Deer Hunting Archives

13 09, 2025

When To Drive Straight To Your Deer Stand

Clay Hanback2025-09-11T14:39:41-04:00September 13th, 2025|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|0 Comments

When bowhunting large cut corn or alfalfa fields, I often have a buddy drive a truck or ATV through the field and drop me off as close as possible to my tree stand. On morning hunts, we drive in an hour before sunup; for evening sits, we drive in around 2 p.m. , and I have him pick me up after dark . If deer are out in the field or close by in the surrounding woods, they run off a ways, just as they would when a rancher or farmer drove in any normal day of the week. They are used to farm vehicles. I have my driver (either truck or quad) park and idle there until I slip [...]

11 09, 2025

Big Deer’s 2025 Moon and Rut Hunting Guide

Clay Hanback2025-09-11T13:56:03-04:00September 11th, 2025|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, sportsman channel, trijicon, whitetail deer|0 Comments

2025 ruting moon phases: Full November 5…last quarter November 11…new November 19…first quarter November 27 As I have said time and again 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 50 years, more than 30 of those professionally. I’m also a moon fanatic. Over the years I figure I’ve spent more than 1,000 days in a deer stand in November, during every imaginable moon phase, and all the waxing and waning days. My journal notes and personal and observations indicate there is something to the November moon and how it impacts the movements of rutting whitetails. My 2025 predictions: I [...]

5 09, 2025

Which Rattling Horns Work Best?

Clay Hanback2025-08-26T11:54:40-04:00September 5th, 2025|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Gear Reviews, whitetail deer|0 Comments

Question from a reader: Mike, what kind of rattling antlers do you use? Do the little bags and boxes work, or are they gimmicks?—Joe from PA Joe: I use a set of 140-class sheds from a mature buck I missed with my bow out on the Milk River some years ago. A buddy found the sheds the spring after I missed the old deer the previous October and made the set for me. (Picture shows me with those sheds and a buck I rattled in but did not miss this time:) Those horns are perfect, with good mass and thick tines to make the deep thudding and grinding sounds of two mature bucks locked up. You need a good-size set, [...]

29 08, 2025

Daniel Nelson’s 2024 Illinois Giant Buck, 200 2/8 Gross NT

Clay Hanback2025-08-26T11:27:03-04:00August 29th, 2025|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|0 Comments

Todays' great guest blog from BIG DEER field reporter Dean Weimer: In the lead up to last year’s deer season, Daniel Nelson’s cousin Lance sent some images of a bucks he was seeing on his new hunting property. Daniel thought that one buck in particular might be in the 145-150-class. A few days later Daniel received a better picture of the deer, and realized he was looking at a buck that was more likely in the 170s. That is when both Daniel and Lance, who have hunted together for 23 years, became more interested in the buck. And with each new image of the buck that the guys got, Daniel thought he might like to hunt him. The only issue [...]

26 08, 2025

What Determines a Buck’s Antler Color?

Clay Hanback2025-08-26T10:32:31-04:00August 26th, 2025|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|0 Comments

Question from a reader: Mike, I hunt deer on a ranch in eastern Wyoming. Some of the bucks have blonde antlers; others have chocolate-brown racks. Why is this? Seems like the dark antlers are slightly more common on bigger bucks. I've also seen this difference in the whitetails I've hunted back home in Minn.--Tim Tim, biologists say antler coloration is determined by several things, including: (1) buck age. younger bucks tend to have lighter-colored antlers. Older, more dominant bucks often have darker antlers. But this is not set in stone. (2) bark coloration of the predominant rubbing trees in a region. Bucks that rub light-colored trees, like aspen, have light antlers, while bucks that blaze pines and cedars with sap [...]