Hey Mike: I'm 17 years old and I eat, sleep, and breath deer hunting. The archery season is going to be here before we know it.  But this archery season is definitely going to be different from all the others. I have a friend that has a 3-acre wooded lot behind his house near mine. Just recently I convinced him to let us hunt it this year. About a week ago I set up my trail camera to see if there were any decent bucks in the area and I was astonished with what I saw. I attached a picture (August 25) of 2 nice bucks that have been wandering past my camera, one is a monster 13-pointer; I am not an expert but I would say he scores in the 160s. The other buck is a nice 11-pointer that probably scores in the 140s. I'm not sure on the scores so I was wondering if you could look at the pictures and tell what you think. Thanks, Nick 

My comments:

• How many times do I have to tell you that you don't need a lot of land to hunt a big buck. You might feel uncomfortable hunting 3 acres, but you might kill a big deer there.
• But bowhunting 3 acres is tough: These bucks will spend a lot of time (most of the time) off the tiny property, so being in a stand there when the deer are there will be a crapshoot. Still, the bucks will pass through sometime, so Nick has a shot.
• Gotta strive for the BEST bowshot in this situation; even if you double-lung one of them he might run off the 3 acres and die--tough dilemma. Pick your shot well.
• These bucks are the best of buddies; if Nick sees one in bow season he will see the other. Nick, I know you want to kill the 13-pointer, but shoot the other one if he comes in first and gives you the best shot--great deer for a teenage bowhunter.
• The big buck is 150-class (he won't look quite as big when he sheds, but still heck of a deer).
• Makes me feel good that a 17-year-old is so "eat up" with it like most of us were at that age. Good luck Nick, send us another pic if you get one on the ground. 

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Cam from Manitoba Facebooked me and said he just killed the first BIG DEER Blogger deer of 2010. He reported: Darton 3500 did its job.

Right on, good job buddy.

BTW, love the look of those thick birch woods, some monster bucks roaming around in there. comment

VERSUS, the most-watched sports cable network in the country for outdoor programming, debuts 6 season premieres of heart-pounding hunting shows tonight, Friday, September 3. All times Eastern:

7:00 p.m. Winchester World of Whitetail: Larry Weishuhn works with new ammo and hunts a buck.

7:30 p.m. Winchester Whitetail Revolution: Joe Codd is in Kentucky, pulling out all the stops to score a buck. You’ll also see the first of 10 new Buck of a Lifetime segments hosted by Hanback. I think this is the best batch of big-buck profiles we’ve done yet.

8:00 p.m. The Buck Stops Here with Mike Hanback: Back out on the Montana Milk River, baby! Nuff said, just watch!

8:30 p.m. The Bucks of Tecomate featuring Jeff Foxworthy and David Morris: David and friends hunt the vast prairies of Eastern Colorado for monster bucks.

9:30 p.m. Elk Fever

10:00 p.m. The Best and Worst of Tred Barta: My buddy is back in action, heading out to hunt for elk in this action-packed episode. God bless you, Tred, I'll be watching.

Thanks for supporting all our shows (and set your DVRs). comment

On FB, my friend and colleague Bill Winke said there are more acorns already on the ground in all parts of the Midwest than is typical for this time of year. Black and red oaks are loaded and seem best for the deer in his part of southern Iowa.

Rob said that in southern Ohio there hasn’t been this much mast in years. The white oaks are really producing, and lots of blacks and red oaks as well.

Charles confirmed a boom year for white oaks. He has already noticed less action on his cams near clover fields.

All these knowledgeable hunters point out that the heavy mast wil make the early-season bowhunting tricky. You’ll see fewer deer in and around fields and food plots and the stands you've hung there. In heavy acorn years, deer scatter out more and feed deeper in the woods. TIP: Move a cam back in the woods and set it on a well-pocked trail near heavy acorns--I bet you find at least one good buck.

Tree-stand placement and tweaking will be critical. Hot evening stands will be near productive oak trees, and good morning sets will be on trails in funnels that head back into cover. 

What is the status of the acorns in your area? I'd like to get a nationwide report. If you haven’t checked yet, make a swing through your woods and let us know.

Some of you hunt where there are no oaks/acorns. Is there a preferred mast that your deer like to eat? comment  

What did you do this summer? Austin had the coolest job I know of, and he sent this report:

Mike: As part of a team of research assistants for the University of Tennessee, we were hired to shoot (using dart guns) 10 does and 10 bucks on a WMA in south-central Tennessee this summer. The guns were loaded with darts containing the appropriate drug mixtures to immobilize the whitetails, and GPS transmitters were inserted into the animals to track them once hit.

The dart guns we used have a maximum range of about 30 yards, so essentially it was bowhunting with a 3-9 scope and badass! 

Telemetry equipment was used to track the deer to their downed location. The animals were fitted with ear tags and GPS collars to track their movements. We monitored pulse oxygen rate, heart rate, respiratory rate and temperature, and took live weights and hair samples. The entire process for each deer averaged about an hour; we then administered a reversal drug to allow the deer to recover and leave the area under full control.
 
The research purpose is to track deer movement throughout the hunting seasons—specifically, to find out what types of cover the deer seek out, and to monitor how movement and pressure relate to vehicle strikes along highways in the area. GPS collars on each deer send off signals to a satellite, which are then sent to a computer to locate the animals’ exact coordinates. Collared deer can be hunted and shot at any point during the legal season; the results should be interesting to see where and to what extreme deer movement occurs from the result of hunting pressure.
 
BTW, the ages of the bucks we darted were 2½ years (five animals), 3½ (3) and 4½ (2). We saw one of the older bucks again later in the summer, and he is a solid P&Y 10-point, about 130”. –Thanks, Austin.

Great stuff, thanks Austin. comment

Mike: I enjoy your blog and articles. Can I ask you some advice? Do you have any tips for hunting one individual deer? I’ve decided to go after one big buck that I’ve been seeing on my property. Any help would be greatly appreciated.—Thanks, Joe

What would you do? I’ve kicked it off with some thoughts. comment

Mike: In all the deer camps you have been in, how many crazy or not so crazy superstitions have you come across? Hunters tend to have little things they carry or do that they believe will tip the scale in their favor--from putting on a game face, to wearing certain clothing or a hat... Many years I have not shaved until the first deer is down! Get this: The fella that taught me to hunt thought it was a complete jinx to carry a camera or knife into the woods, he saw it as sign of overconfidence that a kill would take place. 

Curious to see what the fellow bloggers might do to sway the odds in their favor. Is there a gizmo, lucky rabbit's foot or routine that I should know about before the season comes, ha!--Thanks,
Flatlander (check out his lucky hat in the picture)

I have 2 to start. Every day before each hunt, I touch the tip of the broadhead or bullet I'm using. An old-timer taught me to do that years ago, said it made good karma run from your body to your weapon. I don't know about that, but I still do it.

Also, in every camp I go to, I pick a chair at the eating table and sit there for EVERY meal until I kill a buck, no exceptions. If somebody is in my chair, I wait until they are finished. Sitting in a different chair every meal is bad luck, man! Pick your spot and stick with it till you shoot your deer.

What's your superstition? comment 

Just saw one of the first Versus promos we shot up in the Adirondacks a few weeks ago, watch it here and let me know what you think. comment 

I understand the hunter who is after this monster drop brings in the memory cards from his trail cams, downloads images onto his computer, prints a few pictures and shows them off to a select few co-workers. He lets them take a few pictures of the printed pictures with their cell phones as "deer porn," hence we are looking at this giant.

Amazing the way big deer find their way onto BIG DEER!

Here's the story: The buck lives in a northern Midwest state, perhaps 10 miles or more off the nearest main road. Last fall the hunter found a good pinch point where several trails came together back in there. In June he put out a Moultrie camera, and two weeks later he got the first picture of this buck, which was already twice as big as anything else in the area. Throughout the summer, the dropper continued to show up regularly on camera--this picture is 18th August.

Interesting and telling big-buck behavior: Even though the deer lives in a very remote big-woods environment, there have been only 2 pictures of him in daylight; the rest of the images have been taken from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. A big deer is just naturally largely nocturnal.

Will the hunter get him? I think he has a shot. The buck is photogenic, which means he’s on his feet a lot. The more a buck moves, the more likely he is to make a mistake. And since 2 of the pictures were taken in daylight already, he will move some more in daylight in September and October and especially in November. There will be no other hunters in the remote area, and that is the best part. Good luck man! comment

Mike: I wanted to share a memorable hunt for my Dad, and especially for me. Dad is my hero, best friend, and he is the reason I hunt in the first place. He turned 53 this year and celebrated his 30th wedding anniversary. I am blessed to have amazing parents (and for my mom to put up with us). Now onto the hunt from last November.

It was the second Saturday of muzzleloader season here in Loudoun Co, VA. We were hunting a farm we have managed for 10 years, and we are finally seeing the results. We had been hunting a big buck dubbed "Sling Shot" all season. Three days earlier I had a close encounter with heavy-racked deer we had never seen before, but I was not able to close the deal.

Around 10 a.m. Dad saw a buck, quickly realized it was a shooter and took the shot. He called me, and I headed over to help look for it. Blood was very sparse early on, and the buck ran a ways and piled into a tall, thick cornfield. We searched awhile, but the sun was warming things up and there was little sign. We were feeling pretty down.

Then, to make matters worse, we heard the combine fire up—unbelievably, the farmer began cutting the field, on this day of all days! We called a friend to help us track, and we hurriedly began looking again. Buried in a thick row of corn, my dad yells," Jumped the buck!" He bolted and crossed a road; panic set in. We followed and found that, thankfully, he appeared to still be on the property.

It was a tough decision, but we decided to back out and come back after lunch. We had been on the trail a short time when we saw a white belly in the weeds--there was Dad’s biggest buck to date! We ran to the deer and after many hugs, high fives and pictures we soaked up the moment. He ended up scoring 142 5/8, but who cares about score? It was a roller coaster ride of emotions, a hunt with my dad I will never forget.

If you take anything from this story, it is to never give up, we owe it to the animal to make every effort and then some to recover it. And we are truly blessed to share these moments in the woods with our family and friends. Most of you here on BIG DEER are like family to me.---Thanks for reading, Grant Skidmore

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