Good Deer Hunting Information To Tie You Over To The Start Of The Hunting Season

© By Othmar Vohringer

Here in British Columbia the hunting season started on the 1st of September but most everywhere else in North America it is still a few days of waiting and anticipating. To shorten the waiting period and to provide you with a few additional tips that might prove helpful I provide you here with a selection of great articles and information of all things deer hunting.

With the weather only getting colder each day as the hunting season goes on these “7 Rules for hunting cold fronts” provide valuable information that will benefit you ones the freeze is on.
Outdoor Life, 7 Rules for hunting cold fronts by Mark Kenyon

There are still a number of hunters who think that calling deer is a waste of time. The facts are, however, that under the right conditions and with the right set up deer calling can be just the ticket you need to lure that big elusive buck in. Alan Clemons tells you how in his article “Don’t be afraid of grunting for your bucks”.
Deer and Deer Hunting, Don’t be afraid of grunting for your bucks by Alan Clemons

For the hunters that do not fully understand how important scouting is and what knowledge can be gained from it in selecting the perfect deer ambush. Here is one of my own articles that was published in the Western Sportsman magazine last year.
Mapping out deer hunting success

Hunting from a treestand is without question the best way to ambush whitetail deer. However, for safety, comfort and ease of set up it is important to choose the right treestand for you and the environment you hunt. My article “Treestand hunting essentials” explains how to choose the perfect treestand model that is right for you personally and the habitat you hunt.
Treestand hunting essentials

I hope that these tips help you out and wish you the best of luck in the upcoming hunting season.

If you like you can share your 2014 hunting stories with the readers of Whitetail Deer Passion.

The Best Places In North America To Hunt B&C Trophy Deer

© By Othmar Vohringer

While some hunters don’t care much about trophy deer hunting for others it is a different story. For those hunters looking to hunt that once in a life time trophy whitetail deer buck I’ve sorted through the B&C record book to figure out which American state and Canadian province offers the best chance to fulfill that dream. Here are the top ranking US states and Canadian Provinces, listed according to the entries in the B&C trophy records.

1. Wisconsin, 383 entries
2. Illinois, 299 entries
3. Iowa, 224 entries
4. Ohio, 215 entries
5. Missouri, 214 entries
6. Kentucky, 199 entries
7. Indiana, 195 entries
8. Kansas, 181 entries
9. Minnesota, 172 entries
10. Saskatchewan, 147 entries
11. Texas, 132 entries
12. Alberta, 115 entries
13. Nebraska, 78 entries
14. Oklahoma, 48 entries
15. Ontario, 41 entries
16. Arkansas, 40 entries
17 (tie). Michigan, 39 entries
17 (tie). Mississippi, 39 entries
19. North Dakota, 31 entries
20. Pennsylvania, 26 entries
21. New York, 25 entries
22. South Dakota, 24 entries
23 (tie). Georgia, 23 entries
23 (tie). Maryland, 23 entries
25 (tie). British Columbia, 19 entries
25 (tie). Maine, 19 entries
27. Virginia, 17 entries
28. Tennessee, 15 entries
29. Colorado, 13 entries
30. Idaho, 11 entries

For more information on the Boone & Crockett Club, visit www.Boone-Crockett.org
 

Are Trophy Records Destroying Hunting As We Know It?

© By Othmar Vohringer

For years I have been saying that the “trophy” aspect of hunting perpetrated in every magazine and hunting TV show eventually will backfire on our hunting heritage. It is my contention that if trophy record books would only give credit to the animal without the name of the hunter they would go quickly out of business. The reason hunters enter trophy’s in these books is for the sole reason to see their name in print. In magazines and hunting TV shows trophy animals are used solely for the purpose to sell products and to give “testimony” that the writer or TV show presenter is an “expert”.

Now don’t get me wrong. I like to kill a trophy animal as much as the next guy but to me it is not a contest and I certainly never would enter one in a record book. I am not a trophy hunter and I am not a meat hunter either. I am just a hunter. While I fully respect that some hunters may only hunt for a trophy animal to please their own ego or their own sense of achievement it needs to be mentioned that the trophy hype does affect new and young hunters in a very negative way. How so? I lost count of how many times I heard a young or new hunter say something like; “I will not waste a bullet on a lesser animal.” Or “I want to be a trophy hunter.” These are all people that may go many years without killing a deer waiting for that big trophy buck. They do so because they want not to be ridiculed by their peers for shooting a lesser animal.

New Wisconsin Archery Record Buck

© By Othmar Vohringer

According to the Wisconsin Outdoor News, Brian Inda a bowhunter from Wautoma killed the new Wisconsin state bowhunting record whitetail deer buck. The deer was taken on November 2 on an old Christmas tree farm in Wild Rose.

The rack has 12 points, five on the right and seven on the left. It’s inside spread measures 22 inches. The final score, after a drying period of 60 days, measures 187 5/8 inches, three-eighths of an inch more than a buck killed by Barry Rose in Dunn County. Rose's buck had held the state record since 2006.

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Giant Wisconsin Buck

© By Othmar Vohringer

I received this picture in an email, the text said, "Check out this pig! 190-class buck. Shot near Tigerton." The buck had allegedly been shot in Wisconsin. Other than that I have no other information. I would like to learn more about it. If anyone reading this has any more information I would love to hear more about the buck, the hunter and the hunt.

This blog post has been brought to you by Othmar Vohringer Outdoors

Tags: Trophy Whitetail Buck, Wisconsin Monster Buck, Deer Hunting

Monster Buck Found Dead

© By Othmar Vohringer

Hunters in Petersburg, North Dakota, observed this buck all of last season and tried to hunt him, but to no avail. This was a very smart buck. No matter what the hunters tried to get close to him it was no avail. To the local hunters dismay some pheasant hunters found the monster buck dead at the end of the deer hunting season. Wildlife officials decided after an examination of the remains that the buck died of natural causes.

It’s a little known fact that most big bucks die not because of a hunter but because of old age or accidents. The reason bucks as this one get that big is because they learn at a young age how to stay away from hunters and predators.

This is a true monster buck, check out the mass in the main beams and the tines. Notice the huge drop tines. It’s a giant alright!

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Read my bi-weekly newspaper column online.

New Wisconsin State Record Buck

© By Othmar Vohringer

It’s official now. According to Wisconsin Outdoor News Wayne Schumacher, of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin is the new state whitetail deer record holder. On Sept. 20 he arrowed a true monster buck with 29 scoreable points. On December 5, 2009 a team of four official scorers taped the monster rack at 2436/8 inches.

Read the full story here

This blog post has been brought to you by Othmar Vohringer Outdoors

Tags: Wisconsin State Record Buck, Trophy Buck, Wisconsin Outdoor News, Wayne Schumacher Buck

Minnesota woman bags monster buck

© By Othmar Vohringer

Holly A. Heyser from the NorCal Cazadora blog posted a great story of Kelly Gustafson, 23, of Welch, Minnesota and her incredible 27-point monster buck that she shot with her muzzleloader. Gustafson named the brute “Lesnar Buck” in honor of her favorite fighter Brock Lesner, former University of Minnesota wrestler. With three broken tines from previous fights the 27-point buck seems worthy of that nickname.

Kelly Gustafson shot the buck on Saturday, Nov. 8 – That’s the same day my two day mule deer buck hunt got spoiled by thick fog and ice rain – on her family's property along the Cannon River near Welch. Because Gustafson's husband works for a local hunting products company, Robinson Outdoors, she and her buck will be featured in next year's catalog.

You can read the full story on the NorCal Cazadora blog and on twin Cities.com Pioneer Press

Tags: Minnesota Trophy Buck, Big Whitetail Deer Bucks, Muzzleloader Hunt, Women Shoots Big Buck

Saskatchewan Monster Buck

© By Othmar Vohringer

A fellow Canadian hunter sent me this picture of a huge Saskatchewan monster buck taken this year. Unfortunately the sender of the picture was not able to provide me with more information other than the buck was shot with a muzzleloader sometime this year.

This is a dream buck any which way one looks at it, big heavy antlers with long tines and lots of mass. I counted 16 points and a few kickers. What a brute!

I bet that deer would get Mike’s heart pumping too over at the Mike Hanback’s Big Deer blog.

Saskatchewan has been a big buck hot spot for many years and each year the deer taken get bigger. This strengthens my feeling that the next world verly likely could be be shot somewhere in Saskatchewan and it may not take that long either.

Don’t forget to take part in the 2008 Big Deer Contesthere on the Whitetail Deer Passion Blog. We have a fantastic prize to give away.

Tags: Saskatchewan Monster Buck, Whitetail Trophy , Big Buck

Possible new state bowhunting record

© By Othmar Vohringer

In most U.S. States and Canadian provinces the early bowhunting season is over, and already the Internet is buzzing with news of huge whitetail deer bucks been taken everywhere.

An email that was sent to me claimed that Kyle Simmons, a bowhunter form Iowa, had arrowed the new possible state record buck. I could not find any additional information about the buck and if it really is the new Iowa state record. But it is a monster any which way you look at it.

The buck has 28 points and it looks like it will score close to 270”. The deer was taken on in October and we have to wait for the official drying period to be over before we get the final score on the bucks rack.

If any of you reading this has more information about this buck please shoot me a line. Thanks

Alberta Monster Buck

© By Othmar Vohringer

Canada has long been known, if not for the large numbers of deer, for the size of bucks we have up here. Alberta hunter Helgi Eymundson shot his 280 class buck this past fall. I read first about this double palmated buck on King’s Outdoor World on December 15, 2007.
David King wrote, “An Alberta, Canada native just knocked down a monster whitetail deer about two weeks ago. From what I have been been told this deer is indescribable and kind of resembles the Hole In The Horn buck. It has been green scored at 287 gross and 280 net non-typical B&C.”

Since then it has become official that the Boone and Crockett Club will score the rack in January 2008, after the required trying period, and publish the exact score on their website as soon it becomes available.

Meanwhile, Wild TV had this to say about the Helgi Eymundson buck; “The Eymundson Buck" potentially largest Non-Typical Whitetail deer ever shot in Canada. Gross B & C green score 287 Read the complete story and see all the photos in the February issue of North American Whitetail. The video footage will be made available in February via Recoil - Video on Demand”

Tags: Trophy Buck, Alberta, Helgi Eymundson, Boone and Crockett Club

The Casey Heine Buck

© By Othmar Vohringer

On October 28 I briefly reported about Casey Heine of Bever Dam, Wisconsin and how he got his 35 point archery monster buck in The First 2007 Monster Bucks. Today Casey sent me the story how he got that buck in his own words and you can read it here exclusively at Whitetail Deer Passion.

A Wisconsin Monster Buck
As told by Casey Heine

I left school at UW Oshkosh at 2:50 p.m. and rushed home to hunt the evening of September 28. I finally got into the field at about 4:30 and decided to hunt a stand on the end of a fence line that connects to the marsh. There is a cornfield in front of me, a bean field in back of me, and the marsh to my left. It was a unseasonably warm afternoon and the mosquitoes were simply unbearable.

I continued to fight them off and at about 5:30 a doe and fawn came out into the bean field behind me at about 100 yards away. They ended up trotting across the bean field into the corn in front of me. At about 6:40 the same doe and fawn came out about 20 yards in front of me and walked toward the marsh. That’s when I heard a commotion in the bean field behind me. I looked behind me to my right and saw two deer running along the fence line toward me.

The 35 pointer was in front and there was a fork buck following him. I glanced at the head of the buck as he ran behind me and determined it was a "shooter." I had NO idea he was as big as he was. The bucks ran behind my stand and I pulled back as the big buck came around the fence line to my left. He was still running so I had to make a loud doe bleat with my mouth to get him to stop...Luckily the buck heard me and slammed the brakes on. He looked right at me and I took my time and placed the shot a couple of inches behind the front shoulder...The buck bolted after the shot and I watched him run along the marsh and field for about 75 yards where he made one huge leap into the marsh.

As he ran away I kept telling myself it was a good shot; however, when I looked on the ground where I hit him there was very little blood...I ultimately decided to wait until morning to make sure he had enough time to expire and I would have an easier time following the blood. I have had my share of kicking up wounded deer, and I did not want this to be one of those cases. I had a hard time sleeping that night! I went back out at about 6:45 a.m and discovered a fairly good blood trail. He started to really bleed good after about 30 yards. I followed it to where I saw him jump into the cattails and to my delight I saw a brown body laying there about 5 yards into the marsh. He must have just collapsed after the huge leap. I looked at his head and couldn't believe what I saw...Points everywhere! I probably scared everything out of the marsh when I made a scream of happiness! My first trophy buck was a 35-pointer!

Great story and great buck Casey. Congratulations on your trophy of a lifetime. The Othmar Vohringer Outdoors cap is in the mail to you.

Tags: Wisconsin Whitetail Deer, Casey Heine Buck, Whitetail Deer Trophy, Monster Buck

The First 2007 Monster Bucks

© By Othmar Vohringer

The hunting season is still young and already we hear reports of the first big bucks that have been taken in the early bowhunting season.

The Daily Citizen reports of twenty-two year old Casey Heine who on September 28 arrowed a huge 35 point buck! Yes you read that right. The buck has 25 countable points! This may very well be an achievement that the young hunter never will repeat again in his lifetime.

Heine told the newspaper "The big buck came around the fence line to my left and ran along the marsh toward the doe and fawn," with a doe bleat Heine stopped the buck. With a well placed arrow behind the shoulder blade Casey but the buck on the ground.
The scenario goes back exactly to what I keep saying. Fence lines, especially if they’re connecting two woodlots or coming from a woodlot into a marsh are always hotspots for big buck travel.

The second whitetail monster news comes from PJStar.com. Jeff Lampe writes in his Scattershooting Journal that Jay Gregory, host of the Wild Outdoors TV show which he presents for the past 15 years together with his wife Tammi, has killed a massive buck green scoring in the top 190’s. Jay Gregory has yet to name the state where he arrowed that awesome buck. Your guess on that one is as good as mine. Could it be Missouri, Iowa or Illinois? One thing is for certain that this is one nice looking deer. Gregory said that he soon will post a video of this hunt on his website.

These are two fine examples of early bowhunting bucks. Who said that you couldn’t kill a monster buck in the early season with a bow? Of course you can, you just have to be at the right time at the right spot and do everything just right, including scouting.

This has given me an idea. I would like to hear from you and your early 2007 archery season success. It does not have to be a monster buck. You’re the judge what a trophy is to you. Send a picture and short story to go with it to atacov@yahoo.ca and if I like it I will post it here on Whitetail Deer Passion for all to read. But that’s not all. The chosen picture and story will be rewarded with a embroidered and autographed SHS - Othmar Vohringer Outdoors cap. So lets get started and send those pictures and stories in to me.

Tags: Monster Bucks, Bowhunting, Early Archery Season, Casey Heine, Jay Gregory, Wild Outdoors TV

Second-Best Buck Taken Off Public Land in Florida

While hunting with his father, 17-year-old Casey Phillips, of Bay Lake, harvested the second-highest-scoring deer on record ever taken from Florida?s nearly 6 million acres of public hunting lands.

Phillips, a junior at South Lake High School in Groveland, took the 16-point, non-typical buck Nov. 21 on Richloam Wildlife Management Area (WMA) during the general gun season. Tim Farley, a senior wildlife technician for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) took the official measurements and gave the deer?s antlers a gross Boone and Crockett score of 163 6/8 and a net score of 156 5/8.

James Stovall currently holds the top spot for his monster 25-point buck that he took on nearby Green Swamp West WMA in 1999, which scored a whopping 206.

According to the Florida Buck Registry, Phillips? deer is the highest-scoring non-typical deer taken on public or private land since 2000, when Lee Crews took a 16-pointer from Alachua County with a net score of 179. The registry, established in 1982, provides an opportunity for hunters to register antler scores and other information about white-tailed deer taken in Florida.

Casey was prodded by his father, Brian Phillips, to go hunting that afternoon.

?It was a very cold and windy day, and a storm front had just moved through the area. Casey wasn?t feeling much up to getting out in it either,? Brian said.

After a little convincing, father and son made it out to Richloam WMA, within sight of their home in Lake County. Even though the entire management area allows deer-dog hunting, the Phillips practiced still-hunting and were set up in two different ladder-stands near each other along a stretch of a hardwood hammock.

The trophy buck came into Casey?s view at around 5:15 p.m., and Casey took the time to line up his shot and downed the 195-pounder with his 7mm ultra magnum rifle.

?I heard the shot and knew it was Casey, so I climbed down from my stand and started making my way toward him,? Brian said. ?As I was walking, I actually jumped a 172-pound six-point and took him with one shot. I thought I?d done real good until I saw what my son had.?

?I?m real excited,? Casey said. ?I?ve taken a buck almost every year out of Richloam since I was 8 ? but nothing like this one. I never put one in the registry before, and now I find out I?ve got the second-best buck taken off public land.?

?I?ve hunted Richloam since 1974 and never came close to taking a deer like that. My wife and I are real proud of him,? Brian said.

Thus far, Phillips' buck is certainly in the running for this season's highest-scoring deer.

?Richloam is 58,146 acres of palmetto and pine flatwoods and is popular with the dog hunters,? FWC regional public hunting areas biologist Jason Burton said. ?After the first nine days of the general gun season, all one needs to hunt deer and hogs on Richloam is a hunting license and WMA permit.?

The minimum antler score needed to qualify for Florida's Buck Registry is 100 Boone and Crockett points for typical antlers and 125 for non-typical. Typical antlers have points growing off the top side of the main beam only. Non-typical antlers are rarer and have points either growing off the underside of the main beam or branching off other points.

Source: Florida DNR

Tags: Florida DNR, Record Buck, Public Land Hunting, Trophy Hunt, Boone and Crockett, Florida WMA, State Park

Your Shots 2006: Ohio Trophy Buck by Dennis Rulli

Hunter Dennis Rulli submitted this picture of a huge ten-point buck he harvested on December 1st. 2006 on his farm in Greenford, Ohio. The buck has tremendous mass and tall tines. The deer dressed out at 220 lbs. Dennis tells me, “This is a deer of a lifetime…”. I bet it is! What a monster!
Unfortunately Dennis Rulli did not with what he harvested the buck and what he green scored. To me this buck looks like he easily could green score 176 B & C.
Congratulations Dennis on a terrific deer.

Your Shots 2006
To share your outdoor photo with Whitetail Deer Passion readers, send a copy in an e-mail to me and include your name, phone number, when the photo was taken, the photographer’s name and the general area where the photo was taken. Plus any other information you are willing to share with the readers of this blog about the hunt.

2006 Trophy Bucks

It looks like that 2006 is shaping up just nicely to become yet another trophy record year. Her I have colected just a handful for pendable state trophy buck records harvested this hunting season.

Maryland:
This magnificent Maryland buck has been harvested by hunter Bill Crutchfield, Jr. of Charles County watched the buck for approximately two hours mid-day Monday before finding an opportunity to take the massive deer with a single shotgun round. DNR staff confirmed that the buck has 26 scoreable points (13 per side) and a preliminary antler score of 268 5/8 inches


Wisconsin: Lisa Brunner downed this tremendous buck on opening day of the Wisconsin gun season. It is reported to green score 179-5/8 as a typical. The buck weighed 217 lbs.




Massachusetts
:This monster buck was arrowed by Paul Buccacio on October 23rd in Worcester County, Massachusetts. Paul shot the buck from the ground with a traditional recurve bow!
The buck Green Scores over 185" as a typical, and over 195" as a non-typical! Either way, the buck would be the best bow buck from that state, in that category.



Kentucky: This buck was reportedly taken this fall in the Pennyrile Forest State Park in Kentucky. No word on the lucky hunter yet. What an incedible typical frame on this monster deer!


So there you have it. Like I said, just a small sampling of what’s out there. Who knows there might be a monster buck roaming in your hunting area, go and find him. Even if you hunt on public land it is possible to find big bucks there too, see the Kentucky buck above!

Ohio Hunters Set New Record

From opening day of the deer-archery season in October, Ohio hunters were on a record- setting pace. Young hunters set a new mark in the second year of the state’s two-day youth deer-gun season with 6,673 deer killed.

During the four-day statewide muzzleloader season, hunters took a record 27,749 deer. Hunters also exceeded the record for deer taken during the archery season (October 2 to January 31) with 57,198. A total of 125,681 deer was killed during the popular one-week deer gun season.

A record trophy buck was recognized with Warren County bow hunter Brad Jerman shooting a buck that scored 201 1/8 in the typical (symmetrical antlers) category of the Buckeye Big Bucks Club. Jerman’s deer tied the score of a buck taken in 1986 in Clark County by William Kontras.

Deer hunting contributes an estimated $266 million to Ohio's economy each year and helps to support thousands of jobs. Venison is delicious and nutritious meat, low in fat and cholesterol. It is the number one wild game served by hunters in Ohio. Deer hunters also contribute thousands of pounds of venison to organizations that help feed less-fortunate Ohio residents through special programs. Organizations that serve the state of Ohio include: Sportsmen Against Hunger and Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry.

Read full article here


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News: B&C Monster Bucks of 2006

With the upcoming hunting season fast approaching how about a little teaser to get you even more exited? The Boone and Crockett Club just released the new entries to their trophy record book.

The trophy buck that peaked my interest right away was the monster buck taken in Alberta, Canada. This very unusual buck was taken by Scott Reeves last fall in Alberta. While only pushing the 11-1/2 inch mark in greatest spread, this deer has 25-inch main beams and reportedly scores in the 186-range as a non-typical! What a weird looking buck. In this case it was the antler mass that gave him a 186-point ranking. Truly a unique trophy. Alberta is known all over North America for its trophy sized whitetail deer. Another fine Canadian Province I have earmarked in my calendar for an upcoming hunting trip in the future.


The next buck I show you has been taken in my old hunting grounds of Illinois. Having lived in that deer hunter paradise for 10 years I know how big these corn fed deer can grow. Illinois consistently produces trophy deer every year. Dave Voorhees arrowed this all-time records book giant, scoring 170 B&C, on December 23rd. He was also able to get great velvet footage of it earlier in the year, as well as video of the hunt. This great 5x6 has over 6-inch bases! The Voorhees buck was taken in Peoria County, not far from where I use to live. I think I will go back there one of these days. Man, I am “home sick” now.

Tags: Trophy Bucks , Whitetail Deer