Big Deer TV Archives - Page 161 of 198

21 04, 2017

Earth Day 2017: Hunters America’s #1 Conservationists

admin2020-06-10T09:16:29-04:00April 21st, 2017|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on Earth Day 2017: Hunters America’s #1 Conservationists

On Earth Day tomorrow, I refer you to an enlightening passage written some years ago by two of America’s top deer biologists, Drs. Larry Marchinton and Karl Miller: In the United States roughly 3 million white-tailed deer are harvested each year… This translates to about 150 million pounds of meat. Add to this the amount of elk, turkey, squirrel, rabbit and other game as well as wild fruits, nuts, and vegetables that is consumed. To produce this amount of beef, chicken, or vegetable crops in addition to that which is already produced would be ecologically devastating. Acres and acres of wild places would have to be destroyed to accommodate this increased agricultural production. More wildlife habitat would have to be [...]

18 04, 2017

How Deer Antlers Grow

admin2020-06-10T09:16:30-04:00April 18th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|Comments Off on How Deer Antlers Grow

In April, as the days continue to get longer and daylight increases, new antlers begin to grow from buds that form on the pedicels on a buck’s head. Typically within a month, main beams and brow tines begin to sprout and split off. A month or so later, in early June, second and third tines will form. Throughout early summer, the fledgling racks grow fast and furious. Antler tissue is the fastest growing tissue known to man. Beams and tines may grow a quarter-inch or more per day, the process driven by a buck’s hormones and the photoperiod of the days. According to Missouri scientist Dr. Grant Woods, a buck’s rack will show most of its points by mid-June, though [...]

12 04, 2017

Tennessee: Tucker Buck #1 Non-Typical Whitetail Ever!

admin2020-06-10T09:16:30-04:00April 12th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting|1 Comment

The Boone and Crockett Club recently confirmed that a buck shot in Tennessee in 2016 is the highest-scoring non-typical whitetail ever shot by a person. Hunting with a muzzleloader on November 7, 2016, farmer Stephen Tucker shot the massive deer in Sumner County (full story click here). Its official entry score into the Boone and Crockett records is an astounding 312 0/8. Justin Spring of Boone and Crockett said, "What makes this particular deer special is an entry score of 312 0/8 on only a 149 1/8-inch typical frame, which includes a modest inside spread of 14 1/8 inches. That's 162 7/8 inches of abnormal points." The Tucker Buck had 22 scorable points on the left side and 25 on [...]

10 04, 2017

Do Deer Migrate? How Far?

admin2020-06-10T09:16:30-04:00April 10th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting|2 Comments

No, in Midwestern, Southern and Eastern states, the whitetail deer that most of us hunt do not migrate. In fact they are homebodies, typically living their entire lives in a home range of a mile or so, with buck core areas smaller than that. But yes, in Western states some herds of both whitetails and mule do deer migrate. Based on 40 years of radio-tracking data, Montana biologists have documented that whitetails in the western mountains migrate to dense forests during the winter months. Herds move an average of 8 to 15 miles, going down in elevation as far as needed in search of conifer needles to eat, overhead tree canopy to block the snow and thermal protection created by [...]

5 04, 2017

Cryptorchidism in Deer: “Stag Buck”

admin2020-06-10T09:16:30-04:00April 5th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on Cryptorchidism in Deer: “Stag Buck”

Have you ever seen a buck in velvet well past September, maybe into November or December, or even with velvet antlers still intact in spring or summer? Commonly called a “stag,” the oddball buck exhibits unusual antler growth and retains velvet on the antlers due to low testosterone levels. Scientists refer to this condition as cryptoridism, and it’s rare. It can result from a birth defect or disease that causes a buck’s testicles (one or both) not to drop normally. Or, a buck may injure his privates, say on a wire fence (ouch). Cryptorchidism can occur in whitetails, blacktails (picture above) or mule deer (below). A stag buck is different, and he doesn’t engage in the seasonal rituals of normal [...]