whitetail deer Archives - Page 49 of 92

21 02, 2022

Which States Shoot The Most Whitetail Does?

Clay Hanback2022-02-21T10:06:45-05:00February 21st, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Which States Shoot The Most Whitetail Does?

In its excellent 2022 Deer Report, the National Deer Association (NDA) states that hunters in the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast combined to shoot more than 3.2 million antlerless deer during the 2020-21 season, the last season for which comprehensive records are available. This marks the first time America’s antlerless kill, which includes both does and buck fawns shot by mistake, has topped 3 million since 2013. Further, in 2020-21 hunters shot more antlerless deer than antlered bucks for the first time since 2017, and reversed a significant national trend that experienced a 20% reduction in doe harvest between 2007 and 2019. The top 3 states for doe harvest are Texas (402,515 animals), Pennsylvania (260,400) and Michigan (191,252). Pennsylvania hunters killed [...]

17 02, 2022

Alabama Hunter Kills 8-Point Doe

Clay Hanback2022-02-17T08:18:55-05:00February 17th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Alabama Hunter Kills 8-Point Doe

Last season, a group of hunters was celebrating the harvest of a nice 8-point in Sumter County, but they were in for a surprise when the deer was hoisted up on the skinning rack. “Boys, this is a doe,” said the fellow that shot it. The deer weighed a stout 175 pounds and had 8 scorable points on its rack, including two kickers on the base of one antler. The lucky hunter said the deer was not chasing a doe but walking behind it. The doe urinated and this deer lip-curled just like a buck would. Chris Cook, Alabama’s Deer Program Coordinator, said the 8-point was what wildlife biologists call a “pseudohermaphrodite.” “A deer like this with hardened antlers will [...]

15 02, 2022

Big Deer’s Moon-Rut Guide Spot On For Two Giant Bucks

Clay Hanback2022-02-15T11:51:52-05:00February 15th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Big Deer’s Moon-Rut Guide Spot On For Two Giant Bucks

Last September we posted that in a fall like 2021 with two “rutting moons”—October 20 and the second was November 19—the pump was primed for a classic “trickle rut” in the whitetail woods. We predicted that some adult does would cue off the first full moon and come into estrous in late October while other does would cue off the November full moon and be ready to breed in mid-to-late November. In between those full moons and time frames you would see ebbs and flows of rutting activity. Testimonials After the 2021 bow season Big Daddy wrote to us via Messenger: Mike, last year you predicted a good rut after the full moon in October. Here in northern Pennsylvania, you [...]

11 02, 2022

Are Whitetail Bucks Becoming More Nocturnal Than Ever?

Clay Hanback2022-02-11T08:58:54-05:00February 11th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Are Whitetail Bucks Becoming More Nocturnal Than Ever?

I’ve been both awed and frustrated by the nocturnal tendencies of mature bucks for years, but last season was ridiculous. Everywhere I went, from Virginia to Canada to Indiana, bucks 3 years of age and older showed up on trail camera at night but moved little and randomly in daylight hours. On all the lands I hunted, human pressure, which can turn bucks nocturnal overnight, was light to nonexistent. Was this just me, or were other hunters experiencing the same? “We saw exactly the same thing on our north-central Pennsylvania farm,” said biologist Kip Adams with the National Deer Association. “I know of many folks in the eastern half of the U.S experienced the same thing. I firmly believe it [...]

8 02, 2022

How Many Whitetail Bucks Do Hunters Shoot Each Season?

Clay Hanback2022-02-08T11:33:27-05:00February 8th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Hunting News, whitetail deer|Comments Off on How Many Whitetail Bucks Do Hunters Shoot Each Season?

The National Deer Association (NDA) reports that hunters across the United States killed an estimated 3,041,544 bucks in the 2020-21 season, the most in 21 years. “2020 saw the highest buck harvest in the new century, and amazingly we estimate that we set another new record for the percentage of those bucks that were 3½ years old or older,” said Kip Adams, NDA’s Chief Conservation Officer. “U.S. hunters are taking fewer yearling bucks and killing more of them as mature deer, but this doesn’t mean fewer bucks harvested overall. We’re killing older bucks and more bucks than ever in America.” Nationally, the antlerless harvest (does and buck fawns) jumped 12% in 2020-21 to 3,207,937, reversing a three-year decline and putting [...]