Today from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission:

Use of crossbows in North Carolina is now considered a legal hunting method...anytime bow-and-arrow hunting is allowed... State law requires that anyone buying or otherwise receiving a crossbow in North Carolina first obtain a pistol permit from the sheriff’s office in their county of residence or hold a valid concealed handgun permit.

Am I missing something? Why do you need a pistol permit to buy a crossbow for deer hunting? I understand it has always been this way in NC. Why? Are there weird similar crossbow laws in other states?

Why does Little Brother (sheriff’s office/local government) need to know you have a crossbow anyway? comment

Every Wednesday from now until the season we’ll tackle a dilemma you might encounter in the deer woods. Some will come from questions I get, other topics I will toss out. We have thousands of hard-core hunters on this blog, and everybody hunts a little differently. Tell us how you would do it, and learn how others do it. I’ll contribute my 2 cents. If you’ve got a dilemma/question you’d like to see discussed, shoot me an email.

Mike: Several of my tree stands require a long walk to get to. I have to cross some trails with good deer traffic. (I wear rubber boots and use a scent killer.) I don't have a good alternative way in. I’ve noticed deer rarely come to our stands from along the routes we take.

Would it be better to ride an ATV (more noise but no human scent) to the stands and hide them out of sight, or should we keep walking and be quiet. Thanks, Tom.

What would you do? comment

Flatlander guest blogs an update on what’s happening in and around the Arena Plot where he’s been working on the habitat since last winter. If you missed Matt’s update in June click here, good stuff on planting, setting stands, etc. See how it’s paying off: 

Mike: Upon completion of our hinge cutting after last deer season in the 4-acre woodlot, and then clearing the south edge for food plots, we noticed several sets of nice tracks showing up. 

There was some discussion on the last posting as to the size of a deer track, and if you can determine a mature deer by a print. I know some guys don't put much weight in the size or placement of a deer track, but after hearing of Native American hunting habits and African trackers, I think it's all about the track! It hasn't steered me wrong yet.

That being said, I know some big bucks have smaller feet, but I am confident no small buck has a foot like the track I referenced by the beer can.

Mike: Attached is a picture I got when we pulled our cameras yesterday--35 yards from my tree stand! 

I have decided to keep the location of this amazing buck secret. I hope the hunter will send me another photo of him in mid-August, when his antlers have stopped growing. I want to see how big that dude gets! Then I hope to get one last photo of the deer with the hunter's hands wrapped around those mulit-tined antlers.

The sight of this rascal ought to get ya going...how many days till you start hunting? comment

I dug this out of my research archives. It’s from Missouri whitetail biologist Dr. Grant Woods, who is a hard-core bowhunter: 

“…remember that the speed of sound is twice as fast as the fastest bow. It is much better to shoot a quiet bow than a fast bow. It is much better to shoot at a deer at 30 yards (if the hunter is proficient at that range) than at 10 yards.

A deer can jump the string at either distance, but is less likely to hear the bow and respond at 30 yards than at 10 yards. In addition, noise at 30 yards may not startle a deer as much as noise at 10 yards. Based on my observations, deer, like humans, have a comfort zone.”

comment   

Jeff sent this: Mike, I saw this quote from country music star Miranda Lambert and thought you’d like it:

“I mostly deer and turkey hunt. Usually during deer season I try to take Mondays through Thursdays off for a couple of weeks to go hunting. My biggest deer is a 145. I’ve got some trophy mounts.”

Oh yeah, we like country girls.

comment

When I first posted Chad Christie’s incredible drop-tine monster (picture below) back in December 2008, I asked Chad to get in touch with me because I’d love to profile his buck on Versus. I never heard from Chad, but some guy named Dave left this comment:

Why would you want to put this guy on TV? I hate gun season because they (gun hunters) only go out opening weekend, sit on a bucket or walk around and get this kind of luck handed to them. But if it makes them /you proud, then great job. 

Regardless of topic, you know I encourage people to speak their minds and either agree or disagree with me and the other bloggers, because it makes us all more informed and thoughtful hunters. But this hit me wrong--hunting doesn't need elitist and narrow-minded attitudes like Dave’s.

He’s a hard-core bowhunter, fine. But why diss fellow gun hunters?

Why would I want to put Chad and his monster drop tine on TV? Well Dave, because that is what I do at BIG DEER and on segments on Versus--celebrate average guys who kill their dream bucks and showcase those amazing animals with awe, dignity and respect.

This is my dream buck for obvious reasons.

I posted on this deer in December 2008, when details were sketchy. I was surprised it didn’t get more play on the Web back then, for this is truly an unbelievable buck.

Well, he has popped up again on Facebook and some other sites. Finally, here is the story as best I can piece it together.

One afternoon in December Chad Christie spotted the buck and started stalking him from his backyard in rural Kansas. As Chad moved in across a bean field, a doe he hadn’t seen busted him and jumped up. Both she and the buck stared nervously at Chad, and he knew it was now or never. Chad wrapped his arm in the sling of his .30-06 and took a long off-hand shot. The buck kicked and took off, a good sign.

It was getting dark and Chad had trouble finding blood, so he backed out until the next morning. They found the monster 30 yards from the hit spot. The main-frame 12-point had 40 inches of abnormal drop points and scored 242 non-typical. It ranks in the top 20 Kansas all-time non-typicals, which is surprising. I would think the giant would be closer to the top!

I mean look at that drop rack again—you will never see a more impressive animal. comment

BIG DEER has gone global. Blogger Lance Freeland lives in Cameroon Africa, on the Ndop plane in the village of Bangolan (use Google Earth to see Ndop, his house is labeled as Freeland's). He sent this: 

I sent my friend, Missouri biologist Dr. Grant Woods, this email: