19 03, 2014

Hide Your Stand With Fake Leaves

2020-06-10T09:23:03-04:00March 19th, 2014|BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|7 Comments

Traditional bowhunting legend Barry Wensel injured his arm a few years ago, and now he hunts often out of ladder stands that he can more easily climb with one hand. He hides those big platforms with artificial leaves and ferns that he buys at a craft store.  “You know, the brown, gold and green plastic or nylon ones with the wire stems,” he says. Barry weaves the fake foliage around the uprights of the ladder; threads the leaves and ferns down, around and through the seat and foot grill; and then ties or tapes them solidly in place. “When the real leaves fall later on in October and November, my ladders stay hidden and deer are used to seeing them,” [...]

24 02, 2014

Big-Buck Tip: Tweak Your Deer Stands

2020-06-10T09:23:04-04:00February 24th, 2014|BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science|2 Comments

Another finding reported at the Southeast Deer Study Group 2014: Researchers say adult bucks traveled 55 yards farther away from hunting stands on average at the end of the season vs. the beginning of the season. This further confirms something I have been blogging about and saying on TV for years: Mature bucks can learn your habits and pattern you. As the season progresses they see, smell and hear where you walk into the woods…where you climb into trees…where you walk out at midmorning or after dark… Then they skirt those stand locations to avoid you. I did a “Top 10 Tactics” episode of BIG DEER TV on Sportsman last year, and this strategy was #6: Change It Up. Say [...]

10 12, 2013

Trail-Cam: Coyote/Buck Feed Together!

2020-06-10T09:23:19-04:00December 10th, 2013|BigDeer, Deer Management, Predator Hunting|3 Comments

Thanks to Neil Webb from Arkansas for sharing these unusual photos: Mike: I've been overrun with coyotes this year, with 4 or 5 of the predators showing up at times, and the deer activity dropped to nothing. So imagine my surprise when I checked the camera and got these pictures. The feeders are only 5 feet apart. Pretty cool and like nothing I've ever seen before. I did see this little buck a week later chasing a couple of does, and that might help explain his behavior a little. Now if I can just see the coyote and put an end to his camera time! Love the show and keep supporting what we all love to do. —Neil Check it [...]

13 11, 2013

Buck Movement & Barometric Pressure

2020-06-10T09:23:20-04:00November 13th, 2013|BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science|4 Comments

Mike: I‘ve heard that bucks move better when the barometer is moving, either rising or falling. Is that right?—Joe from Indiana Joe: For decades, biologists have been trying to pattern deer activity as related to changes in barometric pressure. To date, nobody has been able to pin it down. Dr. Grant Woods, one of the top whitetail scientists in America, puts it this way: “I’m confident that deer move before and after significant changes in weather. However, since such changes can’t be predicted more than a few days in advance, there’s no way to plan hunting dates weeks ahead of time.  After years of trying to find a pattern, the best I can offer is hunt when you can!” My personal [...]

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