Deer Science Archives - Page 6 of 44

3 04, 2023

Oldest Wild Whitetail Buck Shot on Outdoor TV

Clay Hanback2023-04-03T09:18:59-04:00April 3rd, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, CZ-USA, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|1 Comment

Jason Morton spotted the buck and knew right away the animal was old. The deer was a bag of bones, and walked stiffly with a slow, hip-swaying gait. The 7-point antlers were on the heavy side, but stubby and going downhill from what the rack must have been a few years ago. The “Legend,” as the buck was known around this part of southeast Kansas, walked closer, and Jason had a decision to make. He raised his CZ rifle in 6.5 PRC and looked once more at the ancient deer through the scope. Doubt he’ll make it through another tough winter, Jason thought as he pressed the trigger. Minutes later guide Brian Helman got a text but no picture: Ever [...]

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 [...]

28 02, 2023

What Causes Bucks to Have Weak Brow Tines or No Brows?

Clay Hanback2023-02-28T15:35:19-05:00February 28th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science, whitetail deer|1 Comment

Last month I hunted a friend's ranch in West Texas, 5 hours west of San Antonio and 80 miles north of Del Rio. This is a raw, rocky desert environment that had experienced a long drought, though there is a good water system on this 1,000-acre property. My buddy Cecil recently purchased the ranch, and he has been running 8 to 10 corn feeders year-round. There has been minimal protein feeding here the last 2 years, but he plans to fill the protein feeders and increase supplemental feeding this year. I hunted a week and one thing jumped out at me: 7 out of every 10 bucks of all age classes we saw had small and weak brow tines (that’s [...]

6 02, 2023

150-Inch Bullwinkle Buck Shot W/Bow in Pennsylvania

Clay Hanback2023-02-06T07:56:22-05:00February 6th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on 150-Inch Bullwinkle Buck Shot W/Bow in Pennsylvania

Troy Dietterich sent this photo and email: I may have shot a Bullwinkle nose deer. I have it butchered and in my freezer, and plan to eat it as it is mixed in with my other deer meat. I did not contact any state departments about this and just stumbled upon this issue as a friend sent me the article. Southeastern PA, WMU 5C Killed Oct 29 2022 A.M. This deer was the biggest one around. This area rarely produces deer larger than 120''. This buck scored 153 6/8'' gross and weighed 246# live weight and 192# dressed. Just a massive animal for these parts. I butchered the deer myself and the meat and bones/joints all looked healthy. I did [...]

2 11, 2022

3 Ways To Hunt Whitetail Scrapes

Clay Hanback2022-10-31T14:18:31-04:00November 2nd, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on 3 Ways To Hunt Whitetail Scrapes

Researchers at the University of Georgia conducted a two-year study on a 3,500-acre property in the northern part of the state where the rut peaks in mid-November, as it does in most regions. The land was managed for a healthy whitetail population, and the age structure of the bucks was good. Those bucks were wild, and hunted by people. This was not another study of pen deer, but a real-world project that unearthed some interesting results. Aiming their trail cameras at every scrape they could find, the researchers got reams of videotape and images of deer at scrapes. One major finding--while multiple bucks of all ages (in one case 13 different animals) might eagerly paw one set of scrapes, similar [...]