15 08, 2019

Virginia To Hold Public Meeting On CWD–All States Should Do The Same

2020-06-10T09:14:53-04:00August 15th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|Comments Off on Virginia To Hold Public Meeting On CWD–All States Should Do The Same

Throughout the summer of 2019 the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has hosted workshops on Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in West Tennessee counties where the disease has been documented. Experts from the TWRA and University of Tennessee have been on hand to answer all the complex and confusing questions hunters are sure have, such as: What exactly is CWD? How can it impact my hunting? I hunt the next county over from where CWD has been found, should I be worried? Can I carry a buck carcass home I shot in another county? Can I use deer urine? Can I eat the meat from a buck I shot in a CWD area? Is deer meat possibly contaminated—can it hurt my [...]

13 08, 2019

The Debate Over Deer Urine

2020-06-10T09:14:53-04:00August 13th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, Hunting News|Comments Off on The Debate Over Deer Urine

Earlier this summer South Carolina became the 9th state to ban the use of urine-based scents for deer hunting. In a press release, the South Carolina DNR said in part: “the department is following the lead of other states in proactively prohibiting the use of (urine) in order to minimize the potential for CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) introduction into South Carolina.” In response to this and other state bans on urine-based scents, two major scent companies—Wildlife Research Center and Tink’s, have issued this response: The argument made by rule makers to ban these products is that they unnaturally congregate deer like bait or feed, thereby increasing interaction between animals and possibly increasing the spread of disease. While a scent set-up [...]

8 08, 2019

Time To Reboot Your Tick Prevention

2020-06-10T09:14:53-04:00August 8th, 2019|Big Deer TV, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on Time To Reboot Your Tick Prevention

Today’s guest blog is from one of our regulars, Danny Myers of Maryland, and it’s a must read: I’ve always been relatively healthy. I would get a couple sinus infections every year, but other than that I almost never got sick. This past March while at one of my daughter’s volleyball tournaments I got a dizzy spell out of nowhere. I thought it came from not eating breakfast so I grabbed one of her sports drinks with a snack and didn’t think too much of it. I got a bad headache afterwards and asked my wife to drive me home. The headache continued for about 2 weeks and was similar to a sinus infection, so I went to an Urgent [...]

5 08, 2019

Deer Antlers August: How Much More Will They Grow?

2020-06-10T09:14:53-04:00August 5th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on Deer Antlers August: How Much More Will They Grow?

In early August velvet antlers begin to morph from soft and pliable to hardened bone. “A buck’s antlers will change from looking swollen or bulbous at the tips of the tines to a more normal diameter,” Missouri biologist Grant Woods told me. “Once this change in appearance occurs the buck won’t add much beam or tine growth.” By mid-August most of the antler growth for the year is done. Sometime between September 1 and 15 bucks will shed velvet. The cue for antler hardening and velvet shedding is the change in photo-period caused by decreasing daylight and increasing darkness, which results in a significant increase in the bucks’ testosterone. Velvet shedding typically takes only a couple of hours, though it [...]

1 08, 2019

5 Facts About Bachelor Groups Of Bucks

2020-06-10T09:14:53-04:00August 1st, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on 5 Facts About Bachelor Groups Of Bucks

If you’re out scouting and looking for deer in fields right now, you’re likely to spot at least one bachelor group of bucks. A gang of 2 to 3 to 8 bucks hanging out together in mid-summer is the norm, but I have seen as many as 12 boys in a group. Blog readers have emailed me over the years with reports of 15 to 19 bucks feeding and posturing together in a bean field in August! I suspect those mega-groups are actually 2 or 3 different bachelor groups that happened to come together. Bachelor groups are interesting. Some of the best information I have read on the topic comes from an article posted on the QDMA website by Matt [...]

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