A popular question this time of year: Will the bucks I’ve been watching in fields and getting on my trail cameras this summer stick around when hunting season opens, or once the bachelor groups start separating will the bucks disperse and disappear? According to Penn State’s Deer-Forest study, more than half of the small-antlered yearlings (18 months old) you’ve been seeing will hit the road from mid-September through early November. The adult bucks, however, won’t be going anywhere, which is good news. Very rarely does a mature buck have a different home range during the breeding season from one he used all summer. However, it might seem like the big bucks disappeared. First, the bachelor groups break up. And then during [...]

2017 rut moon phases: Full November 4…last quarter November 10…new November 18…first quarter November 26 As I have said time and again here on the blog and on BIG DEER TV, I am neither a scientist nor an astronomer. But I am a whitetail hunter and have been doing it for 40 years, more than 30 of those professionally. I’m also a moon fanatic. Over the years I figure I’ve spent between 880 and 1,000 days in a deer stand in November, during every imaginable moon phase and all waxing and waning days. My journal notes and personal observations say that there is definitely something to the November moon and how it impacts the movements of rutting whitetails. My 2017 [...]

BIG DEER blogger Dan has been watching 30-plus bucks all summer, including the 2 studs above. He writes in an update: None of them have dispersed yet, and there are more bucks showing up… I got over 4,000 pics this past week alone and saw several new bucks!  Some of the regulars were back that I had thought moved on. I'm certain that they will separate and move away very soon, but I've never had this many bucks stick around this long. Or, maybe I'm wrong and they will stick around for the whole family to chase all season! This could be an awesome year for us.  Today is the bow opener for Dan. He’s taking his daughter, Lexi, right after [...]

More than 70 wildfires are burning in 8 Western states, dozens of them in hot and dry Montana, where 2017 archery elk and deer seasons are opening up. Residents and the many out-of-staters that hunt Big Sky are wondering how the dry conditions and fire danger might affect their hunting. As of today, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) is not recommending the closure of any seasons. “(But) if a private landowner or an agency such as the Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management makes the decision to restrict or postpone hunting or other activity on their property, that is a decision we respect and accept," said FWP Director Martha Williams. Due to fire danger, currently more than 80 [...]