BigBuckZone

My friend Steve Creek, who writes and operates the great blog, The Shed Antler, features a submission today from a British Columbia shed antler hunter that definitely deserves attention.

Mike Burns, from northern BC writes: “These are the huge 3-point mule deer sheds I found on December 29, 2007 in northern British Columbia. They are (from) a 175-class buck, and I have never seen such a large 3 x 3.”

Neither have we, Mike. Man, talk about mass!

Burns writes that the main beams measure 27 inches, the G2s are 19 inches, the G3s are 8 4/8 inches and 10 1/8 long respectively, and the center of the bases are 5 inches around. He also notes the racks weigh 3 pounds each and he estimates they would have had about a 28 inch spread on the animal.

If you’re interested in shed hunting and everything about antlers, do yourself a favor and bookmark Steve’s fine site.--J.R. Absher

The first big bucks of 2006 are starting to fall and the ZONE is all over it. My buddy Jay Gregory, host of The Wild Outdoors on the Outdoor Channel and his wife, Tammi, shot these awesome muleys near Crawford, CO last week. I made the photo of Tammi larger than Jay's because she is a lot better looking than he is.

The Gregorys usually hunt mule deer over waterholes when it’s dry and hot in August. But it rained every day last week, so Jay and Tammi changed tactics, pulled off the H2o and ambushed these bucks in the mornings as the deer moved from alfalfa fields to bed high up in the hills. 

LESSON LEARNED: You have to be ready to adapt at the drop of a hat to kill big deer, whether muleys or whitetails. Every day that you keep hunting like you always do when the weather, crop harvest, acorn drop, etc. are not right you’re wasting valuable time.

BTW, both Jay and Tammi killed their bucks with 2-blade Rage broadheads. Tammi shot hers at 20 yards with a 44-pound bow. These heads opening on impact with a lightweight bow is not a problem. Jay shoots 70 pounds and notes that his Rage blew right through this buck at 30 yards. “That thing is just devastating on deer,” he says.

Timely info. I’ll post my backyard Rage shooting review tomorrow.