28 08, 2015

Bowhunt Big Deer: When To Crowd A Buck’s Bedding Area

2020-06-10T09:19:35-04:00August 28th, 2015|Big Deer TV, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|1 Comment

In late summer whitetails are genetically programmed to set up their home ranges near nutritious food sources and with heavy bedding cover close by. This way bucks can pile on the pounds (up to 20 percent of their body weight now through September) while only moving short distances. Finding bucks now is all about zeroing in on the best food sources. The top four: alfalfa, soybeans, clover and corn. If you have any of these fields on your land, or if the crops are planted on neighboring properties, you will have bucks in your woods to hunt. It’s fairly easy to glass, locate and pattern bucks that come to feed in the alfalfa and beans fields. But setting up to [...]

17 06, 2015

Kids Hunting: What is the Right Age?

2020-06-10T09:19:36-04:00June 17th, 2015|Big Deer TV, Deer Hunting, Hunting News|9 Comments

I was astonished to read one time that a 4-year-old Mississippi boy shot his first deer. The local paper did a big story on it, saying the kid didn’t want a doe (he didn’t want a doe, or his Daddy didn’t want him to shoot a doe?). The boy waited for a 6-point buck and smoked him. Stories like this are cute and make us feel warm and fuzzy that our kids are getting into hunting and helping to perpetuate what we do. But how young is too young? Can a 4-year-old handle and aim a rifle safely, even with Dad holding it and pointing out the animal, which is hard if not impossible for a kid that age and size to [...]

13 05, 2015

Indiana To Shoot Down Centerfire Rifles for Deer Hunting

2020-06-10T09:19:37-04:00May 13th, 2015|BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Hunting News|10 Comments

From indystar.com: A controversial proposal that would have allowed Indiana deer hunters to use high-powered rifles is likely dead. Wildlife officials at the Department of Natural Resources are recommending against the proposal, saying the deep rift it caused among hunters has proven too contentious. While it's possible the Indiana Natural Resources Commission could buck the agency's recommendation next week, longtime followers of the 12-person board say it's very rare for that to happen. The proposal would have allowed the use of centerfire rifles larger than .243 in Indiana's firearms deer season. Currently, only muzzleloaders and slug guns are allowed, along with a few pistol calibers. The DNR says Indiana's nearly 266,500 deer hunters were split on the issue. But officials [...]

27 03, 2015

Coastal Blacktail Longbow Buck

2020-06-10T09:19:38-04:00March 27th, 2015|BigDeer, Deer Hunting|3 Comments

Guest blog from my young friend and adventurer Austin Manelick. A "ghost of the coast" with a longbow and cedar shaft is a great accomplishment:  There's something special about the Oregon blacktail deer, one of Fred Bear's favorite species to hunt. Roaming the coastal forests of the Cascades with stick and string chasing the ghost of the coast is a soul-cleansing experience. I found this buck while running through the woods back to my vehicle.  I was in a hurry to get back to my car and had let my guard down completely. The chunk of national forest I was hunting paralleled a busy back road adjacent to the Pacific Ocean.  Out of nowhere a buck sprung from his bed and [...]

Go to Top