20 01, 2020

Hunting Management Bucks in Texas

2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00January 20th, 2020|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|3 Comments

There are 2 reasons to visit South Texas in January: the weather is wonderful, and there are plenty of big deer running around. On most ranches in Texas, those bucks are classified as either “trophy” or “management” deer. Trophies are bucks with 10 points or better that have the potential to grow 150-class racks and larger, up to 170-plus. The larger the racks, the more expensive they are to hunt. Texas ranchers and deer managers consider management bucks to be: 1) 4-year-old and older deer with limited antler potential; and 2) bucks with 9 points or less that gross score less than 140 inches. These are the type of bucks that I can afford to hunt (cost of a management [...]

13 01, 2020

How to Find Shed Deer Antlers

2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00January 13th, 2020|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Shed Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on How to Find Shed Deer Antlers

Why do whitetail bucks spend so much time and energy growing antlers over the summer only to shed them five or six months later? “Scientists have pondered it for years and we still don’t know,” says whitetail biologist Dr. Mick Hellickson, who points to a couple of theories. Some scientists believe bucks shed annually so they’ll have the potential to replace damaged antlers. If a buck had to live his entire life with snapped tines or a broken beam he couldn’t fight his rivals or posture for does. A second theory suggests that bucks shed and grow new racks 10 to even 30 inches larger the following year to keep pace with their increasing weight and girth as they mature [...]

6 01, 2020

Big Deer TV 2020: VA Blackpowder Drop-Tine Buck

2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00January 6th, 2020|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Big Deer TV 2020: VA Blackpowder Drop-Tine Buck

One of our most popular segments on Big Deer TV is “American Deer Hunter,” in which we interview hunters from across the country about the dream bucks they shot. Their stories are genuine, fascinating and full of lessons that can help you become a better hunter. Last fall we caught up Wayne Mills and filmed the story of the drop-tine giant he shot years back. It will appear on a new episode of my show in summer 2020. Wayne Mills had hunted his lease in Culpeper County, Virginia three days a week since the opening of archery season in October. In late summer and early fall, he had gotten trail camera shots of two really nice bucks, so he had [...]

17 12, 2019

Virginia’s Widest Deer Rack Ever—32 Inches!

2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00December 17th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Virginia’s Widest Deer Rack Ever—32 Inches!

Prologue: Last Saturday my camera crew and I traveled down to Mecklenburg County, Va., and met Jim Wilson, who back in 2012 shot this incredible buck that gross-scored 186 and change. Most distinctive, as you can see, is the width of the rack—32 inches! This is the widest rack ever recorded in Virginia, and the 7th widest whitetail rack ever documented in the U.S. You’ll see and hear Jim’s interview on a new episode of Big Deer TV on Sportsman Channel in 2020. For now, here is the story of Mr. Wide in Jim’s words: August 2012. I had been discarding apples from the tree in my yard in the field behind my house. I noticed the apples were disappearing [...]

12 12, 2019

Early Post-Rut: My New Best Time To Hunt Deer

2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00December 12th, 2019|Big Deer TV, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, whitetail deer|2 Comments

Last weekend I wrote an article for Outdoorlife.com entitled, Why Post-Rut is the New Best Time to Hunt Whitetails. In it I wrote: Each year I hunt in several states in early to mid-December, from Kansas to Oklahoma to Virginia. I am witnessing good to great deer movement, and more late rutting activity than ever before. Such good activity, in fact, that the early post-rut is becoming my most productive time to hunt. In early December bucks are tired and battered, but still running on a last jolt of testosterone. Sometimes a buck makes fresh rubs, so look for them. While bucks generally don’t paw scrapes this late, they often cruise back through creek bottoms and draws where they scraped [...]

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