I saw the other day where a guy was making this argument:  One reason the number of bowhunters is inching up in some areas is because shady characters with felony and/or domestic violence convictions cannot buy, own or use a gun, thus if they  want to hunt deer they have to bowhunt,

I don’t know if I buy this. In fact I don’t believe I do. Surely there aren’t so many convicted bad guys amongst us buying bows and bow licenses to make a noticeable up tick in the archery the numbers…are there?

But it makes for an interesting discussion, what do you think?

Got this from my friend and outfitter Pat West in South Dakota:

Hey Mike: Had to share this with you. I have never seen it before, nor heard of it.  Here’s a picture of a mule deer we killed last rifle season--a 4x4 that is 28" wide and scores 184. This big guy had a full arrow sticking out of the left side of his head. After examining further, the skin on his head had begun growing around the broadhead that was stuck under the base of his horn, but not in the skull. 
 
We heard that someone had hit a deer in the head with an arrow on the neighbor’s property, but did not recover him. We assumed he was dead. Well, as you can see, he was alive. He was not rutting like the other muley bucks, just hiding out and surviving. You never know what you are going to find in the outdoors.—Pat

Things go wrong and bad shots happen. Some people will say I shouldn’t have posted this because it gives us bowhunters a bad image, but it is reality and we deal with reality here. Let it be a lesson and a reminder: Take good, close, ethical shots so you never hit a deer like this.

I am surprised the buck didn’t snap the arrow off; a whitetail would have. I am glad the rifle hunter shot him. comment

From this article at nydailynews.com:

An irate Staten Island mom blasted a grade school principal Wednesday for treating her son like a pint-sized Plaxico Burress after he brought a 2-inch-long toy gun to school.

"This principal is a bully and a coward, and needs to be held accountable," said Laura Timoney, 44, after her teary fourth-grader was nearly suspended for playing with the tiny toy at lunch.

"The school should be embarrassed. This is a common-sense issue."

Patrick was hauled into the principal's office, scolded and apparently had to sign some kind of conduct statement. Say what?

Patrick, whose dad is a former NY police officer, was allowed to stay in school, but that didn’t make things better for Ms. Laura. "I was in disbelief," the still-fuming mother said. "Why didn't anyone step up with an ounce of common sense and put an end to the harassment of my child?" 

My Lord, what is this politically correct, zero-tolerance society coming to? comment

Pick the winner and total number of points scored in the game. For example, if you think the Colts are gonna win 24-14, vote “Colts 38.” Closest to total points with right team (over or under) wins. In case of tie, I'll pull one winner out of the hat.

Winner gets $100-plus of cool stuff: a bunch of hats, BIG DEER T-shirt, hunting DVDs, scent products, camo shirt and more.

One vote per blogger email, but your wife, girlfriend, kid, buddy can vote too. Contest open till 4:00 PM ET Sunday.

Cast your vote

PS: guess who I’m rooting for :)

Dear Mike: I always enjoy watching your show. I know how you love to bow hunt and thought you would enjoy this picture. My Buck of a Lifetime came sneaking by me in a funnel @ 27 yards on Nov. 6th in Fulton Co., Illinois. A soft grunt stopped him broadside.The  official P and Y gross score is 239 1/2.....net 237!!!  Take care and good hunting, Shawn Bennett

Shawn, what a monster, thanks, one of the top archery bucks of 2009 for sure. Three drops baby, awesome.

Gonna have to get this giant on VERSUS for sure.

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Too Many Deer? Call in the Wolves, Scientists Say.

National Shooting Sports Foundation says that 2009 license sales were up 3.5% in the 12 states it surveys. They speculate on why, but I don't speculate, I'm pretty sure I know why. 

First, a lot of people who used to hunt deer but haven't in a few years because they've been working so hard to make ends meet lost their jobs or at least had their hours cut back last year, and so they had more free time to hunt, and so they bought a deer license and did it again. Any ya'll fall into this group?

Second, many people who still have a job but are watching their money saw deer hunting as a way to obtain affordable protein for a year, and so along with all the out-of-work hunters, more of them bought a license and killed a little buck and doe or two and stacked the freezer. That you? 

Or did ya just buy a license like always and hunt like hell cause ya love it and can't live without it, which I suspect is the case with most of the bloggers here. comment

Bowhunting one September afternoon on the Milk River, I missed a buck clean, shot right over him on Buck Stops Here TV (watch the video). Luke Strommen, who I was hunting with on that trip, watched the show again the other night and sent me this email w/pictures:

Here are the sheds to that buck you missed at the gate stand. Look close and you’ll see the second one a few yards farther up the road. I found the sheds last February on the same road that went by your stand, the same road he walked in on. I guess the sheds were probably 70 yards from where the deer was standing when you blew it, ha ha. Judging solely on the sheds, he is one of the oldest bucks I have ever found a set of sheds from…very cool and gnarly...even a teeny-weeny drop tine if you look close!

I knew that deer wouldn’t score a lot when I drew on him, but I knew he was old and mature, and I believe I said so on TV. An old deer is a trophy deer. I want to shoot a 150-plus like everybody, but in the wild, free-range places I hunt, you will never see me pass a 22-yard bow shot at a 5- or 6-year-old buck, no matter if his rack will only go 120. Besides, most of the time a fully mature buck even in marginal habitat will score at least 135, unless he’s really going downhill.

You’d do the same thing. right?

Would I have claimed that little drop as my first? Nah, I’d have called it a sticker. Beggars should not be choosers, but a drop’s gotta be at least 5 or 6 inches and thick as a fat cigar for me to count it. comment

Mike: I am a relatively new hunter (4th year) who just started watching your show this year.  I know you like to do shows and stories about really big deer (racks) but what about unique deer? 

I ask because on Dec. 26th 2009 I was fortunate enough to get me a piebald buck in SouthHampton County, Va.  Not only is this deer very unique, it is also my first buck with visible antlers. As a meat hunter, I have only gotten button bucks and does in the past, so when I saw this beauty, I was very excited and could not believe what had just happened. This was the first piebald I have ever seen and I realize I will probably never see one again.

Unfortunately, this deer had already shed his antler on his right side so I only get to call it a 4-pointer instead of the 8 it probably would've been. Because of its rarity I have decided to have it mounted regardless of the missing horn. I can't wait to get it back from the taxidermist. 

Have you had any encounters with piebalds or albinos? Thank you, Steve McKean, Virginia Beach, Va.

Steve, awesome man, first rack buck a piebald, not a handful of hunters across N.A. can say that! That's a beauty too, with so much white. Great you're getting it mounted.

I have seen one piebald in my life, a doe. Who else has seen one? Anybody else shot a white deer?

Got a lot more cool stories like Steve's backlogged in my inbox, I'll post em all over the next weeks and months. comment

A couple of people have emailed this with the message: Hanback, ur dream buck!

I think it was killed in Alberta last fall (woods look like it). I have hunted in Canada a lot, and those guys look like Canadians to me, not Americans that went up there to hunt, though this is pure speculation on my part. I hope one of them will see this and contact me with the story of this fantastic animal. If you know more let us know.

Ya, my dream x two, what a hell of a buck, one of the best of 2009 for sure. comment