DeerBlaster blasts

Huge Illinois buck! Deer camp dry run? Slug guns done?

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Look at that hoss! 👀 Last fall Jay Culpepper was in his 5th year of traveling to IL to hunt, and he finally got a look at the class of buck he’d been waiting for – NA Whitetail with some deets:

> I got into a stand that overlooks a 2-acre turnip field with a large standing cornfield just to the north. …immediately had some does out feeding in the far end of the turnips. Activity died down for about 30 minutes, and then I caught movement on the road that skirts the edge of the standing corn.

> About 150 yards out, I saw 4 does working their way down the road toward me…acting uneasy, and they kept looking back. That’s when the giant buck appeared like a ghost from around the bend in the road!

> I tried to count points, but I stopped at 17. I then gave myself a pep talk so I could get the job done if given the opportunity. The giant buck slowly followed the doe down the edge of the standing corn, but I was still unsure if he would come into bow range.

> What felt like an hour was realistically about 6 minutes. I watched him stand like a statue at the opening of the turnip field with the doe. I knew he had only 2 options: he could continue down the path he was on and move out of range, or he could turn and feed into the turnip field, which I knew would give me the perfect shot opportunity. …the doe turned and headed across the small creek into the turnip field….

> I ranged him at 33 yards and drew as he walked into my shot opening. He cleared some brush and stopped with his head up.

> After the 60-day drying period, he officially B&C grossed 224 and netted 216 4/8.

Wow brother, what an amazing deer, congrats! Here’s another 🤯 look at it:

Maybe? Maybe not? Good post by F&S’s Phil Bourjaily:

> …it’s hard to find a slug gun in the rack…but there are plenty of .45-70 lever actions, ARs in .350 Legend and .450 Bushmaster, and a few bolt-action rifles too. I get it. Rifles are cool in a way that slug guns aren’t. Shotguns are bulky and heavy, and they can kick hard with slugs. They aren’t as accurate as rifles are either.

> On the plus side, at real-world whitetail hunting ranges, slugs make big holes in deer. The blood trails are short and easy to follow.

> A few years ago, all the R&D that was interested in slugs died as states began legalizing straight-wall cartridges for deer gun seasons. But it came to rest in a pretty good place. Slugs that shoot sub-2″ groups are more than accurate enough for most whitetail hunting, and they’re lethal.

> Shotgun slugs might deserve another look if your goal is putting deer down as quickly as possible, say, to avoid conflict with other hunters in crowded public areas.

Clockwise from the top L:

1. No info on this insanely huge OH giant other than it was shot by @wyatt_mehaffey – posted by @ohiotrophybucks.

2. No info on this one either other than it’s beefy, taken in MO by Tyler Behlmann and @wildlifelabs aged it to be 5.5 yrs old. Nice one!

3. Way cool mount by TX’s Double Nickle Taxidermy – look at those folds!

4. Big props for this masstastic buck shot by 10-yr-old Eric in VA! Love seeing it, congrats to him and dad! Posted by @_monsterwhitetails_.

Lol that guy’s hilarious! If you guessed CA, nope. NJ? Close…it’s NY of course. 😑 Anyhow, past the PC title here’s a few highlights:

> 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.

> Monitoring deer populations for disease and taking steps to reduce disease risk.

> Providing additional hunter opportunity and increasing antlerless harvest strategically where needed. [Note: First time hunters were mentioned.]

> Encouraging deer hunters to use non-lead ammunition to reduce lead exposure of non-target wildlife. EMOJ [Overblown issue by antis.]

> Understanding and addressing public values and interests regarding deer and deer management decisions. [Notice this does not say hunters….]

Among the proposed new regs:

> Strategically increase antlerless harvest where necessary by establishing a 9-day season for antlerless deer beginning the 2nd Saturday in Sept….

> 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….

1. ND still has 7,900 deer gun licenses…

…available after the license lottery. More available overall this year.

2. UT: Remaining deer permits on sale July 8.

3. WV buck stats by county and method.

> For firearm-killed bucks, Upshur was the hands-down winner at 3.08 per sq mile. Next on the list was Mineral at 2.79 followed by Barbour and Wood at 2.58.

> During the archery season, Berkeley was the surprise leader at 2.89 deer per sq mile. Wood came next at 2.88 followed by Preston at 2.76.

4. VA: New landowners don’t appreciate hunting dogs…

…coming on their property to track deer. Has been allowed in the state for 400 years.

5. NJ Senate bill allows spotlights, deer for forest deer control.

> “…in woodlands that are under a forest stewardship plan.”

TONS of deer in NJ.

6. How deer ticks are spreading north…

…and possibly Lyme disease, according to NASA:

1. Gunwerks Skunkwerks The CUT Rifle.

> Built with the singular, obsessive purpose of cutting every possible ounce from an already lightweight ClymR rifle system without compromising on performance.

> Weight: 6.5 lbs (7 SAUM), 6.8 lbs (6.5 PRC) with optic (20% weight savings over production ClymR) > Barrel: 20″ optimized contour carbon wrapped 

> Action: Skeletonized titanium GLR Action 

> Stock: Made with advanced spread tow carbon fiber > Scope: Custom Leupold VX6 HD with capped windage & removed illumination 

Really good-looking rifle too. Punchline: $12,950. 🤯 🤯 🤯

4. Ever seen Canis Athlete camo?

Some Instagram comments say it’s too dark, but fwiw one of us (Jay) feels that dark is good – black bears, shadows, tree leaves, etc are dark, he says. Canis Athlete is vet-owned: 👊

> Our gear was created based on firsthand experience in situations where others have come up short or failed. Our team spent 2.5 years engineering our gear in Switzerland, testing it around the world, and then re-engineering based on our results.

> The end product is a line of clothing and accessories we are proud to put our name on. We have utilized the finest fabrics, trims, designs, and principles in the mountaineering industry, and tailored our products specifically for hardcore hunters. We believe our hunters are a special breed who constantly push themselves and their gear to the max.

Test run your hunting camp this summer?

Interesting – guessing it’s for new hunting areas? From NRA/American Hunter:

> Campsites that look half-filled in summer may be jam-packed during hunting season or vice versa. A phone call to the local chamber of commerce or even the conservation officer…could shine light on the popularity of the area. This could be the case with public or private campgrounds, or open space in short supply on a public mountainside.

> Other amenities to research include a fresh water supply, outhouse facilities, electrical possibilities, permanent picnic tables and a fabricated fire pit if the area is developed.

> Research how much snow the area could accumulate during hunting season….

> …unpack your gear and give everything a thorough shakedown. Camper, tent, sleeping equipment, light sources, generator, solar chargers, cooking gear, fuel sources and even your satellite dish deserve a tryout on the hunting team. Your goal is to look for problems now or items requiring repair before the big hunt.

> With camp established, lace up your boots. It is time to scout and do a dry run in and out of your hunting area.

> Where legal, trail camera placement provides scouting even if you live hours away. Secure your investment with a lock and load it up with lithium batteries….

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!