 |
|
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!
|
|
High-horned ‘burbs BEAST!
|
|
Check out that freak o’ nature!! AL 18-pointer that taped out at 179 4/8″ but he looks bigger than that! Brock Creel shot it on just a 15-acre piece of ground he and his dad usually duck-hunted. Brock told Buckmasters that one day he saw an active deer trail and decided to put up a trailcam to see what was up:
> The first photo he collected showed 4 does. The next one was a nighttime shot of an incredible buck that made him count the days until bow season.
> “The buck was so big that I could hardly believe it was real. My dad and I hadn’t planned to hunt deer on that woodlot. It’s only 100 yards from a small neighborhood. Once I saw this deer, I forgot about duck-hunting and started making plans for bow season.”
> Brock went to his treestand at 1 p.m. He could hear children laughing, music and dogs barking from the nearby neighborhood.
> About an hour before sunset, 2 does came through and hung around for 45 minutes. Moments after they hurriedly left, Brock saw the reason: The bull of the woods, bigger in the flesh than it had seemed in the photos, was approaching from the same trail, nose to the ground.
> Brock shot it [10 yards with a crossbow] as soon as its head passed behind a tree.
Toad was so big it took ’em an hour to drag it 70 yards!!
|
|
|
|
AR buck is the top typ of the decade.
|
|
|
We all love huge, gnarly, weird non-typ racks but sometimes huge typicals can just plain take our breath away — like that one ^.
Game & Fish has a profile of what it says is the biggest typical deer taken anywhere in North America in the past decade — in AR by William Lloyd in 2018. Sounds like he needed a couple chances to git that sucka:
> …a gross score of 208 7/8″ and a net score of 200 1/8″. With those numbers, the Lloyd buck is poised…to become the new AR state record, the biggest buck ever taken in the deep South, the 17th buck netting more than 200″ in B&C history, and the best typical whitetail anywhere during the past decade!
> The deer hunting chance of a lifetime greeted Lloyd as the giant typical buck popped out into the open, only a bit beyond the 200-yard mark. But when he slowly pulled the trigger, the result wasn’t what the hunter was hoping for.
> “I don’t really know what happened. I put him in the crosshairs, pulled the trigger, heard a bam (as the gun went off)…and nothing happened. I just plain missed him.”
> But sometimes things are just meant to be, as Lloyd quickly got another shell in the chamber of his rifle. As he did so, amazingly, the buck not only didn’t run off, he actually began to edge closer to Lloyd’s seated position.
> “He actually started walking in my direction, kind of quartering to me. I wasn’t sure what he was going to do.”
> As the deer closed to the 200-yard mark, Lloyd found his crosshairs on the buck’s shoulder, settled them, and slowly pulled the trigger again. This time, the bullet struck home….
When he walked up on the deer he was blown away cuz he thought he was “hunting a big 10-point” — like:
Buck stats:
– 6×8
– …the symmetry differences and 2 abnormal points totaling up to only 8 6/8 inches
– 24 4/8″ inside spread
– Main beams: 29 2/8″ (right) and 29 4/8″ (left)
– Mass measurements from 4 2/8 inches to 5 3/8 inches
William’s gear:
– T/C Encore Pro single-shot rifle, synthetic stock
– 150-grain .300 Win Mag bullet |
|
|
|
INSANE 267 7/8 MO monster!
|
|
Jake Dierking (“deer king”?? great name!) had a chance to take this deer a few years ago in the late muzzleloader season, but the deer had already dropped an antler so nope. Next summer he got new trailcam pics showing that the deer’s mass had exploded:
Dang! Right away he put out 4 more cams and got a good idea where this amazing buck was spending his time. Lousy weather kept Jake out of his stand for the early season, but come Nov it was on. Legendary Whitetails with the story:
> I was able to go into my favorite bow stand…which happened to be right in his bedroom. We had most of our pictures and videos of him less than 50 yards from the stand. Walking in that morning I didn’t spook any deer, which is rare because I have a long walk in.
> That morning I saw 5 different 1.5-year-old bucks before I saw the big one, 80 yards out in the brush. I tried grunting at him, but all he would do was look at me. As I watched him leave, my heart sunk knowing it was my last day to bowhunt before the rifle season started the following week.
> A few minutes later, I could hear 2 bucks fighting near the area where he walked in. Shortly after, 2 does came out of the cedars and right behind them was the huge buck we had been after all season! The does brought him right under my stand for a perfect quartering away shot at 10 yards and the rest is history.
|
|
|
|
Gitcha some more promisin’ velvetheads!
|
|
|
Ever think about how exactly deer see?
|
|
Another good vid from Deer & Deer Hunting’s Dan Schmidt. He says that stocking up on the latest camo pattern is great and all, but there’s more important things to think about when you’re trying to hide from our favorite critter:
> Whitetails see more in 2D than in 3D and they don’t see the same colors that we see. They see more in the blue, green and yellow range than any other color range. Deer have a very acute sense of seeing movement and seeing [long] distances.
> Does camouflage matter? Yes it matters, but more important is how you’re tucked into that environment. It’s not gonna matter about what color I’m wearing, or what pattern I’m wearing, [if I don’t] break up my human silhouette.
> Another thing a lot of people don’t think about is stand placement and line of sight, and where it is in relation to where a deer might be coming from. Where is it in relation to a deer’s eyesight?
> If you want to take being invisible to the Nth degree, then take up still-hunting…not only requires stealth, but knowing when you can move and where you can move. How to step, when you’re gonna be skylighted.
|
|
News
1. PA DNR proposing minimum deer, bear caliber (pdf).
> The Commission is proposing to…require that firearms used to hunt deer and bear be .24 caliber or greater.
2. WV: Error in regs booklet.
> “It says there’s a new regulation that allows hunters age 14 and under to use crossbows.” That’s a problem. There is no such regulation — DNR officials proposed it, but the Natural Resources Commission rejected it.
3. AL has 2 new deer zones.
> The newly created zones D and E will allow hunters to gun hunt before and during the peak of the rut (deer breeding season) in those locations.
> Zone D includes areas in Cullman, Franklin, Lawrence and Winston counties. Zone E includes areas in Barbour, Calhoun, Cleburne and Russell counties.
4. MN: 2020-21 regs are out.
> The popular youth deer hunting season continues and will happen statewide Oct 15-18.
> The DNR has expanded the early antlerless deer season, Oct 15-18, to include more deer-permit areas in central and southeastern MN.
5. MI approves new deer regs.
Bunch of smaller changes, too many to list here. Btw, MI antlerless permits are on sale now.
6. VT will have virtual meeting on 10-yr big game mgmt plan.
On Aug 5 but says it will keep commenting open til Aug 12:
> “The 2020-2030 plan is the culmination of 2 years of public survey data, biological data, public meetings, and department thinking.”
7. ID DNR using consultant to help with perceived crowding.
In woods. U of ID scientist:
> “Different types of hunters have different preconceived notions of what ‘crowded’ means.”
8. ME enlisting residents in Deer Spy project.
Pilot project:
> …to record and report their deer sightings in a way that feeds right back into ME’s deer management. The data that we receive will be used as a secondary source of recruitment data and to increase confidence in our understanding of whitetail recruitment patterns….
9. NY bowhunters taking safety course online.
10. MN: P&Y Museum will have grand reopening on Aug 7-8.
Lots of door prizes and such.
11. MO: Gov signs law for more venison to the hungry.
> The previous statute stated that the deer meat must be frozen and packaged. This bill allows it to be frozen or packaged in a shelf-stable manner such as snack sticks.
12. NSSF says gun owners are hugely diverse.
> Today’s gun buyer looks more like the rest of America. They represent all walks of life and those buying firearms today increasingly are women, minorities and more urban than in previous generations.
13. Mike Giannattasio new Leica president.
Takes over from Roger Horn.
14. Jake Mersberger is new natl accounts mgr for Arcus Hunting.
15. IL: Have the state police been delaying firearms ID cards?
16. Europe is working through possible lead ammo ban.
|
Deer Disease News
1. MS shoots down confusing CWD regs.
Sounds like they might do it next year tho:
> The confusion began during the commission’s May meeting when a vote was taken to change CWD management zones to CWD surveillance zones.
> Inside the surveillance zones were 4 smaller CWD management zones. Supplemental feeding of deer would have been allowed within the surveillance zones, but not in the management zones.
This season the zones will be the same as last season:
2. WY outlines new CWD mgmnt plan.
Will be published soon:
> …hunters could see extended seasons, late hunts or more tags for mature bucks as a means to help control or slow the spread of chronic wasting disease in the state’s deer populations.
3. TX A&M scientist found genes for CWD resistance.
> …confirmed that certain aspects of the whitetail deer’s response to chronic wasting disease CWD are moderately to highly heritable, or passed from parent to offspring, and can be predicted using a custom genomic tool designed by Seabury and his team.
This is how the resistance started:
Lol!
|
Gear of the Week
Henry’s 21st Century levergun in a thumper caliber.
We [heart eyes emoji] lever-action rifles so thank you Henry for building one in the classic .45-70 chambering! Any cartridge that’s been able to hang on for nearly 150 years is saying something, and the .45-70 is excellent short-range whitetail medicine.
American Hunter says the new Henry checks all the boxes and adds a few useful tactical features to an old classic:
> All of Henry’s new X Model rifles display the classic lever-gun design and quality…with an undeniable tactical flare. …but the carefully chosen and limited “tactical” features on the X Models serve a purpose, and improve the versatility and function of the rifle.
> The fore-end also features a small length of Picatinny rail molded into the front as well as M-Lok slots on either side. The receiver is also drilled and tapped to accept scope bases or a Picatinny rail.
> One of the standout features of the X Model .45-70 is, of course, its 5/8 x 24 factory-threaded muzzle (and it’s shipped with a knurled thread protector).
> The Henry X Model functioned with the flawless consistency you would expect out of a robust lever gun. …its loop is bigger than a standard lever, and I found it to provide plenty of clearance for gloved hands without allowing for the excess movement some larger-looped rifles exhibit.
> …the loads I put through the Henry X Model .45-70 averaged 3-shot groups of 2.45″ at 100 yards. Brush guns aren’t designed to be precision rifles, and their applications don’t require it.
MSRP is $970:
|
Tip of the Week
How to tune your arrows for tighter groups.
Maybe you’ve bought a new sight, rest or stabilizer to hang on your bow with the goal of improved accuracy. Well…MeatEater’s Tony Peterson says you can do a few things with your arrows to make sure you’re getting the groupings you want:
> Whether they are factory cut, cut in a pro shop or cut at home, it’s easy to get arrows that don’t have a perfect 90-degree angle from the shaft to the inserts. If your arrow isn’t square, your nocks or inserts won’t be either. In either case, bad arrow flight is just about guaranteed.
> Take the time to learn how to fletch arrows yourself and use a jig that offers enough helical or offset to produce really good broadhead flight.
> I’ve messed around with 4-vane arrows a lot in last few years, and what impresses me most is how often I have a true dozen that all fly perfectly with broadheads. Rarely does that happen with 3-fletch arrows.
> Just like with match-grade ammo, arrows that are built to the same specs will group better than arrows with looser tolerances. …your arrows (and broadheads) are not the places to skimp.
> …the more you shoot your arrows, the more the structural integrity will degrade. Eventually, even though this can take several years, they won’t carry a broadhead as well as they used to.
|
|
|
Quote of the Week
“It almost feels like hunting bigfoot.”
– That’s Tyler Freel, an AK resident, talkin’ on Outdoor Life about the state’s decision to allow mule deer hunting. Muleys aren’t considered native, and for reasons not entirely known they’ve migrated north. Sounds like a time!
Wonder if Tyler’s hunted bigfoot? For sure these guys have — not sure about that “killing” part tho:
|
Shot of the Week
Kinda weird shot of a young’un posing with a frozen doe at @oldschoolhunting. But apparently it was kinda a thing back then — mentioned this to my (Ted’s) dad and he said his uncles did the same thing. Who knew:
|
|
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!
|
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 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!
|
|
|
|
|
|
