Thx for reading! If you’re getting the DeerBlaster for the first time it’s probably because a deer-crazed bud signed you up!
|
|
LA 7th-grader gets a huge 182 4/8!! 🤯
|
|
Good post on Louisiana Sportsman (can’t link it, at louisianasportsman com) about Graham M, whose grandad checked him out of school one afternoon so they could go after that deer Graham had been after:
> What Knuck [Graham] didn’t know was that Knocker [grandad] was checking him out of school that next day to bring him hunting. Knocker and Knuck eventually made their way to one of their favorite box stands.
> Graham decided to spice things up with a loud mature grunt. “I grunted with my Extinguisher grunt call around 4 pm, and right after I heard something walking through the bushes not far from the stand. I really thought it was a raccoon or something but all of a sudden I saw rack. I grabbed my gun and told Knocker, ‘It’s him, I know it’s him.’
> “I got my gun out the window as fast as I could and waited for him to come out of the bushes. The deer’s horns kept getting tangled in the branches. At 4:20 he finally came out into an open square about 35-40 yards in front of the stand and was walking away quartered with his nose on the ground. I kept my crosshairs on him the whole time and asked Knocker, ‘Now?’ He said, ‘Wait Knuck….'”
> When Knocker said “now”…Knuck had pulled the trigger. The deer jumped up, kicked, and ran in the trees. “Knuck was as cool as a cucumber before the shot, but after it looked like I poured a bucket of ants on him,” Knocker said.
The buck weighed 190 lbs and was scored by LA DNR deer program manager Johnathan Bordelon. It had a ton of mass, 14 scorable points, an inside spread of 16 1/2″, a long main beam at 24 1/8″ for 182 4/8″.
Congrats! 👊
|
|
OH hunter took this W-I-D-E buck the last day of the season!
|
|
> “I hunted him for the first time on Jan 29 and I saw over 30 deer that day but no signs of Captain Crunch. I did see several large-bodied deer that resembled him, but they had already shed their antlers.
> “That night my camera went off several times and sent me notifications. It was Captain Crunch! Just 30 minutes after dark he came out and fed in an old corn field right where I had walked out of.
> “…with the last 2 days of the season coming the following weekend, I made a plan to hunt all day just in case Captain Crunch decided to appear. Saturday, Feb 5 (the day before season ended), I sat and watched 2 bucks come in but both had shed their antlers. Eventually, they left. And I sat wondering what had happened to Captain.
> “I looked up and 6 deer appeared across the field well over 500 yards away. While glassing them, I noticed movement in the corner. It was Captain Crunch! Neither he nor the does could feed because of the large snow and ice storm that had covered the ground. The does turned back and went into the woods, but Captain Crunch stayed.
> “For the first time ever, a trophy buck did exactly what I had hoped. He headed straight for me. My heart pounded faster with each step he took.
> “When he made it to 60 yards, I saw his antlers appear over the brush line and I got my bow ready. He got within 40 yards and walked right into my shooting lane. I grunted at him at mid-trot and he froze. I took the shot and my arrow hit the buck right where I wanted it to!
> “He went 5 yards forward and stopped, then doubled back 10 yards to lay down in the same brush he came out of. I watched him lay his massive rack down and waited about 45 minutes to get down from the stand. When I was about 15 yards away…he suddenly got up and ran through the woods hitting every tree in sight. I couldn’t believe that he was still alive.
> “I went to dinner with my family…after about 4 hours I couldn’t wait any longer. My brother-in-law assisted me, and the track began…lasted less than 10 minutes. Captain Crunch had fallen 80 yards away from where I jumped him.”
Extra-wide, 26″ spread 13-point has a rough green score” of 174.
> “I spent about 100 hours in the stand before I took this buck so I know the letdown of a hunt can be bad. I was discouraged this whole season, seeing other hunters go out once or twice and coming away with good deer. I spent 4 to 5 hours at a time in that stand so it took a long time to get this deer. But you shouldn’t give up, you never know what the next move is.”
|
|
“This deer had haunted me for 4 years. I wanted it to be over.”
|
|
– AL hunter Dan Collins talking about that deer that ghosted in and out of a small swamp, and was estimated to be 6.5-7.5 years old. More from Outdooralabama.com:
> “Dan told me, ‘I can’t take this anymore,'” Wood said. “He said somebody has got to shoot this deer. It was him and that deer.”
> Dan: “I made it my pursuit to hunt that deer. He lived in one small swamp…we hunted him every way you can. We’ve got a half-dozen different stands for different winds, different food plots, everything you can imagine. They don’t get old and big like that by being stupid. I realized he was probably spending most of his time on 5 acres, and I just can’t get the guy.
> “You never really know, but the moon was right, the weather was as good as it was going to be…I had the right wind. I told Vance that I wasn’t nervous when the deer showed up because my blood was pumping that whole hunt. The deer were on their feet and moving. Everything was right. I can’t say I knew I was going to have a chance, but I knew it was the best chance I was going to have the rest of the season.
> “When he stepped out, like always, he came from where you don’t expect them. We thought he would come out of the swamp, but he came from the top of the hill. I took my time and made a good shot. The way he ran, I couldn’t tell that he was hit. He ran back uphill when I expected him to run downhill into the swamp.”
> …Collins backed out and called Wood and neighbor Drew Brooks to help look for the deer. Wood brought along his tracking dog, Dee Dee, and the deer was quickly found 60 yards up the hill.
> “I enjoyed being along for the ride,” Wood said. “Seeing a 40-year-old man get excited about a deer makes me feel good.”
No better feeling! Congrats Dan! This is the deer that haunts us: 😆
|
|
GA: New #1 buck for Warren County!
|
|
> “We never had the deer on camera or anything. None of us had ever seen him before. He was running…I just accepted the fact that I would never see him again.
> “I had 2 days to hunt and really wasn’t thinking about the buck. I wish there was a great story to tell, but there wasn’t. On the 2nd day I set up in the woods next to a food plot and here he comes. He was about 40 yards away and I shot. He ran about 20 yards.”
The 10-point grossed 165 3/8″ and netted 161 2/8.
|
|
4 hunters in WY charged with trespassing on land they never touched.
|
|
> The hunters never actually set foot on private land – they used a stepladder to hopscotch over the corners. But in doing so they violated the airspace above the land, which belongs to the landowner.
> The case, now pending in Carbon County Circuit Court, sheds light on what’s called “corner crossing” – traveling between public land parcels where the corners touch. The verdict could clarify if, and how, the public can access millions of acres of public land.
> A 2018 report from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and the map app company onX found 2.28 mil acres of federal and state land in WY are inaccessible due to checkerboarding – effectively turning some public lands into an extension of surrounding landowners’ private backyards.
> Like other Western states, Wyoming has no statute explicitly allowing or prohibiting corner crossing.
> …WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife officers won’t cite people for corner crossing, but attorneys general in UT and CO have informed their state wildlife agencies that it’s illegal.
> A hunter’s attorney filed a motion to dismiss the charges in Jan, arguing that federal law prohibits people from preventing free passage through public lands. A jury trial is currently scheduled for Apr.
|
|
They no longer have to abide by township rules that are more restrictive than state rules. Involved hunting distance from houses, parks, etc. Suit was brought in 2017.
2. VT getting closer to wanton waste law.
Seems like it was suggested by animal rights folks, but doesn’t look crazy…yet – can’t link it, at sevendaysvt com:
> The bill contains a number of exemptions, such as when an animal was wounded and couldn’t be retrieved, was sick or was taken “in defense of property.” It also clarifies that “generally accepted hunting or trapping practices,” such as field dressing a kill and leaving the guts behind, are not considered waste.
Among other things:
> Deer bag limit increases are designed to slow herd growth and provide additional hunting opportunities. Deer bag limits were proposed to be increased in 18 counties. 3 counties are proposed to increase to 2 deer (from 1 deer): Clinton, Fayette, and Pickaway. 15 counties are proposed to increase to 3 deer (from 4 deer): Allen, Auglaize, Champaign, Clark, Darke, Mercer, Miami, Morrow, Muskingum, Perry, Preble, Putnam, Shelby, Van Wert, and Washington.
…this:
> OH Div of Wildlife District 3 manager Scott Angelo told the Daily Record that the state has no official stance on the cameras. He did clarify, however, that the department regularly evaluates technology so that could change in the future.
> …deer hunters harvested 70,845 deer during the combined archery, firearms and muzzleloader seasons, from Sept 10, 2021 through Feb 3, 2022…13% lower than the 2020-2021 total of 81,729 deer.
|
|
> Hunters and residents around Hertel were very familiar with the 20-point buck, which had also been captured on trail cameras. DNR wardens were tipped off after [the hunter] shot the deer, then sent pics to his friends, who forwarded them to others.
> Wardens say he shot the big buck with a crossbow during the Dec antlerless-only gun hunt. They say when he realized that it was illegal, he tried to register the deer as being shot before the doe season. They say he also illegally used corn to bait the deer.
> …received 3 citations and paid $1,166 in fines.
An estimate, mostly due to drought.
…and conservation, part of the Infrastructure deal. Okay but who’s paying for it?
12. 2A stuff.
> The suit also argued that the company’s advertising and placement in violent video games essentially “glorified” violence using the rifle. Assertions the families said put Remington in violation of the state’s consumer protection law which prohibits advertising and marketing that is “immoral and unscrupulous.”
> In rebuttal, Remington argued there was no evidence to establish that marketing had anything to do with the shooting. The company also argued that the legal theories behind the suit were flawed- barred by both Connecticut statutes and the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Firearms Act.
> The Connecticut Supreme Court, however, disagreed, ruling that the company could be sued under state law over how their AR-rifles were marketed.
|
|
Deer Disease News
It’s in Hardin, Marion and Wyandot counties:
> Proposed deer seasons in the disease surveillance area include a longer archery season that opens Sept 1, and an early gun season during 3 days in early Oct.
Proposed change options for public comment Feb 22 through Mar 13.
Increase mule deer harvest
Option 1: Increase antlered mule deer controlled hunt tags from 180 to 400 tags with the hunting season running from Oct 10 – Nov 20.
Option 2: Replace existing antlered controlled hunt (180 tags) with a general-season, antlered-only hunt from Oct 10 – Nov 20.
Add antlerless mule deer hunt: Add new mule deer extra antlerless hunt with 200 tags from Oct 10 – Nov 20. “Extra tags” allow hunters to harvest an additional animal in addition to a regular or controlled hunt tag.
Whitetail deer extra tags
Option 1: In addition to the existing general-season either-sex whitetail hunt, add a new extra antlerless whitetail hunt with 250 tags, and a new whitetail extra antlered tag with 250 tags. Each hunt would run Oct 10 – Nov 20.
Option 2: Extend the existing general either-sex hunt from Oct 10 – Dec 31.
|
|
From an Outdoor Life review:
> “On release there’s no handshock. At 11.8 m/s2, it had the least vibration of all the bows stress-tested.”
|
|
More info on the bow at elitearchery com (can’t link it).
> …6mm high-performance hunting arrow…built from scratch in the USA using Easton’s seamless Acu-Carbon process for 100% weight and spine consistency from shaft to shaft and from dozen to dozen. Lighter overall mass weight also provides for a wider-range of arrow build options; from light-weight speed setups to high-FOC/high-momentum heavyweights.
> Sonic 6.0 features another Easton first – factory-fletched helical utilizing our 2″ Bully vane, designed exclusively for Easton by Bohning to provide the utmost in broadhead accuracy.
> The Sonic 6.0 is available in six spines (250, 300, 340, 400, 500, and 600) providing a high-performance option for every type of bowhunter.
|
|
> …for many hunters who have never tried it…the entire notion of whitetail hunting with a handheld sidearm still seems extreme – and daunting. Many who might otherwise be interested mistakenly believe handgun hunting requires skill, discipline and equipment beyond their means.
> There’s no real difference between handgun deer hunting and any other kind of deer hunting. No greater degree of shooting skill is needed, and no complex or specialized equipment is necessary. The amount of practice and discipline required is no greater than what is needed to become a successful and responsible hunter carrying a rifle, shotgun or bow.
> I’ve always described hunting deer with a revolver as “bowhunting with gunpowder.” Both disciplines require close proximity to the deer, the same careful attention to good hunting technique, and practiced marksmanship with an accurate tool.
> Handgunning for whitetails falls into 2 basic categories: conventional, traditional-form revolvers or autoloaders (of any legal caliber); or longer-range, higher-power single-shot or bolt-action handguns firing rifle-level cartridges.
> Some say hunting with such long-barreled tools chambered for high power rifle cartridges isn’t really handgun hunting. I say if it doesn’t have a shoulder stock and can only be held in the hands, it’s a handgun.
> Handgun deer hunting is a step back into that bygone era because even the most powerful modern handgun cartridges cannot match the energy of popular centerfire rifles. Put a .308 Win in a bolt-action hunting pistol, and you still don’t have the power of a .308 hunting rifle. Even the vaunted .44 Mag fired from a revolver has much less power at 50 yards than a .30-30 from a traditional lever-action rifle.
> Handgun hunting also has benefits that long-gun hunting does not, such as the weight and maneuverability of your hunting tool and the increased mobility it provides. Handgun hunters travel light. They can carry a scoped primary gun, capable of precision accuracy to 200 yards, plus a belt-holstered, iron-sighted companion gun for close encounters, and still be packing less weight than a rifle hunter with a single gun.
> You can also carry a hunting handgun in a holster, leaving both hands free.
> …most hunting handguns should be optics-equipped for the same reason a hunting rifle should usually be equipped with a scope. An optical sight is valuable not because its magnification will let you reach out to vastly extended effective ranges…but because the clarity of an optical sight picture allows you to more easily place your shot precisely, even at closer ranges.
|
|
“One of the best things you can do is have an open heart. #1 it makes you a good hunter. You are less likely to make snap decisions. You are less likely to do things that aren’t good for you, or good for the deer, or good for hunting, or good for the landowner.”
|
|
How about this deer snow plow! Whitetails making their way through the snow I think in BC, Canada – seen on therockymountaingoat.com:
|
|
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!
The DeerBlaster’s a work in progress, just like we are. 😂 Any issues, suggestions, whatever, just hit Reply to this email and we’ll get it. Thank you for reading!
|
|
Sign up another deer nut!
If you’re forwarding the DeerBlaster to other deer crackheads, tx much! Or you can email us the addys and we’ll take care of it! We’ll never send spam, sell the list or anything else crazy…. And follow us on Facebook and on Instagram at @deerblaster.official
|
|
Advertising Info
If you’re interested in learning more about the DeerBlaster and how we do things, just respond to this email and we’ll get in touch – thank you!
|
|
PO Box 133
Lebanon, NJ 08833
(908) 268 2258
|
|
|
|
|
|
|