We believe the hunting world lost its way decades ago, with technology, food plots, and heated stands replacing true woodsmen skills and knowledge of animal habit and habitat. At Big Woods Bucks, our goal is to revive and promote hunting in its most ancient, purest form, by getting out into the big woods, learning to read the woods & subtle sign that makes the biggest difference in your success. The woodsman skills we teach help you safely test yourself against the wilderness and have real, authentic big woods adventures along the way. So stop sitting and start hunting!

Hal Blood

Hal Blood

Chris Dalti

Chris Dalti

Hal Blood

Hal Blood

Chris Dalti

Chris Dalti

We believe the hunting world lost its way decades ago, with technology, food plots, and heated stands replacing true woodsmen skills and knowledge of animal habit and habitat. At Big Woods Bucks, our goal is to revive and promote hunting in its most ancient, purest form, by getting out into the big woods, learning to read the woods & subtle sign that makes the biggest difference in your success. The woodsman skills we teach help you safely test yourself against the wilderness and have real, authentic big woods adventures along the way. So stop sitting and start hunting!

What is the "big woods?"

Broadly speaking, as defined in Hal Blood’s books, the “big woods” is anywhere where deer do not primarily feed on agriculture. In particular, "the big woods" refers the heavily forested areas of the northeast and the upper Midwest. 

What is big woods hunting?

Big Woods hunting combines a variety of tactics, including tracking, still hunting, sitting, and hunting out of a stand when appropriate. Each tactic has its place, although Big Woods Bucks aims to highlight and promote tracking and still-hunting above all others because, if practiced correctly, these methods are the most reliable way of taking a buck in the big woods. 

FROM THE BLOG

VIDEO: Still Hunting Tips with Maine Guide Lee Schanz, Jr. | Big Woods Bucks

VIDEO: Still Hunting Tips with Maine Guide Lee Schanz, Jr. | Big Woods Bucks

"Good Lee" hunts during the 2021 rifle season and gives some tips on hunting bare-ground

Posted on September 16, 2024 by Brian Connor

 

Maine Guide and Big Woods Bucks team member Lee Schanz, Jr. hunts on bare-ground during the 2021 Maine rifle season and demonstrates 14 still hunting tips that you can use to improve your bare-ground still hunting technique.

VIDEO: The Ontario Tapes, Vol. I: Big Woods Hunting in Maine 2005, Part 2

VIDEO: The Ontario Tapes, Vol. I: Big Woods Hunting in Maine 2005, Part 2

Hal Blood hunts and guides other hunters in Maine during a snowy rifle season in 2005

Posted on September 11, 2024 by Brian Connor

Hal Blood hunts and guides other hunters in Maine during a snowy rifle season in 2005

VIDEO: The Ontario Tapes, Part 1: Big Woods Hunting in Maine 2005

VIDEO: The Ontario Tapes, Part 1: Big Woods Hunting in Maine 2005

Raw, uncut, old school Big Woods hunting footage

Posted on September 6, 2024 by Brian Connor
From the Big Woods Bucks video vault, raw, uncut hunting footage from the early 2000s. The Big Woods Bucks team hunts hard up north in the heyday of Ontario buck hunting, and hunts deer all around Big Woods Nation, including Maine, Minnesota, and New York. In this episode, Hal hunts in Maine...

What is tracking?

Tracking is the purest form of hunting. To consistently be successful at tracking bucks, a hunter must be able to accurately read a variety of sign, be in good physical condition and fast on the track, and be a capable woodsman. Big Woods Bucks aims to help hunters achieve all these skills and more.

BWB Partners

Our fine partners make it possible for us to share our adventures with all of you.

Minus33
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On The Hunt
The Maine Sportsman
Kittery Trading Post
K-Data Systems