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Big THANK YOU to all our military veterans and those still serving! You make our lives possible — you and your families are loved and appreciated.
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Wildlife artist Ryan Kirby sticks a 2 hunnert!
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Wonder if Ryan Kirby will paint that gigantic IL buck he just stuck? Deets from his Insta:
> It’s a rare thing for a whitetail buck to grow to 200″. It’s even more rare to have him using a property you hunt.
> Even more rare than that is getting in his wheelhouse on a 70-degree night. The most rare thing of all though is putting an arrow through him….
> I got to sit in a rare spot the other night, with my hands around the beams of a truly amazing deer. But it’s the rut, and rare things happen during the rut.
Sounds…rare? Lol! Congrats man, insane mass on that old dude.
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Maybe new WV state record bow buck!
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Maybe record typ, shot last week — some details from hunter Jody Dalton:
> The standing record for the largest whitetail killed with a bow in WV, in the typical antler category, could be in jeopardy with a buck taken last week in Wyoming County.
> An official P&Y score requires the rack to have dried for at least 60 days. During that period, the size of the antlers will often shrink at least a little. The current record for a typical whitetail taken with a bow was 188 7/8 killed in 2014 in McDowell County.
> “I had a picture of him back on the 26th of Oct and I knew he was in there. It just so happened he came through at 10 in the morning chasing 2 does and gave me a 30-yard broadside shot.”
> That’s right. No years of near misses. No trailcam pictures documenting the buck’s life for the last 5 years. Just a single picture and being in the right place at the right time.
Lol not really but who cares — great deer Jody! |
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Two MN trophies in one hunt:
1 whitetail and 1…gator??
#2020
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Well, Cory Klocek went deer hunting came home with 2 trophies — a real nice 10-point, and an alligator. Maybe not so weird if he was in FL or LA, but he was way up north in MN! From Cory’s FB page:
> …this morning I harvested a beautiful 10-point buck. This was my first-ever deer with a shotgun, as I am usually a rifle hunter (different zone, different regs).
> As I’m walking around a pond, tracking my deer, I look down to see a 3′ alligator 10′ in front of me. After contacting the game warden, I was informed I could shoot it.
> No clue how it got there, or why. I’m guessing someone had it as a pet and released it when it got too big. Either way, only in 2020 can you go out to sit for deer gun season opener in MN and shoot an alligator.
> I’m still at a loss of words lol. Legit speechless. The plan is to mount them together in a fun taxidermy piece.
Love to see that Cory, send it to us when it’s done! And just be glad it wasn’t this deer-gator situation:
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MO 9-yr-old shot a 200+ 17-point!!
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Huge congrats to Cole H! Details from the Springfield News-Leader:
> …shot an absolutely massive whitetail buck on his dad’s soybean field during the early youth [season]…. “We were in a blind and it came out at 200 yards and got up to about 170 yards, chasing a doe. I got real excited and started shaking.”
> Joshua…said he watched over his son, making sure he was holding his .22-250 Savage American rifle correctly and lining up the shot just right. “I shot it and it fell straight down,” Cole said.
> “I knew it was the biggest deer I’ve ever seen,” Joshua said. “There’s very few 200-inch deer shot in MO, no less than by a 9-year-old boy.”
17 points, scored 201 7/8″! Was NOT Cole’s first-ever deer…being raised right!
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Check out the derpy “King Chonk”!
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LOL look at that! Posted on Reddit’s r/hunting, some choice comments:
> He’s the dominant buck because he just straight on stabs the competition.
> Who put salad tongs on his head?
> The clap of his cheeks keeps setting off the trail cam.
> Is this the deer equivalent of a comb over?
> This deer is my spirit animal
> When u type all caps and hit shift on the first letter
> …if my middle school pictures were a deer
HAHAHAHA great!
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Brandon Toney had watched it for 6 years — called it “Methuselah:”
> “By 2018, I was calling it Methuselah, because I was sure I’d never kill it and it would live forever.”
Actually shot him in 2016, blood trail, healed fine.
> The rack ended up green-scoring 174 4/8 inches. Its “unicorn” point measured 13 inches.
> “We think he was 10.5 or 11.5 yrs old.”
Great hunt story at that link.
2. What happened when a bear messed with this man’s buck.
Not sure where at, sounds like somewhere up north, from reddit:
> My pa, 82, defending his buck from a bear. He still works full-time as a fishing boat captain.
> My pa is one of those old-school guys who would rather drown out to sea than retire. He does lobster all winter and halibut/tuna in the summer. Fall is for harvesting his potatoes and hunting.
> Never worked a Sunday in his life and thinks plastic and microwaves are a scourge on society. Only went to grade 3 because his teacher told him what’s the point of coming to school if he was going to be late every day cause he was ducking and checking his traps every morning.
We love this man and salute you sir!
News
1. IL bow harvest beating last year.
5k more than last year…partly extra weekend, partly COVID?
2. PA: Why antler restrictions make sense.
Gotta be at least 3 points on one side in most of PA. Scientist:
> “For example, where 70% or more of the bucks are harvested annually, buck age structures tend to be very young. This means 1.5- and 2.5-yr-old bucks must prematurely become herd sires and expend an unusual amount of energy during the rut…can retard their growth rates and prevent them from achieving their maximum physical size at maturity…even increasing buck mortality from natural causes.”
3. MI considering new deer regs.
A bunch, meant to simplify regs. They want comments, deets at the link ^.
4. ME issues 110,000 any-deer permits.
61% more than last year.
5. P&Y certifies world-record velvet non-typ muley.
324 3/8″ — dang!
6. Portable treestands recalled for corrosion/breakage risk.
> Made by X-Stand, sold from May 2017 to Dec 2018.
Go here if you’ve got one.
7. AL: Kimber moves to AL from NY.
> The company has announced that it will hire 366 workers to fill position in its new state-of-the-art, 225,000 sq ft facility in Troy.
If you thought NY was running ’em outta town, you’d be right:
> Remington and Kimber are not the only casualties. Following passage of New York’s…Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013, at least 2 other manufacturers pulled up stakes: American Tactical Imports and Kahr Arms. They moved their operations to SC and PA….
8. MI lists top 10 deer-hunting violations.
Top of the list is using the wrong tag or wrongly filling out a tag.
9. DC: New report says huge economic impact from outdoor rec.
> …makes up 2.1% of US GDP, generating $788 bil in gross output and supporting 5.2 mil jobs.
> In terms of economic output, boating/fishing, RVing, hunting/shooting/trapping, motorcycling/ATVing, and equestrian sports are the 5 largest conventional outdoor recreation activities. [Not sure what horses are doing there but okay?]
> The top states where outdoor recreation accounts for the largest percentage of each states’ total GDP are FL, HI, ME, MT, VT and WY.
> The top 5 states where outdoor recreation accounts for the largest percentage of total US GDP are CA, FL, IL, NY and TX.
10. Whitetail hunting generates $15.7 bil nationally.
Yep with a B! Different thing than the previous….
TX: Record number of gun “control” bills introduced.
Apparently making good on Mike Bloomberg’s promise to “flip” TX…good luck with that [eyeroll emoji]….
DC: ATF already working with Biden team??
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Gear of the Week
Hard to imagine TenPoint’s Vapor RS470 flagship x-bow getting much more deadly, but seems like it just did. They partnered with Garmin, who just came out with a rangefinding scope built just for x-bows. Deer & Deer Hunting says it’s “the most powerful, most accurate long-range crossbow ever.”
Garmin came out with the original Xero bow sight for vertical bows a few years ago. These devices pretty much eliminate the need for standalone rangefinders and thus cut way down on hunter movement. Some bowhunting purists say the Xero gives an unfair advantage, but that won’t be an issue with x-bows since there’s nothing traditional about ’em. More:
> Delivering supercharged speeds up to 470 fps and the revolutionary ACUslide cocking and de-cocking system, the Vapor RS470 Xero is equipped with the new Garmin Xero X1i Rangefinding Scope to provide exact aiming at any distance for unmatched long-range accuracy.
> The auto-ranging digital scope with 3.5x magnification automatically measures distance to a target. Precise illuminated aim points automatically adjust for both distance and brightness conditions to allow you to see your target, unobstructed by reticle patterns.
> …ranges out to 500 yards with angle compensation, and offers the ability to set the scope up for multiple custom arrow configurations.
> The Laser Locate waypoint projection feature works with compatible Garmin devices (sold separately) to show you exactly where the target was located when the shot or range was taken, so you can better-track game or find bolts.
> The ACUslide [has the] Auto-Brake Gear System, which allows for silent cocking and safe and controlled de-cocking of the crossbow.
Deer TV dude Wade Middleton was one of the first to shoot a whitetail with the setup — his hunt and thoughts on the bow/scope are in this YT video.
BUT…price. If you’ve got $4 grand layin’ around (!!), one of these setups can be yours. Doesn’t look like they ship for a month or more though. If you’ve already got an x-bow, you can get a Xero scope for around $1,400 bucks.
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Tip of the Week
How deer pro Mike Hanback works a grunt tube.
Might have to take a grunt tube out with me after reading this Big Deer Blog post by Mike Hanback:
> You should grunt at every buck, both shooters and small 4- or 6-points, that you see slipping down a ridge or ducking into cover up to 125 yards away. The more bucks you see and call to, the more you learn from their reactions.
> When a buck hears your grunts, 9 times out of 10 he will stop and look your way. Sometimes he might stand there and stare, but more likely he’ll drop his head and continue on his merry way.
> Okay, now grunt at him again, louder. Vary your calls from sharp contact grunts to guttural low grunts. If the rut’s on, cut loose a stream of your best tending grunts. Your 3rd or 4th set of grunts might strike a chord and stop the buck.
> Once you have his full attention, don’t grunt. He might see you move your hands, or he won’t see another deer over there, causing him to hang up or back off into the brush. Instead, when the buck cuts his eyes away, grunt a few times and just loudly enough to stay in contact.
And be on the lookout/listen:
> One day I grunted at a 150-class giant that stopped, looked at me for a second and kept on moseying…. He topped a ridge and was gone….
> A half-hour later, I heard crunching behind my stand. I swiveled my head and a deer started blowing at me. The same buck! …he must have gotten curious of my calls and snuck back in on the downwind and busted me.
> That happens more than you imagine. Since that day, after grunting to a buck, I always keep my edge and keep watching, especially to the rear and downwind of my stand.
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Quote of the Week
“Hunting and ranching go together like steak and potatoes.”
– James Oliver of the TX and Southwestern Cattleman and Ranchers Assn talkin’. For me it’s a tossup between a venison backstrap or a black angus ribeye — I’ll take 1 of each and extra taters lol. What James meant:
> Even if you’re not a hunter, you likely know how important wildlife management is to your property and cattle operation.
Shoot wildlife management important to the whole COUNTRY!
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Shot of the Week
Check out this weirdo buck taken by Caleb Paine in OK. OK Wildlife says it’s caused by “cryptorchidism,” aka “cactus buck” — happens when a buck’s, uh, “cojones” have a birth defect or get injured somehow. Hurts to read (lol) but makes a sweet trophy:
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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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