15:53-04:00May 3rd, 2018|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on Mills Buck 172 6/8: Virginia’s No. 4 Archery Non-Typical

Yesterday I took this picture of Wayne Mills and the incredible buck he shot in Rappahannock County, Virginia, in October 2016. I had seen pictures of this deer, but to see it in person was amazing. Main-frame 12-point with split brow tines…21 score-able points and stickers for character. Net 172 6/8 non-typical. Number 4 all-time in Virginia according to the latest Pope and Young book. We spend a good 2 hours filming a video segment with Wayne and this giant, and you’ll see and hear the story on a new episode of BIG DEER TV this fall. Here’s the written version in Wayne’s words, which first appeared on the blog in November 2016: I was given permission on a new [...]

26 03, 2018

Why Are Fewer People Hunting in 2018?

admin2020-06-10T09:15:54-04:00March 26th, 2018|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|2 Comments

A survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reveals that only 5% of Americans age 16 and up hunt. That's half of what it was 50 years ago. The number of licensed hunters, most of them deer hunters, dropped from 14.2 million in 1991 to 11.5 million in 2016. Most disturbing, the decline is expected to accelerate over the next decades. Why fewer of us? I have my suspicions and government agencies and wildlife organizations have their theories, but I wanted information from real-life hard-core hunters, so I did a little Twitter/social survey. It’s far from scientific, but pretty darn representative I believe. Loss of Access By far the number one reason fewer people are hunting, especially east of [...]

7 03, 2018

What to Plant in Deer Food Plots

admin2020-06-10T09:15:54-04:00March 7th, 2018|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|Comments Off on What to Plant in Deer Food Plots

Time to start thinking about what to plant this spring: If you live and hunt in the Northeast: Try planting a 60/40 mix of perennial clover (Imperial Whitetail Clover is my favorite) and chicory. Later in July or August, plant a couple of cool-season (fall) plots heavy with brassicas and the like. If you live and hunt in the Mid-Atlantic: Trebark camo creator turned deer-management guru Jim Crumley plants good old ladino clover on his 300-acre property along the James River in Virginia. “It’s a low-maintenance, high-quality perennial (25% protein) that, once planted, will last for 5 years and can be easily over seeded,” he says. If you hunt in the South: If you have the land, equipment and money [...]

29 01, 2018

Deer Season is Over: Learn From Your Mistakes

admin2020-06-10T09:16:08-04:00January 29th, 2018|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting|2 Comments

I have started thinking back about what went right and what went wrong last season. The best memories are of the few days when I shot a buck, but I will learn the most by replaying and analyzing all those tough and lean days and weeks when I didn’t get a deer. How did I mess up? What could I have done differently? Map and Scout More A buddy called last September and said, “Hey man, I got permission to hunt a new farm, you in?” “Let’s go!” I roared and off we went for a week in the early season. We hunted like mad, had fun, saw some deer but came home empty-handed. We should have slowed down and [...]

25 01, 2018

Shed Hunting: What Killed That Deadhead Buck?

admin2020-06-10T09:16:08-04:00January 25th, 2018|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Shed Hunting|Comments Off on Shed Hunting: What Killed That Deadhead Buck?

Shed antler season 2018 has officially begun, and people across the country are roaming the woods—and, it seems, finding an inordinate number of “deadheads,” or the carcasses of mature bucks that have been dead for weeks and more likely months. They are popping up everywhere on social media. Run across a dead buck and what comes to mind: What killed this animal? Lost by a bowhunter…hit by a car (ran off into the woods and perished)…attacked by a predator…succumbed to EHD last summer? Here are some interesting tips from the QDMA on how to examine a deadhead and possibly determine its cause of death. Also, while doing a rudimentary field autopsy on a dead buck is fine, remember that in [...]