9 05, 2014

Rate Your 2013-14 Deer Season

2020-06-10T09:22:50-04:00May 9th, 2014|BigDeer, Deer Management, Deer Science, Hunting News, Predator Hunting|12 Comments

The results of QDMA's unscientific poll reveal about what I expected--that in about half the country, the whitetail herds are trending in a negative way. Based on the number of deer and the number of bucks you saw last season, how would you vote? Leave a reply below so we can see if the BIG DEER numbers jibe with QDMA's. I'll comment first. I vote "blue down" because the 2013-14 season was one of my hardest in the last 15 years. I hunted from Canada to Wisconsin to New York to Nebraska, and it was tough everywhere. I even had to push it on two Texas hunts to shoot bucks. It's not supposed to be hard in Texas, but it was for me. In the end I shot some nice bucks, [...]

9 05, 2014

Food Plots: How to Plant Seeds

2020-06-10T09:22:50-04:00May 9th, 2014|BigDeer, Deer Management|2 Comments

From long-time BIG DEER blogger and food-plot specialist Matt “Flatlander” Cheever: Hey Mike: It’s that time of year to start getting our hands dirty in the deer woods with habitat projects. Food plot planting is kicking off in the South and close by to the North. Passing along a tip to the BIG DEER readers: It’s a common mistake to till, disk or dig too deep. The bigger the equipment you use the easier it is to over-till, which brings up dormant weed seeds. On the other hand, if you don’t till enough you won’t get good seed-to-soil contact. A good rule of thumb is to plant twice as deep as the seed is in size.  For clovers, brassicas and the [...]

16 04, 2014

Maryland Bowhunting and Broadhead Study

2020-06-10T09:23:02-04:00April 16th, 2014|BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Management|3 Comments

I had a fascinating conversation with Andy Pedersen, a retired engineer and hard-core bowhunter who for more than 20 years was deeply involved with a deer management program on the Naval facility where he worked and hunted (and still hunts today). From 1989 to 2006, 161 bowhunters participated in the tightly controlled program on 3,000 acres of great whitetail habitat near the Potomac River. Pedersen’s records show that 104 of them (65%) hit 908 deer and recovered 746 of the animals within 24 hours for a recovery rate of 82 percent (+- 2.5%). From 2007-2012, hunters stuck another 388 deer and found 337 of them. Add the numbers and you get a recovery rate of 83.6% over the 24-year span. The [...]

10 04, 2014

Perfect VA Management Plan: Food Plots and Let Bucks Walk

2020-06-10T09:23:03-04:00April 10th, 2014|BigDeer, Deer Management|2 Comments

Got this from a fellow Virginia hunter who I will keep anonymous. In just a few short years he and his buddies have grown some big deer on their land. Hello Mike: Love the show and website. Wanted to show you a few bucks from our land. We started our club 7 years ago by leasing two farms that adjoin each other. Six of us hunt together and we are all sportsmen and stand hunt. We don't allow dog hunting for deer (welcome it for rabbits). Three years ago we decided to manage the 700-plus acres and let the small bucks walk. Each member can shoot all the does he chooses for the freezer. We had always gotten 1 or [...]

25 03, 2014

Spring Scout For Big Bucks

2020-06-10T09:23:03-04:00March 25th, 2014|BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|4 Comments

Do any of you walk the woods and scout for old buck sign this time of year? I know it's not a sexy topic, but if you go out and do it a few days this spring, your whitetail hunting will improve three-fold 6 months from now. A study of wild, hunted deer in Louisiana found that the average core area of mature bucks in the fall and winter months is only about 300 acres. Much smaller than you probably imagined. Although big deer venture out of these comfort zones on excursions for does in November, they come home after the rut and spend most of their days back in the same small areas. If food and cover remain the same, [...]

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