BigDeer Archives - Page 248 of 344

25 02, 2015

Petition: Should Michigan Become A One-Buck State?

admin2020-06-10T09:19:51-04:00February 25th, 2015|BigDeer, Deer Management, Hunting News|18 Comments

I just saw this new online petition that will be delivered to the Michigan DNR and it got me to thinking: Limit buck kill to one per year, end all special seasons…begin hunting with Archery October 1st…change Gun Season to 3 day hunt starting on first Friday in December annually… To put an end, once and for all, to the gross mismanagement of the deer herd in the name of revenues. Too many immature bucks and too many does are harvested annually because of overzealous resource commissioners making laws with revenues in the forefront, manipulation of herd numbers to reach financial goals, and to pander to the insurance lobby. The creation of youth seasons, no age-limit hunting, liberal crossbow rules and [...]

23 02, 2015

Shed Antler Hunting: Check Bedding Areas

admin2020-06-10T09:19:51-04:00February 23rd, 2015|BigDeer, Shed Hunting|2 Comments

When you’re out in the woods on a shed hunt, pick up a deer trail and follow it for a few hundred yards to a half-mile or more, until you come to a thick and obvious deer bedding area. In late winter that might be a brushy southern exposure that gets midday sunlight, or the east side of a grassy ridge or knoll where deer hunker out of a bitter northwest wind. Back in hunting season you would have stopped, tested the wind and worked the outer fringes of such a sanctuary so as not to spook any deer. But now, plow right in. Montana shed-hunting fanatic Dick Idol told me one time that he finds 60 percent of his [...]

20 02, 2015

How to Wear Camo Face Paint

admin2020-06-10T09:19:51-04:00February 20th, 2015|BigDeer|10 Comments

It shouldn't, but it irks me when I see all these guys and gals who feel the need to paint their faces like a WWE wrestler or a college football player prepping for the big game when they go bowhunting for deer. The trendy color is black, and common designs are flames or swirls that shoot up and back over the cheeks, or “warrior” teardrops that start below the eye and streak down to the jaws. That look works in the ring or on the field, but in a tree stand? No. In my opinion fancy paint makes you look kind of silly, and like you’ve never been there before…like you are a rookie or wannabe. And although I’m sure the face painters [...]

18 02, 2015

Deer Hunting: 5 Reasons You Didn’t Shoot a Big Buck Last Season

admin2020-06-10T09:19:51-04:00February 18th, 2015|BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|11 Comments

The 2014 deer season is over, and if you hunted hard but didn’t shoot a big deer, I have some ideas why: You hunted a poor area. You’ll never shoot a big buck if you hunt where no big bucks live. Sounds elementary, but it’s not. If you’ve hunted a farm or woods for many years and have killed plenty of small to decent bucks but have never seen a monster, you need to look for new ground to hunt. A different farm or woods 20 to 50 to 100 miles down the road may have little pressure and better habitat, especially better year-round food sources for deer. Get permission and your odds of shooting a big deer go way up. It’s worth [...]

17 02, 2015

Kansas: Massive Shed Antler!

admin2020-06-10T09:19:51-04:00February 17th, 2015|BigDeer, Shed Hunting|3 Comments

Saw this on my Twitter @mikehanback: Fresh set of sheds from Kansas, insane mass! Yes, incredible mass, especially if these are from a wild deer! How many of you are shed-hunting...how many have you found? Send me your shed pictures and stories to post.