whitetail deer Archives - Page 50 of 93

1 03, 2022

Plant Sawtooth Oaks For Deer, Especially If You Bowhunt

Clay Hanback2022-02-27T11:00:48-05:00March 1st, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Management, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Plant Sawtooth Oaks For Deer, Especially If You Bowhunt

This year you might want to plant some mast trees, especially if long-term habitat management for whitetails and turkeys is on your agenda. In the early 1990s, Trebark camo creator Jim Crumley purchased and planted 50 sawtooth oak seedlings on a 300-acre property he owns and hunts on the banks of Virginia’s James River. He clustered 30 of the fast-growing seedlings in one open area, and scattered the rest around. “They’ve done great. Some trees produced acorns in the eighth fall,” he says. “By the 12th year the trees were 8 to 10 feet tall, and all but four of them were bearing.” The best part about sawtooth oaks, which came from eastern Asia, is that unlike our native white [...]

23 02, 2022

The Best Handguns For Deer Hunting

Clay Hanback2022-02-23T14:54:26-05:00February 23rd, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, whitetail deer|Comments Off on The Best Handguns For Deer Hunting

Having already shot his buck earlier in the season, my buddy Neil decided to try his hand at handgun hunting to fill a management doe tag. Here’s how the hunt went down, in Neil’s words: I could only hunt for a few hours that Saturday because I had to baby sit later that day. I had to draw blood early or not at all, which seemed like a foolhardy and insurmountable feat since I had never hunted with a pistol before, much yet killed anything with it. Half-hour after first light 2 does came in, broadside at about 40 yards. I raised my .41 Magnum and fired at the bigger of the two deer, the lead doe. Boom! She didn't [...]

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 [...]