Top 10 Big Buck Hunting Excuses

"I always tried to turn every disaster into an opportunity." - John D. Rockefeller


We all miss a shot or 2 when we are playing Big Buck Hunter or Big Buck Safari. The key is to realize, these aren't disasters... these are opportunities. Opportunities to play mind games with your opponent by whipping out just the right excuse. Popped a doe? Missed the buck? No prob. Just peel off one of these handy excuses.

Top 10 excuses for a Blown Hunting Site (conducted by straw poll):


10. Yeah, but I scared him!


9. I had venison for lunch.


8. Gun must not be calibrated.


7. You should see me hunt with my eyes open!


6. Bucks...Does...I'm an equal-opportunity hunter.


5. That doe looked at me funny.


4. I normally use the orange gun. (opposite of gun used)


3. I think I'll kill that one with my truck instead.


2. I need another beer.


And the #1 voted excuse...


1. I was anxious to see the Big Buck Girls again!

A Little Slice of Heaven

Dante's Paradise (c. 1308) narrates a tour thru nine spheres of heaven. But while Dante’s account is interesting, it is pretty obviously fake. Obviously he can’t really have gone to heaven, because his books mention neither Big Buck Hunter or Chicken Fried Steak. There is one place in this earthly realm, however, where you can find both of these … Mary’s Café in Strawn, Texas (2 hrs east of Dallas).

Mary Trettler is one of the last restauranteurs who still prepares Chicken Fried Steak in the traditional method. Not in the battered & deep-fried method made popular by culinary giants such as Swanson’s TV dinners.

Discerning customers will come far and wide to pay homage to the authentic Chicken Fried Steak. The dish is still lovingly prepared in the original recipe, exactly as it was passed down from the ancient Aztecs. Kim Pierce of the Dallas Morning News writes:

“Mary is so protective of her chicken-fried steak and other dishes that employees must sign an agreement drawn up by a lawyer not to share the recipes, nor even the way the restaurant plates meals.”

“At Mary's, the only deep-fried foods are things such as hand-cut french fries, breaded okra, tortilla chips and calf fries (bull testicles).”

This is starting to sound like my kind of place. The clincher? In the lobby… next to the stacks of 6-packs...you guessed it…Big Buck Hunter.

Chicken Fried Steak and Big Buck Hunter…like Batman and Robin.

Of course the real question is, when you go to Mary’s Café, do you eat first or play first?

Mastering Site Versions

Site Versions - Just Like Alternate Realities (only better)

Ever notice how you can pick the same site each day and it seems to play out slightly differently? One time the buck might come from the right, and if you pick the same sight the next day, the same buck might come from the left. Hows come? What gives?
The answer is there are 4 different versions of each site. What’s the benefit of having different versions of sites? No doubt the biggest reason is so players can’t memorize all of them. Also, if 4 people start up a 4-player game, and they all chose the same site, no one will see the exact same version. That way there’s no advantage to going first or last. No one will see the exact same version as a previous player.

Tournament Site Versions - Groundhog Day
Versions work slightly different in tournament games. Versions are a little more predictable in tournament games. In a tournament game, choosing sites in the same order will always resort in the same site versions coming up. In other words, if you play 2 tournament games in a row, as long as you chose the sites in the same order, you will always see the same site versions. Like one big Déjà vu. As long as you repeat the same order, the same versions will always appear – just like groundhog day. This can be quite beneficial to an astute player. A player can experiment with different site orders to find the highest scoring versions. One site version might have more possible points than another version of the same site. Look for things like number of critters available, long distance shots, and ease of play. A few rounds of experimentation might reveal a set of versions that offer 500 – 1000 more possible points that another. That could result in a 10-place improvement in tournament standings. Also, if you know the exact versions of the sites that are going to come up, you can practice! You can learn how get your accuracy up by reducing your shot count. That could result in a few hundred more points. In the national tournament, adding a thousand points to your score could result in several hundred bucks in your pocket!

Tournament Site Versions - Day by Day

There is one giant caveat in regards to tournament site order. The site order changes everyday! That means the site order versions that come up one day will be different from the site order versions that come up another day. Each day is a fresh and new. What that means is that one day might allow you to find a site order that gives you some extra points, and as long as you play the sites in that order you will see the same versions ALL DAY LONG. But the next day the versions will be different. That means one day might allow a higher scoring order than the next day.
Confusing, but worth the effort.
The best thing one player can give to another player is information. “Hey brother, if you play the sites in order (4-2-1-5-3) you can get some really choice site versions today.” Now that’s love! So if you find a site order that allows some sweet point potentials…share the love. Tell a friend.

Biscuits & Gravy & Big Buck

Nothing says 'Good Morning' like a hot steamy cup of 'Big Buck Hunter'.

When in the course of human events someone is tempted to a night of frivolous skullduggery, the next morning can be a little rough. Chris Dimattia of Charleston, SC, has realized that from time to time, people may need a little help getting thru the morning after.

Chris owns a restaurant called 'The Recovery Room' (685 King St.) designed to help the morning-challenged make it through the morning after.

The Recovery Room offers cheap comfort food all day, specializing in breakfasts, served all day.

According to Rob Smith, of The Post and Courier:

"His joint supplies the perfect lubricants for last night's debauchery: Dark environs and great munchies, breakfast all day and bar fare. "

Finally, to stabilize patients before being discharged, The Recovery Room offers a game of 'Big Buck Hunter'. What better way to batten down your hatches and get prepared for the dog-eat-dog world than poppin' some critters in your favorite game?

Big Buck for Breakfast, this could be a new trend.

How do you Big Buck?

Logs & Frogs

The news is full of stories regarding the dangers of Frog Hunting.

The Times of India reports of more arrests and crackdowns by Indian Police for illegal frog hunting.

Big Buck Hunter is one place where Frog Hunting is legal - and very beneficial.

It seems Big Buck Hunter has one hidden easter egg. In the first site of the first level of Elk, there's a log on the left edge of the screen. If you shoot the log, a frog will hop up on the log. You can shoot the frog up to 4 times (just like the frog flippin' bonus) - and get credit for 4 extra critter shots. This can add up to quite a lot if you also get the birds.

How to Get the Secret Frog:
1. Select 'Elk' Adventure
2. On the 'Select Your Site' screen of the first trek, shoot the site all the way to the left
3. Shoot the log on the left edge of the screen
4. Out comes the frog!
5. Shoot it up to 4 times if you can.

(If you time it just right you can get 4 frog hits + some birds + all 3 deer!)

Try it your self. Only don't let the Indian Police see you.

Saving the Earth - one deer at a time

The uninformed, knee-jerk opinion may consider Big Buck Hunter to be at odds with environmental causes. However, I submit to you that Big Buck Hunter is a very animal-friendly game.

Consider these points:

1) Increases Deer Population
During an average 5 min. Big Buck Hunter game, approximately 35 deer are created. Based on national play averages of 100 plays per week, or 14 per day, that's 420 deer created each day. Once you consider there are over 10,000 Big Buck Hunter machines out there, that's over 4,200,000 deer created EVERY DAY!! (USDA estimates total Whitetail Deer population to be 14-20 million) Conservative estimates would indicate that more deer are created by Big Buck Hunter players every month than exist worldwide.

Conclusion: If you want to increase deer population... Play more Big Buck Hunter!!!

2) Cares for Animals

Earthtimes reports that The Outdoor Channel sponsored a 'This Land is Your Land' challenge. For every game of Big Buck Hunter or Bass Simulator played at their booth, they donated $25 to the Animal Rescue of New Orleans (ARNO). Earthtimes reports that over $10,000 was raised by Big Buck Hunter players.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/outdoor-channels-this-land-is,437797.shtml

Conslusion: If you want to help homeless animals... Play more Big Buck Hunter!!!

Big Buck Safari - Lexicon

If you have ever wondered what some of the phrases the new african announcer is saying in the Big Buck Safari game, here's some of the sound calls that we have researched.

Developers from Play Mechanix (the makers of the game) say that the speech list was made using consultants from various areas of Africa, including South Africa, Liberia & Nigeria.

"King Shaka would be proud" - King Shaka (pictured left*) was the King of the Zulu Nation, ruling the Zulu clan at the time of it's greatest victories. He led their growth from a small clan into the dominant power of coast of south-east Africa.

"He's King of the Kraal" - Kraal is an Afrikaans word for an enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within an African homestead or village surrounded by a mud wall or other fencing, roughly circular in form.

"That's Kubwa Saana" - Kubwa Saana is Swahili for 'very big'.

"That's Kaganga" - Kaganga is a tribal slang for 'big'

"Big like the Marula" - Marula (scelerocarya birrea) - is a large African Tree, growing over 18m tall with a wide crown.

I believe those are the only 'african' words, the rest seem to be English words.

*Shaka Zulu - as played by Henry Cele in Shaka Zulu (1987)