Deer Guns & Loads Archives - Page 4 of 28

1 12, 2023

6 Buck Tactics for December

Clay Hanback2023-11-26T07:37:46-05:00December 1st, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on 6 Buck Tactics for December

The calendar just flipped to December, and a buck tag is still burning a hole in your pocket. Most of your buddies have killed their deer, and you’re starting to worry. Maybe even panic. What am I doing wrong? Did I miss the rut? Will I get my buck? Take a deep breath and look at your predicament as an opportunity. You still get to roam the woods for a few more days, and the buck hunting is a lot better than you might think. Try these tips to score at the buzzer. Hunt Hard in the Early Post-Rut I hunt in several states in early December, from Kansas to Oklahoma to Virginia. All over I am witnessing good to [...]

20 11, 2023

Tired of Sitting in a Deer Stand? Try Stalking the November Rut

Clay Hanback2023-11-20T13:53:22-05:00November 20th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Tired of Sitting in a Deer Stand? Try Stalking the November Rut

Sneak 15 yards…lean against a tree…look for movement…listen…glass ahead and to the sides with your binoculars…then slip another 20 yards…look and listen. I’ve killed quite a few rutting bucks that way with a gun, but only when conditions are right. This is NOT something you do on public land. And I “slip hunt” only on a private property with very light hunting pressure. You want to still-hunt without worry of bumping into a stranger, or driving an 8-pointer into his sights. Stalking has advantages. You cover a lot of ground, which increases your odds of encountering more bucks trolling for does if you do it right. The more you move around, the more rubs, scrapes and big tracks you’ll find [...]

16 11, 2023

3 Best Rifle Stands for the Deer Rut

Clay Hanback2023-11-07T09:47:05-05:00November 16th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, whitetail deer|Comments Off on 3 Best Rifle Stands for the Deer Rut

One morning in Oklahoma, a guide named Jim pointed me to a box blind and whispered, “When the sun comes up, you can see and shoot a country mile brother. Watch the tree line out front. Good luck.” I climbed into the box and the sun rose splendid pink and blue. I couldn’t see a mile to the tree break, but might as well have. My rangefinder read 412 yards to the front edge of the timber. I refuse to shoot at a deer that far away, not even with a finely tuned rifle and a solid rest, so I was basically an observer the rest of the morning. Might as well make the best of it. I glassed 3 [...]

22 10, 2023

Use Tarsal Scent for Pre-Rut Bucks

Clay Hanback2023-10-22T11:17:00-04:00October 22nd, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, Gear Reviews, whitetail deer|1 Comment

This is a true story, I swear. One morning in Virginia, I shot a 10-pointer with my muzzleloader and got on the trail. I could smell his rankness in the air and in the blood as I tracked, and when I found him I covered my nose with my sleeve and thought, Whoa, you stink. The deer’s hocks were dripping and black as motor oil. I rolled the buck over, held my breath and started gutting. Leaves popped. I peeked up and saw another 10-pointer bearing down on me, head and rack held low, hair bristling on his neck. I crouched lower behind the dead deer. A rut-crazed buck is unpredictable, and I figured staying put rather than trying to [...]

19 10, 2023

How to Hunt Deer in Suburbs

Clay Hanback2023-10-15T10:05:10-04:00October 19th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on How to Hunt Deer in Suburbs

I live and hunt a couple of hours outside the concrete jungle of northern Virginia, for decades one of the fastest growing regions in the United States. Even in these difficult times of Bidenomics, suburbia continues to sprawl into the once-rural counties where I grew up hunting. New roads and houses continue to carve up the land, and the deer habitat, across the region. And the deer kill keeps going up! Hunters tag tens of thousands of whitetails in small woods and thickets (many only 10- to 50-acres), and we shoot some massive bucks. A good portion of the harvest occurs during the bow and muzzleloader seasons in late October and early November. I think these are the best times [...]