whitetail deer Archives - Page 51 of 95

7 03, 2022

14 Facts About Shed Deer Antlers

Clay Hanback2022-03-07T09:43:55-05:00March 7th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Shed Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on 14 Facts About Shed Deer Antlers

#1 Typical Whitetail Antler in Shed Record Book: 6-point 104 6/8 left side picked up in Illinois 1992. #1 Non-Typical Whitetail Antler in Shed Record Book: 24-point 156 5/8 right side found in Saskatchewan 2007. Individual bucks often shed their antlers the same week every year. Older bucks in good physical condition generally retain their antlers longer than those who are nutritionally stressed. Older bucks that skip meals during the breeding season and rut hard the previous fall may be in poor post-rut condition, and are choice candidates for early antler casting. Increasing daylight and a buck’s falling testosterone cause antlers to shed. Once a buck drops one antler, the other one usually falls off within hours or a day. [...]

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 [...]