27 01, 2020

Pennsylvania Bowhunter Tags 43rd Buck

2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00January 27th, 2020|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, whitetail deer|1 Comment

Today’s fine guest post is from Big Daddy, who has been with me on the Big Deer Blog since I started it 11 years ago. Thanks for the support, BD! I began hunting in 1967 at age 12 and took my first bow-killed deer,a doe, that year. In those early years I was just trying to kill any deer. The years passed and most found me with a filled tag, some with bow others with gun. In 1976 I killed my first P&Y buck and it changed my hunting career forever. During the past 42 years I have taken 43 bucks with a bow, all but one in Pennsylvania. One was in New Jersey. I purchased property in north-central PA [...]

20 01, 2020

Hunting Management Bucks in Texas

2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00January 20th, 2020|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|3 Comments

There are 2 reasons to visit South Texas in January: the weather is wonderful, and there are plenty of big deer running around. On most ranches in Texas, those bucks are classified as either “trophy” or “management” deer. Trophies are bucks with 10 points or better that have the potential to grow 150-class racks and larger, up to 170-plus. The larger the racks, the more expensive they are to hunt. Texas ranchers and deer managers consider management bucks to be: 1) 4-year-old and older deer with limited antler potential; and 2) bucks with 9 points or less that gross score less than 140 inches. These are the type of bucks that I can afford to hunt (cost of a management [...]

16 01, 2020

Kansas: Butcher Buck Scores 321 3/8, Biggest Non-Typical Ever In State!

2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00January 16th, 2020|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Kansas: Butcher Buck Scores 321 3/8, Biggest Non-Typical Ever In State!

WICHITA – Kansas bowhunter, Brian Butcher, 38, harvested a whitetail buck in Chase County last October that he knew was something special. It wasn’t until the buck’s rack was measured by Boone and Crockett Club certified measurers on Friday, Jan. 3 that Butcher confirmed just how special the deer was. Butcher’s whitetail earned an unofficial net non-typical score of 321 3/8 inches. If accepted and verified by the Boone and Crockett Club the Butcher buck would rank fourth in the world for non-typical whitetail deer. As for the Kansas record books, Butcher’s buck will be the largest non-typical whitetail ever taken, surpassing the current state record for a non-typical whitetail harvested with archery equipment by 57 2/8 inches. “When I [...]

13 01, 2020

How to Find Shed Deer Antlers

2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00January 13th, 2020|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Shed Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on How to Find Shed Deer Antlers

Why do whitetail bucks spend so much time and energy growing antlers over the summer only to shed them five or six months later? “Scientists have pondered it for years and we still don’t know,” says whitetail biologist Dr. Mick Hellickson, who points to a couple of theories. Some scientists believe bucks shed annually so they’ll have the potential to replace damaged antlers. If a buck had to live his entire life with snapped tines or a broken beam he couldn’t fight his rivals or posture for does. A second theory suggests that bucks shed and grow new racks 10 to even 30 inches larger the following year to keep pace with their increasing weight and girth as they mature [...]

10 01, 2020

Alabama: What’s Up With Deer Warts?

2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00January 10th, 2020|BigDeer, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Alabama: What’s Up With Deer Warts?

Frightening-looking growths are popping up on Alabama’s white-tailed deer, and state wildlife officials say they have an explanation for the stomach-turning affliction. The Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division acknowledged the issue Tuesday, sharing photos of a buck found southeast of Tuscaloosa with bubble-like clusters on its head, neck and shoulders. The growths are a type of virus known as “deer warts,” and the division explained on its Facebook page: This deer had numerous cutaneous fibromas, or “deer warts”, on its head and neck. Cutaneous fibromas are hairless tumors found on the skin of white-tailed deer. They are caused by a virus and are almost always temporary. Deer may have only one or two of the fibromas, or the growths can be [...]

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