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The DeerBlaster culls the best of the whitetail interwebz every week for DIEHARD whitetail nerds…cuz it’s fun! And important…and educational…. Then it “blasts” into your inbox.
Thx for reading and please let us know how we’re doing! If you’re getting the DeerBlaster for the first time it’s probably because a deer-crazed buddy signed you up!
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Big buckeye buck has brows on mains??
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Magnifico! (Pretty sure that means “magnificent”? lol) @hunterstrophycase1 posted this deer — almost like his brow tines aren’t really brows, they’re just part of the main rack:
> Shout out to Kevin Hughes on this giant whitetail. Taken in Licking County, OH this beast scored 183 6/8, making the Buckeye Big Buck Club.
NICE one Kevin!
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Getta loada these 2 freaks!
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| The bucks not the folks lol:
@bushnell_official pic from a recent show when Don and Kandy Kisky doubled up on a coupla STUDS. Not sure where…. Don’s buck is definitely the bigger one, but check out the brow tines on Kandi’s deer — that’s somethin’ else! |
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Hunt NEAR food plots, not over ’em.
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The Jackson, MS Clarion Ledger caught up with grad student Colby Henderson, who recently analyzed 432,000 waypoints (!!) from 42 different GPS-collared deer. Some pretty cool discoveries on how and when deer use food plots:
> “What we actually found, during the day, food plots were not the most selected habitat classification within our landscape….
> “Deer are going to have to go from cover to a food source. Instead of hunting all afternoon on a food plot, maybe hunt in between winter food plots and where you think the deer are staying.
> “To sum it all up, during the day when people are hunting, [deer are] using other areas more than food plots. Hunt between where they are bedding and the food plots and maybe you can catch them as they move from one area to the next.”
Just bear in mind other critters might have figured that out too:
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Hard work pays off in father-son AZ Coues deer hunt.
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Pretty cool story from Realtree — 13-yo Zachary and his dad Nathan put in the work to take this great-looking AZ Coues deer:
> Nathan was ecstatic when Zachary drew a Coues deer tag for GMU 34A. It’s a great unit for the ghostly little whitetails, and it took 3 draw cycles to get in. For Zachary, it would be his first-ever big-game hunt.
> During the summer, they traveled 3 hours to their hunting spot, scouted the area and hung up several trail cameras.
> Zachary: “I have been in the area many times before, and have helped my relatives with ranch chores when I have visited. We would see does almost every day we were visiting.”
> Fast forward to Oct 11. It was a cool morning, around 50 degrees, in the foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains. That changed quickly as the sun rose.
> Nathan: “With the warm temperatures, we knew the deer would have to come into water at least once a day, and we devised a strategy to set up in a remote area and wait above an active tank.”
> …big group of does eventually rose from their beds on the mountainside across the drainage…approached the watering hole, and 2 bucks descended the slope behind them.
> Zachary: “He walked about 100 yards down toward the water and stopped for a minute. He looked around and then continued to walk down the hill. He stopped a 2nd time, and that is when I fired.”
They found the deer in 10 minutes– nice! A Coues deer hunt is on our bucket list….
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Missed with a .50 BMG…but still killed the deer??
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Good ol’ boy Keith Warren travels around huntin’ all kinds o’ critters in different ways. While back he used a Barrett .50 cal to go after a doe — guess if you hit ’em with a 750-grain bullet they’re not going real far…
…’cept he missed the deer…but still wound up with venison on the table. When he looked at the video:
> I felt absolutely confident in this head shot. We can play back that shot in slow-mo, and the concussion, the report of that gun, is so loud that it literally caused the camera to be jacked up for a minute.
> Now where would you think I hit that deer? The answer is, after we went down there and took a close look at it, I mean a really close look at it…I didn’t hit the deer. I completely missed that animal.
> BUT…the lesson to be learned here is that that .50 BMG round has so much pressure, so much vacuum when it goes past something…it actually sucked the eyes out of that deer and killed it instantaneously.
Okay? Not really our thing but it was legal so…. Some money comments on the video:
> Next: squirrel hunting with an A-10 warthog.
> Next Episode: Calling in an airstrike on a rabbit.
> Next: Sending in seal team 6 to assassinate your pet gold fish.
> A .50 Cal to shoot deer?! Come on, the right way to hunt them is with a minigun.”
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News
1. MO clarifies “handgun” definition for deer hunting.
Looks like AR pistols are okay in the “alternative methods” season?
> The essential distinguishing characteristic of a handgun is its ability to be operated with one hand, although a second hand can be used as a brace. Any firearm with a total length of over 26″ is considered a rifle.
2. MI deer hunting proposals up for review.
Couple are:
> Change the statewide limit for antlerless license purchase to 10 per hunter. This limit offers maximum opportunity for those who wish to manage abundant deer on their property.
> Require hunter orange to be visible on occupied ground blinds.
Also some regional changes. Can’t link it but at the DNR website.
3. SC deer harvest down only 1%.
About 193K deer:
> Since 2015 the states’ deer harvest has been stable to increasing, possibly due to declining coyote densities.
4. WV delays vote on buck limit til Aug.
Says it wants more input…so give it to ’em!
5. AL: Court says no hunting whitetail/muley hybrids.
> …8-1 decision May 29, overturning a lower-court ruling that held hybrids birthed by whitetail does who were artificially inseminated with imported mule deer semen would be legal to hunt.
> The issue turned on whether the hybrid should be treated like a whitetail as a game animal or like a species that is not indigenous to the state and therefore illegal to shoot.
6. AR: Apply now for a WMA deer hunt permit.
Now thru July 1:
> …offer some of the best public hunting opportunity in the US. To prevent overcrowding on popular WMAs, the AGFC limits some hunting opportunities through a permit draw system.
7. TN’s new hunting regs/seasons announced.
8. VT finished a statewide deer aging program.
Aged 3,637 deer. Doesn’t say much except:
> The oldest deer harvested were a pair of 17-yr-old females taken in Rockingham and Fairfax. The oldest buck was 10 yrs old and was taken in Shaftsbury.
17!!
9. RI: 50K locals signed petition against NWR hunting.
Possible new hunting opportunity on 242-acre wildlife refuge.
10. IN looking for Community Hunting Access coordinators.
Can’t link it, at in.gov:
> Training will cover topics including whitetail deer biology, management options, and successful deer hunting in urbanized communities.
11. Damon Bungard new BPI Outdoors sr mktng mgr.
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New Stuff
1. Lookit these Leica Trinovid Classic binos!
> While they may look old school, their performance is decidedly modern. The latest glass types and coatings yield vibrant colors with high contrast, while images stay bright out to the edges. Protected by an ultra-light aluminum housing…both splash- and weather-proof.
2. Primal Treestands’ Wraith 270 blind.
> This durable and highly functional blind is constructed with unique one-way walls that allow you to see all of your surroundings without being seen.
Delta McKenzie “Daddy” series 3D bucks.
> …feature Delta’s proprietary Antler Socket System and Dove-tailed Body Sections.
Trash Panda Rinehart 3D target.
> …new sculpted pose unlike any other target. …has the ability to be secured to any trash can cover (or similar surface), with a solid grip that’ll hold tight even after being struck with the fastest arrows.
Lol love it!
4. Scent Killer offers new room/space product.
Storage containers?
> Perfect for a wide range of applications including rooms, closets, backpacks, sports bags, lockers, storage containers, cabins, vehicles, RVs and much more!
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Gear of the Week
Check out TenPoint’s Vengent S440.
TenPoint’s Vengent x-bow turned heads at the trade shows when it was announced — now it’s available. Clocking speeds of 440 fps, TenPoint says it’s the fastest and narrowest forward-draw crossbow ever. American Hunter with the lowdown:
> Only 5.8″ wide, the Vengent weighs a half-lb less than previous flagship models from the company.
> While de-cocking with the ACUslide, the user can remove their hand from the handle at any point, with no other action required, to stop the handle in place. The 7.5″ Xtend Adjustable Crank Handle…reduces cocking effort to 5 lbs, and stows away in the butt stock.
> The forward draw bow assembly is the difference maker for the Vengent S440. The cam rotates 360 degrees to improve speed, while the Vector-Quad cable system technology utilizes 4 cables instead of the traditional 2, to eliminate cam lean and generate straight-nock travel.
> This 2-stage, zero-creep [trigger] design features a roller-sear system, designed to deliver a consistent 3.5-lb pull. For safety, the trigger is equipped with a Dry-Fire-Inhibitor (DFI).
> Finally, the Vengent has a 20″ Micro-Trac fluted aluminum barrel, which reduces flight deck surface by 50%.
Sounds like a whole lotta x-bow, aaaaaand with that comes a whole lotta price tag: $2K.
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Tip of the Week
What you don’t know about FFP scopes.
Well we sure didn’t know much about First Focal Plane scopes before we read this post in Field & Stream. Still not convinced we’ll rip our current glass off our bolties and swap them out with these deals, but they’re worth knowing about:
> In order to take advantage of the improved accuracy of everyday rifles and ammunition, more hunters are putting FFP scopes on their deer guns.
> The primary [reason] is versatility. Because an FFP reticle doesn’t change size relative to what is being viewed, the shooter can use the reference marks at any power, unlike holdover reticles in SFP scopes, where the magnification needs to be placed at a specific setting, usually the highest level, in order for the hashmarks and holdovers to line up correctly.
> The trick to producing FFP scopes that are well-suited to hunting is to mitigate their disadvantages — their bulk, cost and issues with the reticle either being too clunky at max power or too indistinct at low power.
> The biggest gripe I’d hear from hunters was that the [FFP] reticles were clunky and less precise at higher magnifications, which is exactly what you don’t want for distant targets. That concern is understandable but exaggerated. The human eye has an amazing ability to center crosshairs on a target, even when the crosshairs appear thicker.
Says if you’re interested in checking ’em out, take a look at the Trijicon Tenmile, the Burris Signature (can’t link it), or the Maven RS.1.
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Quote of the Week
“They want to kill Bambi. That’s their idea of a real fight. Them and a deer. If the deer were ever armed, if it were a fair fight, these guys would never be in the woods.”
– Michael Moore, the uber-liberal filmmaker, talkin’. Last time we checked, hunting had nothing to do with a “fight” there Mike. But it is a God-given and Constitutionally-protected right!
Here’s the movie we wish he’d make…maybe…if he kept it real lol:
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What’s the DB and who does it??
The DeerBlaster is a weekly roundup of the best, worst and funniest stuff about whitetail deer hunting culled from around the interwebz. We were kinda doing it already, just not the blastin’ it into your inbox part….
It’s put together by some deer nerds — Ted, Jay, Wade, couple more — from around the country. We excerpt content (and credit EVERYONE!), comment on content, do some original content — it’s an internet thing…. We do it because we can’t get enough deer hunting, hopefully you’re wired the same.
The DeerBlaster’s a work in progress, just like we are. Let us know what we can do better and thanks for readin’! Any issues, suggestions, whatever, just hit Reply to this email and we’ll get it. Thank you!
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