3 03, 2014

Thanking Rand Paul

2020-06-10T09:23:04-04:00March 3rd, 2014|BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Hunting News|4 Comments

We all need to stand up and thank Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) for putting a hold on Dr. Vivek Murthy, President Obama’s pick for Surgeon General of the United States. A hold is a parliamentary procedure that allows a Senator to prevent a motion (Murthy’s nomination) from reaching a vote on the Senate floor. As this article points out, Paul wrote in a letter to Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada): “Historically, the Surgeon General of the United States has been a position with the purpose of educating Americans so that they may lead healthier lives, rather than advancing a political agenda.” Murthy’s agenda? Very anti-gun. Wrote Sen. Paul: “The primary policy goals of Dr. Murthy’s organization (Doctors for America) have been [...]

30 01, 2014

Why Was 2013 Deer Season Lousy?

2020-06-10T09:23:05-04:00January 30th, 2014|BigDeer, Deer Science, Hunting News|19 Comments

Last season was one of my toughest ever. I was in the woods for some 70 days across the country, and nothing came easy. I saw fewer deer—and fewer mature bucks—than in years past. In some places we saw way fewer deer. The camera guys and I hunted hard as hell and we shot some good bucks. But we had to scratch and claw for every one we got.   It was tough hunting for many of you too, especially if you live in the Midwest. Some preliminary figures show the deer kill was down 7 percent in Wisconsin and Minnesota; down a whopping 25 percent in Illinois; down 10-20 percent in Michigan (depending on region, from south to north); [...]

6 01, 2014

Illinois: 2013 Deer Harvest Down 25%

2020-06-10T09:23:05-04:00January 6th, 2014|BigDeer, Hunting News|8 Comments

According to the Illinois DNR, hunters killed a preliminary total of 74,191 deer during the seven-day firearm deer season (first season was Nov. 22-24, second season was Dec. 5-8). Compare that to the 2012 when hunters shot 99,546 deer during the two gun hunts. What caused the big harvest drop? This article speculates that recent outbreaks of EHD the last two summers were worse than thought, and that coyotes are taking a measurable toll on the state’s herd (something we have been monitoring big time on the blog, plus we did a full BIG DEER TV episode on coyote-deer predation last year). But the story goes on to imply that the DNR might be mismanaging the deer herd by permitting [...]

7 11, 2013

Indiana: 2 More Giants Dead to EHD

2020-06-10T09:23:20-04:00November 7th, 2013|BigDeer, Deer Science, Hunting News|2 Comments

Greg saw this post on Twitter and tweeted me about another Indiana giant that likely succumbed to EHD this summer. Dave saw it too and tweeted: “Here is another west central Indiana giant that was taken by EHD. This one was found in 2012.” #shame Two more world-class bucks that this dreadful disease killed. I hope scientists can figure out some way to battle this buck killer, but to date there is nothing we can do.

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