DeerBlaster blasts

10 pointer turns into 22, No cull bucks, Combat rifle for deer?

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H-U-G-E congrats to Wil Branem! He was hunting a natural funnel on some private land in southwest OH – Buckmasters with the deets:

> Wil chose the funnel because of an active trail leading up from the river to the [soybeans]. He and a friend had seen some impressive bucks in the vicinity in seasons past. The first buck to appear that day was a nice 8-pointer.

> While Wil was waiting for his chance, he spotted another whitetail approaching. The newcomer’s rack was thicker and carried a couple more points, he thought. …it made the mistake of passing through a clear lane at 40 yards, easy-breezy for Wil’s crossbow.

> …waited until early the next morning to take up the short trail. “The woods looked like a murder scene. There was plenty of blood on both sides of the buck’s trail. The bushes seemed to be painted red.”

When he found the buck, guess that’s when he realized how big it was:

> Because the deer was too big to drag uphill, Wil decided to lower the field-dressed animal by rope 25 yards from bluff top to the river. When the rope took the full weight of the animal, Wil couldn’t hold it, and the buck plunged to the bottom.

> …follow the bluff for 100 yards until he reached a point he could descend to the water’s edge. From there, he alternately floated and portaged the carcass – 10 yards at a time – at least a quarter-mile to where his buddies were waiting with an ATV.

Wow you earned that one for sure Wil congrats!

IL’s Troy Jansen started habitat improvement on his 40-acre plot back in 2015, and within a couple of years it began paying off. He told NA Whitetail that in 2017 he had a couple close calls with a buck he nicknamed Big Junior (“BJ”) but came home empty handed. His luck changed last fall:

> I kept my eye on the weather charts, and Friday, Nov 13 looked good! That morning I woke up and contemplated going back to bed, but my wife would not let me. So I got up, rushed to get ready, and was in my blind by 5:50 am.

> At 6:30 a doe came out and I could tell she was “hot.” She was panicked and kept squatting every couple steps. I knew there had to be a buck close, so I grabbed my bow and knocked an arrow. That’s when I heard a couple of grunts.

> …suddenly, from behind the weeds and brush, BJ came chasing! He bumped the doe closer to me, and she did a U-turn and jumped back in the timber. I drew my bow, grunted at him, settled my pin and let the arrow fly. It hit with a big crack!

> …good blood down my arrow when we found it, and we followed blood into the thickest brush on my property. BJ was laying down, but his head was up. He then laid his head down, and I stayed put and had my buddy work around to get closer. The next sentence out of his mouth…”He’s dead, buddy!”

> It was so incredible to finally be able to put my hands on this magnificent animal! I’ve learned that no matter the size of your property, it can always be better. You don’t have to have the biggest piece, you just have to have the best piece!

1. NY releases final Deer Management Plan.

For the unspecified future. Lotta stuff in it including:

> Establishing desired deer population trajectories for 23 ecologically unique regions of the state using an assessment of deer impacts on forest regeneration and public preferences for deer population changes. [Be careful of overcomplicated regs NY!]

> Encouraging deer hunters to use non-lead ammunition to reduce lead exposure of non-target wildlife. [Driven by the NY City environmental crowd?]

> Requires blaze orange/pink for all hunters and extends hunting hours from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset, among other things. [We’d say have it on at all times from when you leave your truck til you get back.]

The plan also had proposals in it including:

> Strategically increase antlerless harvest where necessary by establishing a 9-day season for antlerless deer beginning the 2nd Saturday in Sept with firearms in Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) 3M, 3R, 8A, 8F, 8G, 8J, 8N, 9A, and 9F, and with bows in WMUS 1C, 3S, 4J, and 8C.

> Reinstate either-sex deer harvest opportunity during the early muzzleloader season in WMUs 6A, 6F, and 6J.

> Extend the legal hunting hours for deer and bear to begin 30 minutes before meteorological sunrise and end 30 minutes after meteorological sunset, consistent with legal hunting hours in most other states.

2. MI will pay landowners to open their woods to hunters.

3. SC says deer harvest may be increasing because of ‘yote control?

4. NE big game permit application period now open.

5. WY will release draw results TOMORROW, Jun 17.

6. AR WMA hunt applications are open until July 1.

7. WY: First-ever whitetail / antelope hunts proposed for Natl Elk Refuge.

> …would align white-tailed deer and pronghorn hunting seasons on the 24,700-acre property with hunts that occur on surrounding national forest and nearby private land.

8. MS buck swims across the MS River into LA!

Total journey was 18 miles, and the fast-moving river was a mile wide where he crossed. Buck’s like:

That’s a drumstick but still 🤣

9. Bucks for the Brave taking nominations for all-expenses paid deer hunt.

> Nominate veterans and retired first responders to win the hunting experience of a lifetime.

Nominations open July 4, sign up here.

👊 🇺🇸

10. WV urban deer hunt nets 45K lbs of venison for food pantries.

11. VT man gets 34 cites for alleged deer hunting violations.

12. DC: Biden “intends” to re-enact Tongass “Roadless Rule.”

> Commercial fishing groups, salmon organizations, Trout Unlimited, and native tribes were all in favor of keeping Roadless protections. The AK state government, most notably Gov. Mike Dunleavy, have long been against the protections….

13. Buck kitchen knives on big sale!

They’re good, they’re sharp, they’re American-made! Jay has a set and loves ’em! Also available with black handles:

Deer Disease News

1. OH: New CWD surveillance area in north-central area.

What it means is more rules for that area including:

> Requires hunters to bring either the head or complete carcasses of all deer harvested within the disease surveillance area boundaries to a Division of Wildlife inspection station or self-serve kiosk for sampling.

> Beginning immediately, prohibits the placement of or use of salt, mineral supplement, grain, fruit, vegetables, or other feed to attract or feed deer within the disease surveillance area.

2. MT CWD report shows distribution of hotspot areas.

> The state is now estimating prevalence of the disease ranging from less than 1% to 7% in mule deer and less than 1% to 25% in whitetails.

For whitetails that’s a big range – 1 in 100 to 1 in 4??

3. MN gov’nor supports transferring CWD authority…

…from Board of Animal Health to the DNR.

4. NH says no CWD yet.

But doesn’t want residents to use urine scents.

5. WA: 20+ deer die in San Juan Islands from airborne virus??

You might think that a .45 cal bullet is a little overkill for a whitetail, but American Hunter’s Bryce Towsley says the .458 SOCOM, built for action in Somalia, is an ideal short-range deer-thumper:

> When it comes to hunting most big game with an AR-15 rifle, I cling to the “Big Bore, Starts With a Four” way of thinking. …a lot of competent cartridges for the AR-15, but the best for big-game hunting fit into that niche.

> The .458 SOCOM came out in 2002, and while it didn’t gain widespread acceptance as a military round, it has proven to be a great hunting cartridge. It’s well-suited for just about any 4-legged critter in North America.

> The cartridge nearly matches the modern factory load performance of the .45-70 Govt, which has been in use since 1873, so its reputation as a big-game cartridge is well established. …wide selection of hunting bullets on the market from 250 grains to 400 grains.

> One of the bigger names in the development of this cartridge in the AR-15 rifle is Wilson Combat. They make 2 rifles in .458 SOCOM. One is the Hunter model, with an 18″ barrel and a 1:22 twist rate.

> I chose the Recon Tactical rifle…good for hunting while offering some other options. This model uses a 16″ barrel with the industry standard 1:14-inch twist rate.

> The short, compact design of either rifle is a blessing inside a pop-up blind where I seem to spend a lot of time deer- and bear-hunting. The adjustable stock allows shortening for those bitter cold days when I am wearing a lot of warm clothes.

> …uses the same magazine as the standard .223/5.56, which is another big advantage. The competition – .450 Bushmaster and .500 Beowulf z- both require dedicated magazines.

> The Wilson Combat Recon Tactical in .458 SOCOM may well be the best big-game hunting AR-15 I have ever used. It ain’t cheap [$2,450], but you get what you pay for from Wilson Combat.

WANT! 😍

Does culling bucks help herd genetics or is it a myth?

Comes up from time to time, latest is a good convo (video) between D&DH’s Dan Schmidt and Auburn U’s Dr. Stephen Ditchkoff. Few things that stood out to us:

> Outside of high fences, I don’t believe that cull bucks exist. There is a value to every individual deer that’s out there.

> You’ll see a buck that has 4 or 5 points on one side, and just a spike on the other, and somebody will say that’s a cull buck, we need to remove that buck. That buck may not have “book” trophy value, but that buck has value to your herd in terms of a mature individual that is improving social stability.

> He’s reducing the length of your breeding season, he’s suppressing breeding of your younger males so that put less effort into the breeding season and come out of the breeding season healthier and with larger antlers for next year.

> The only place that should be culling bucks is a place that has an overabundance of bucks. And I have yet to ever see a herd that has that kind of overabundance on a free range.

What’s the DB and who does it?

The DeerBlaster is a weekly roundup of the best, funniest, newest and most important stuff about whitetail deer hunting – culled from around the interwebz for DIEHARD whitetail hunters and blasted into your inbox.

The DB is put together by some deer nerds 😁 – Ted, Jay, others – from around the country. We excerpt content (and credit EVERYONE!), comment on content, do some original content…because we can’t get enough deer hunting – bet you’re wired the same!

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