Tell us this: What fuels your fascination with big deer tales?

Posted by Wayne G. Barber
   Several times each hunting season, the OUTDOOR SCENE runs photos and stories telling tales about hunters who have filled their tags by shooting monstrous deer, or deer with massive antlers.

And each time, our readers gobble those tales up, clicking, sharing and commenting on the stories on our website.
The other day, an e-mailer asked me to explore our fascination with big deer a bit further.
  Her question, (one I’d never considered, to tell you the truth), was simple: Why are people so interested in big deer?
   Having grown up here, I thought the answer was obvious. But after struggling to provide a good answer in a sentence or two, I realized that I’d never really given the issue much thought.
And that’s the question I’m asking readers today: What is it about these big animals that turns those stories into gotta-click internet sensations?

Neal Page of Palmyra poses with the 10-point buck he shot on Oct. 31, 2015. The deer weighed 282 pounds, field dressed (including heart and liver). Photo courtesy of Neal Page)

A bit of context: We track the stories that do best on the web (and the ones that don’t), and the reaction to the big deer stories is more than impressive. In fact, it’s nearly unprecedented.
Last year’s most viewed story on the OUTDOOR SCENE site?   Big deer. Big Fish second.
And every time we write about a big deer, thousands and thousands of readers check out the photo (and, hopefully, read the story).
I’ll be writing about the phenomenon, and I’d love to hear from you. Pass along your thoughts to me via email at waynwnri@yahoo.com if you like. Please include your full name and hometown