CWD Archives - Big Deer

3 06, 2024

Pennsylvania’s CWD Surveillance of Deer

Clay Hanback2024-06-03T13:55:45-04:00June 3rd, 2024|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, CWD, Hunting News, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Pennsylvania’s CWD Surveillance of Deer

Since July 1, 2023, the PA Game Commission has collected nearly 11,000 CWD samples from deer. Hunter harvested samples from last season made up the bulk of those with over 7,000. CWD was detected in a total of 291 of those hunter-harvested deer. To date, over 440 deer have tested positive for CWD in the 2023-2024 sampling year, up from 426 CWD-positive samples in 2022-23. “CWD surveillance is crucial to managing the disease,” said agency CWD Section Supervisor Andrea Korman. “CWD is a serious threat to deer and elk. Knowing where the disease is allows us to focus our efforts to keep more deer from becoming infected.” One of those efforts is using CWD Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) units [...]

5 04, 2024

First Case Of CWD in Indiana Whitetail

Clay Hanback2024-04-05T13:41:09-04:00April 5th, 2024|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, CWD, Deer Hunting, Hunting News, whitetail deer|Comments Off on First Case Of CWD in Indiana Whitetail

The Indiana DNR has confirmed the state’s first positive case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in an adult white-tailed buck that was harvested in LaGrange County in fall 2023. CWD is a fatal infectious disease, caused by a misfolded protein called a prion, that affects the nervous system in white-tailed deer. It can spread from deer-to-deer contact, bodily fluids, or through contaminated environments and remains in the soil for many years. The sample for this case was collected by a licensed taxidermist through DNR’s CWD Taxidermist Incentive Program. CWD has previously been detected in the four states bordering Indiana (Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Kentucky) and is now found in 33 states. Because CWD had been detected in Michigan near the [...]

12 06, 2023

Oklahoma Confirms First Case of Chronic Wasting Disease

Clay Hanback2023-06-12T09:37:59-04:00June 12th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, CWD, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Oklahoma Confirms First Case of Chronic Wasting Disease

A white-tailed deer in the Oklahoma Panhandle has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD). A Texas County landowner reported the deer to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) after witnessing it behaving abnormally. The deer was recovered near Optima and testing was conducted. This marks the first case of CWD in a wild deer in Oklahoma. “While this is unfortunate news, it is not unexpected since CWD has already been detected in every state that borders Oklahoma. We will be working through our response plan to ensure we can monitor potential spread and keep our state’s deer herd healthy,” said Jerry Shaw, Wildlife Programs Supervisor with ODWC. CWD is an always-fatal neurological disease that affects the brains of deer, elk, [...]

17 04, 2023

6.5 PRC for Deer/Hog Hunting

Clay Hanback2023-04-17T10:08:00-04:00April 17th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, CWD, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, Hornady, trijicon, whitetail deer|Comments Off on 6.5 PRC for Deer/Hog Hunting

In 2018, Hornady introduced the 6.5 PRC, or Precision Rifle Cartridge, as big brother to the 6.5 Creedmoor. The 6.5 PRC is based on the little known .300 Ruger Compact Magnum, necked down to accommodate 6.5mm bullets. Examine a PRC round and you’ll notice how short and fat the case is, and how far the bullet protrudes from the brass. By design, the distance from primer to the cartridge’s front edge (right at 2 inches) is shortened to ensure proper seating of a long, high ballistic-coefficient bullet in a short-action bolt magazine. By far the most popular load for the 6.5 PRC is Hornady’s Precision Hunter with 143-grain ELD-X bullet, though more PRC loads are coming to market as the [...]

14 03, 2023

Here’s What Deer Hunting Will Look Like in 2030

Clay Hanback2023-03-14T08:41:17-04:00March 14th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, CWD, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|3 Comments

When I moved on from squirrels to birds to hunting deer with my dad in the 1970s, there were about 200,000 whitetails in Virginia. Today, we’ve got almost 5 times that many. In the 1980s and 90s, we went from “if it’s brown it’s down” to the “horn porn” era. Whitetail management was in its infancy, and many people mistakenly took working to improve the health of a deer herd for engineering the growth of gigantic antlers. All you saw in hunting magazines and on videos, which were exploding in popularity then, were images of pen-raised bucks with enormous, protein-loaded 190- to 250-inch-plus racks. If the average hunter dared drag a forkie or 6-point back to camp, he was ridiculed [...]