Category: Whitetail

The upcoming white-tailed deer hunting season should be a good one in Texas. Though the past couple of years have been tough for everyone, 2013 has been good for deer and other wildlife. Timely rains were delivered, especially in the front half of the year keeping whitetail food levels in good shape to date. The Texas sun has dried things out as of late, but that’s nothing new for the summer season in any part of the state. It’s mid-July but it is already setting up to be a good deer season for many parts of the state.

Without a doubt, herd recruitment has taken a hit the past few years, but the years of 2007 and 2008 were great for whitetail. I realize that many of the deer that were born back during those years have already been turned into some sort of tasty smoked product and consumed long ago, but there are likely some bucks from that cohort that are still out there. Those bucks would be 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 this hunting season. I don’t know about you, but that’s exactly the type of deer that I will be looking for.

Properties involved in deer management will reap the rewards of the 2007 and 2008 fawn crops. Many ranches involved in management programs have reduced their annual buck harvest in recent years because of lower fawn crops, meaning there should be good numbers of bucks and does of these older age classes. It’s now time to harvest of all of those fawns that have grown up to be big, heavy-horned, mature buckss. We are still a few months away from deer hunting season, but I am already getting pumped up. The property we manage will have some great deer out there. I think a lot of other properties will too.

The icing on the cake is the fact that it has been a good year for antler growth. Much of Texas has had enough rain to keep food levels ta good to even high levels in the field. That bodes not only for improved buck quality this year, but also for good fawn numbers. More recruitment into the herd means more animals that will may need to be removed. This deer hunting season will probably not be a recorder breaker by Texas standards, but the hunting should be good. The total number of bucks out there may be lower, but there should be decent numbers of good, mature bucks. Look for more fawns, too.

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Question: “Interested in better deer hunting on our ranch in Central Texas and performing spotlight or trail camera surveys . When a deer survey is carried out, what number of deer per acre is considered high and what is low? Do you simply count the number of deer per on the property and divide it into the size of the property? How is density estimated using a trail camera? I imagine that the “right” number of deer for a property will depend on the part of the state, but what is a rough estimate of a good deer density?”

Texas Hunting: When it comes to deer surveys I recommend talking to your county Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) biologist. He or she will take a look at your property and give you a tight range of the number of animals that it can support. They will even help you estimate the number of animals on your property or give you a guess based on current habitat condition. As you have already guessed, habitat is the deciding factor when it comes to deer density. It can vary greatly inside a county and from property to property. I know that on a particular property in South Texas it is recommended that there be one deer to every 18 acres. Another ranch in the post oak region of Texas may support one deer for every 9 acres. A lot depends not only on the habitat, but also the goals of the property owner. Maximum is not always best.

Trail Cameras and Spotlight Surveys

Spotlight surveys are used to determine deer density, but trail cameras when used correctly can be used to estimate numbers too by estimating a single component of the herd, bucks, but you will also need to keep track of does and fawns. You can use the info from your game camera to get an estimate on your buck to doe and fawn to doe ratios. The results will depend on a lot of factors though. I would take every photo and count every deer in each photo. If the same doe is in 5 pictures in a row then count her every time. You have to do it this way since you won’t always be able to tell one doe from another. Same for a fawn or a buck (sometimes they will be facing various directions). After you have a total of doe, fawns and bucks you can calculate your ratios. The more data you have, however, the better your estimate will be. I took a survey form to the blind with me every time I deer hunted and kept count of the different deer I was able to see that sit in the blind. I think the stand count data showed a better buck to doe ratio than the trail camera survey, but they were both very close.

Spotlight surveys, trail camera surveys, incidental counts and stand counts provide great deer population data on a ranch when used in combination. Spotlight counts are good at estimating deer density and much less expensive than helicopter surveys (which do not work in many areas anyway). Every technique will give you a numbers of bucks, does, and fawns so pool them all together to get the best data. Over the course of several years you will get a great idea of what is happening on the property, then the biggest factor affecting the herd becomes reproduction and recruitment.

Trail Camera Surveys for Deer: Do It Right!

Do not trust trail camera surveys for whitetail deer when cameras are ONLY placed on feeders! Game cameras can be place at feeders, but they should also be set at bait piles and random locations. Cameras placed at feeders alone will not accurately estimate a deer herd. If I were conducting a camera survey I would semi-grid the ranch and use bait piles to count the deer with roughly 100 acres per camera. Of course, I would also count all deer observed with my own eyes at feeders, roadways, troughs, food plots, and everywhere else as I was on the property to supporting camera data.

The one great thing about trail cameras placed at feeders is that they tend to capture almost all of the buck herd within a relatively short period, usually within a couple of weeks. Although does and fawns can rarely be identified individually, almost all bucks can be distinguished based on antler characteristics. Trail cameras placed at feeders will survey bucks the best since feeders attract more bucks than does. That’s because bucks tend to dominate feeders. They best time is when food is limited, typically late summer.

Use the total number of different bucks caught on camera using feeders as THE number of bucks on the property, then forget about those photos. All you needed them for was to get the number of unique bucks on the property. Next, use all the other survey data (stand observations, random trail camera placement, etc.)to calculate the buck to doe ratio and doe to fawn ratio. For example, if you count 20 different bucks with trail cameras placed at feeders, then assume you 20 bucks. If eyeball observations and randomly placed trail cameras give you a buck to doe ratio of 1:3 and a doe to fawn ratio 2:1 then you have 20 bucks, 60 does and 30 fawns. It’s all there to calculate based on the number of bucks and the herd composition data.

Using trail cameras to survey deer on high fenced properties less than 600 acres is highly accurate. It gets more difficult as property size increase. It also gets more complicated on low fenced properties because deer will be coming on and going off the property at all times. It may take spotlight surveys to estimate deer density as well, or at least learning how to read the habitat to assess whether the herd is healthy (plenty of food) or needs to be reduced (plant over-use). You can also used the body weights of harvested deer to substantiate what you are seeing on camera and on the ground. Trail camera surveys can work for whitetail deer if you do it right from the start.

Many people to produce bigger bucks and shoot them, too. The increase in commercial whitetail deer breeding facilities, combined with supplemental feeding, have allowed managers to produce bucks of massive proportions on properties where habitat is relatively poor. In my opinion, there is a huge difference between growing big deer in a pen system and producing big deer in a pasture. Let me also state that neither method is wrong. But when it comes down to deer habitat management, there is even more pressure on those landowners managing the deer herd found on their property to do what they can for native plant communities.

The following article was written by Evan McCoy with Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and was published in “The Cedar Post” April 2013.

“On our WMA’s we regularly give programs stressing the importance of maintaining a proper number of deer in order to maintain a healthy habitat. Not only does it make for a better home for deer, but good range conditions also helps attract a multitude of other wildlife species as well. In my experience though, it seems that most landowners deny that they are overpopulated. One argument they give to support this claim is that their deer are fat and healthy. The feeding of deer keeps them fat. In their minds, if the deer are doing well then that means everything must be optimal. Years ago, it was understood that you had to have good range in order to produce good deer. These days, deer health is not always a good indicator of habitat health. I have witnessed several examples where good deer were produced on poor range.

This phenomenon is due, in part, to the fact that almost everyone has some type of supplemental feeding program and many of them are quite intense. I have no big issue with supplemental feeding, as long as it is done properly. It can often be very beneficial to a deer management program by helping to improve body condition, fawn production and antler growth. The problem is that some ranches will continue to artificially support an overabundance of deer to the point where they are simply feeding deer rather than supplementing their diet. Just look at the extreme scenario of a pen raised deer herd. Those deer are fatter and heavier than most wild deer you will find, but native habitat and forage is usually non-existent inside those pens, and they are totally reliant on pelleted feed. Managers should know that deer will definitely make supplemental feed a part of their diet, but not to the exclusion of natural forage.

Deer like variety, and they have a desire for native plants. This is evident in high rainfall years when quality forage is more abundant and, as a result, we find that supplemental feed consumption goes down. Another example is the sudden early season disappearance of deer when acorns hit the ground. If desirable vegetation is present, deer will often prefer that over artificial feed. If the deer population exceeds the natural supply of plants then deer will increase their supplemental feed use to get the nutrition they need. As the population continues to grow, so will the feed bill, since forage becomes scarce and deer are forced to rely more on feeders. Therefore, as you can see, deer health can be maintained at the same time habitat health declines.

The question you should ask yourself is, “If you eliminated your supplemental feeding program then would your land still support your current deer herd?” You may suddenly see the relationship between habitat quality and deer quality. Would they be stuck eating juniper and persimmon or is there plenty of oak and hackberry within a deer’s reach? By decreasing the deer population you will be increasing the amount of forage to go around and your deer will rely less on handouts. You want to be sure that feed is a supplement to their natural diet and not the other way around. To truly determine if your ranch is overpopulated, it may be best to take a closer look at the condition of your land, rather than the condition of your deer.”

What do you think about the “supplemental” feeding of whitetail deer?

We’ve all been there, typically later in the deer hunting season: “Which doe to shoot?” Although doe harvest makes up a large percentage of the deer removed from the landscape in each year in Texas, little research had been conducted in past years to help address this question many hunters and deer managers have pondered. A recent study out of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute may offer some solutions when wondering which doe to shoot. Interesting stuff.

Source: “What does this information mean relative to choosing a doe to harvest? One implication is that young deer appear to be poor mothers. Harvesting mature does heavily will shift the age structure to young does and could greatly reduce fawn production. This does not sound like a problem if your goal is to reduce the number of deer in your herd. However, young deer are not only likely to produce fewer fawns, the fawns they produce may not be the large, robust fawns capable of growing up to be big, productive adult deer.

These findings suggest harvesting at least some young does, including doe fawns, could be a viable harvest strategy, especially because it will reduce the number of mature does in the herd in future years. You may still need to harvest mature does to reduce the number of deer on your property. Aaron and Randy’s findings suggest you have mature does that know how to raise fawns and others that are less successful.

To select for the does that are able to raise fawns, take a lesson from the old rancher tailoring a cow herd to his ranch. Just as the rancher will sell a cow who fails to raise a calf, consider harvesting does that do not have fawns with them. This approach is not perfect and when many does must be harvested, you may not be able to be so choosy. However, given the choice between a mature doe that clearly knows how to raise a fawn and another doe without a fawn at heel, findings from this high-tech maternity study suggest you should put the cross-hairs on the doe without a fawn.”

Ask anyone involved in deer management over the last few decades and these exact findings have been the rule of thumb. It’s been somewhat common knowledge that older does do a better job of producing fawns than younger does. The great thing about this study is that it gives more creedence to what was once thought to be only deer hunting theory. So which doe should you shoot? It’s recommended that landowners and interested in deer management shoot does throughout all age classes. Or as I heard a biologist say once, “Shoot the one closest and standing stillist.”

Many Texas landowners and hunters are familiar with the Managed Lands Deer Permit (MLDP) program, but many more are not. Many have misconceptions or are simply misinformed. So what is it? The MLDP program is a habitat-based program designed for landowners interested in white-tailed deer management and it is one of the many voluntary programs offered by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD). The program can also help landowners with mule deer management, but it’s typically associated with whitetail deer, mostly because of their greater distribution across the state.

The MLDP program allows landowners involved in a formal management program to have the state’s most flexible seasons and increased harvest opportunities. The program is incentive based and habitat focused. In other words, the program’s enhanced deer bag limits and extended seasons are made available to landowners as incentives for maintaining their ranches’ wildlife habitats in good and improving condition. The Managed Lands Deer Permit program has three levels (Levels 1, 2 and 3), with more deer harvest and season flexibility offered to landowners as the progress through the program.

Participation in Levels 2 and 3 of MLDP requires the implementation of a minimum of 2 and 4 recommended habitat management practices, respectively. Maintaining a ranch’s population density of native and exotic deer at a level no higher than the capacity of the native habitat is high on the list of recommended management practices. MLDP’s longer seasons and enhanced bag limits provide landowners with much more flexibility in achieving the recommended harvest rates to maintain the proper density of white-tailed deer.

TPWD typically recommend that hunters use the early portion of the season to remove excess deer, especially does. It is much better to remove them early in the season, rather than waiting until the latter stages of the season in January and February, to reduce pressure on the winter habitat as early as possible and making those food resources available to the deer that will be retained in the population.

The early season is also a good time to remove management and cull bucks (bucks with undesirable antler characteristics) from a deer herd. That’s good not only from a habitat perspective, but also from a genetic perspective since they are removed from the population before the rut begins. This leaves bucks with the more desirable antler characteristics to do the breeding.

The long MLDP seasons and enhanced bag limits allow landowners interested in deer management to meet their harvest goals on an annual basis and improve their deer herd. That’s because the deer hunting seasons under Level 2 and 3 start during the first weekend of archery season and run through the end of February of the following year. This offers participating landowners about 5 months of deer hunting, although the idea is to get most of the harvest done as soon as possible for a deer food standpoint.

Ranches that choose to participate in the MLDP program must commit to deer habitat management and other deer management practices. These practices may include brush management, grazing management, prescribed burning, supplemental feeding, supplemental water, range reseeding, food plots and deer surveys. If improving the habitat on your ranch for deer is not one of your goals, then this program will not work for you. The MLDP program is more than just a deer hunting program, although participating landowners at Level 2 and 3 do not have to follow the county hunting regulations, such as bag limit and antler restrictions.

Over the years, I’ve been around several ranches that have participated in the program. One of the big benefits is not only the long hunting seasons, but the fact that each ranch receives Managed Lands Deer (MLD) Permits. These deer permits are issued for both bucks and does the number issued is based on the estimated deer population using the deer survey data collected by the landowner. The number of permits a ranch gets is the exact number of deer that they can shoot. From what I have seen, most ranches get more than enough permits to achieve their management goals. I’ve been invited on several late season hunts to use “extra” MLD permits, meaning hunters have already taken as many as they could use.

The MLDP program is great for any landowner interested in improving both the habitat and deer found on their property. MLD permits allow for deer harvest flexibility and provide for active management on a ranch. If I owned a ranch there is no doubt that I would participate. Maybe one day. The landowners I have talked with all have said the TPWD biologist are great to work with and that they work to help them achieve their deer management goals. If you have a ranch in Texas and are interested in improving your land and helping the deer and other animals that live there, you can find your local biologist right here.

It’s almost mid-November so that means the white-tailed deer hunting in Texas should be heating up. Unfortunately, the weather has been a tad on the warm side for hunters looking to bag a buck. By all accounts this season’s forecast has shaped up to be a good one, but habitat conditions have been great and food sources for deer plentiful. But Texas has the country’s largest deer population, so things don’t have to be perfect for deer hunters to make hay.

According to Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) estimates, the 2011-12 deer hunting season saw more than 650,000 hunters harvest nearly 600,000 deer. Both of those figures are right near the average for the past 10 years. But hunters and biologist alike will tell you that last year was tough one for hunting deer. Whitetail went through the worst drought I can remember, but conditions improved greatly into the fall and deer did well. Hunters had fewer deer in the field because of decreased fawn production and the ones that were there were difficult to find.

But the carryover of deer from one year means better things down the road for hunters looking for older age class bucks. It’s just going to mean a draw-down in the abundance of natural food, some cooler temperatures to get some serious deer rut action across Texas taking place. According to hunter Don Wiswell, things in the Hill Country looked upbeat:

“Deer brought into the local deer processor on opening weekend was fairly slow but steady. Older aged bucks were harvested over the weekend more so than in years past. The biologist logged in 32 bucks and 11 does with an average age of 4.5 and 3.5 years old respectively. Some hunters reported bucks chasing does (rutting activity) and body conditions were fair to good with layers of body cavity fat. With older aged bucks harvested, this meant antler development was somewhat better than average.

Many deer were taken at feeders, as usual, but several hunters reported that some deer were not coming to feeders readily. Instead, these deer were shot away from feeders and had browse and forbs versus corn in their mouths. Most hunters were optimistic about future deer hunting days, but warm temps and a full moon slowed the movement of whitetail during daylight hours.”

Helicopter Deer Surveys

Question: “We conducted the yearly helicopter deer survey on our 8,500 acre lease in Maverick County, Texas, a couple of weeks ago. The results were lower than what we had expected. Counted a total of 44 does, 32 fawns, and 54 bucks. The majority of the bucks were deer with 8+ points. In fact, 16 percent of the bucks had 10 or more points and even three 12 point deer were spotted. The alarming number is 130, the total number of deer observed during the helicopter survey.

Our helicopter counts on this ranch usually total at least double, with around 100 bucks and 100 does being counted annually, with fawn numbers fluctuating based on spring and summer habitat conditions. How worried should I be that we observed around half of the deer we normally do? Will this impact our deer management efforts long term and the deer hunting short term? The density showed 1 deer for every 65 acres! The cover is much more dense this year because of the rainfall, but the helicopter deer survey numbers just seem to be way off in left field.

We are aware that helicopter surveys observe an estimated 35-75% of the deer herd, but these numbers are far from the historical numbers. Same survey technique, same time of year. Concerned the deer population is declining on our lease. Any ideas or suggestions on what is happening or are we interpreting our deer survey data correctly?”

A Helicopter Deer Survey in Perspective

Texas Hunting 411: It is important to remember that no deer survey technique is perfect, including helicopter surveys. They can work well, and many programs swear by them. But the truth is none of them is perfect. There are numerous factors that can impact a count on a given day. The deer density on your ranch may have gone down or even stayed the same. I would be suggest that numbers are down, maybe not as much as you may think.

Addition deer herd information can be collected using game cameras, stand counts and daylight driving surveys. This information can be used to supplement the helicopter survey data. Deer surveys are just one tool in your toolbox as a manager, and a single survey depends on deer movement, habitat conditions and a host of other things. Survey data should be used to mold an overall view of the deer numbers on a property. Compare that information with what you are seeing on the ground and in game camera photos.

If you are very concerned about the whitetail population on your place then the best bet would be to replicate the survey. Another helicopter survey may confirm your worries or find that deer numbers were better than you thought. It may be worth it for piece of mind, one way or the other. At least then you can put into the place the proper management actions, primarily reduced harvest this deer hunting season. Also, pay attention not only to what you are seeing, but also what you are not seeing. Look for deer skeletons or signs of dead animals. If there was a big deer die-off in your area then the view from the sky will give you a heads-up.

Question: “Looking for some advice on how I can improve the deer hunting at my deer lease located just outside of San Antonio. I have a ton of does, but very few bucks. However, I do see some bucks during the rut even though I don’t know where they are coming from. It’s not many, but my game camera photos before deer season show nothing but does. Can you offer any advice to attract more bucks to come onto the property. Have does. Need bucks. Thanks!”

Texas Hunting: Your situation is not an uncommon one when it comes to whitetail deer hunting in Texas. Many areas are buck only and most hunters want to shoot bucks. This tends to create higher harvest or over-harvest of buck deer, but leaves the does. Balancing the adult sex ratio is critical to improve daylight buck activity. From what you have written, it tells me that you have so many does that the few bucks in the area have no competition for breeding rights.

This means the bucks can move when and where he wants to. In fact, the bucks can probably stay brushed up and let the does come to them. This out-of-whack sex ratio is causing problems from a deer herd management perspective and for your deer hunting. The short answer is to shoot more does and less bucks right now. Depending on the size of your deer lease, this may even involve working with your neighbors to get the job done. Within two to three years the area will most likely have a fairly balanced sex ratio. This will create additional competition among the bucks, causing them to move during daylight hours.

Their search for receptive does will make bucks more visible. Now whether you choose those particular bucks is up to you. The best thing about a tight buck to doe ratio is that the does will bred on their first estrus cycle. This means more fawns on the ground earlier, increased fawn survival, and more bucks for the following year. And that’s how you improve the deer hunting on any property is Texas. But again, if your deer lease is less than 1,000 acres it will take coordination with your neighbors.

Question: “I have been whitetail deer hunting in Comanche, Texas, for about 10 years now. Have never been good at scoring deer, but now I need some help. We never used cameras on our deer lease until this last year. Our neighbor has really nice bucks on his ranch but we have never seen anything on our property to talk about until I put up a game camera up at my feeder.

I don’t really know how to score this big buck that has showed up on the trail camera. I saw him once during the day when I was driving down a road by my stand last deer hunting season. I am thinking this buck is about four years old, but I am no pro at aging deer either. Please let me know what you think about him. I put cameras up in Comanche County about two weeks ago and will be going back in a week to check them out. Hope the buck is still hanging around.”

Response: I have a good friend that hunts in Comanche County, too. I’ve been out on his deer lease several times and have some seen some great bucks. The bucks have very good genetics in many areas, so it’s just a matter of proper management. This means allowing them to age and get some decent nutrition. They shoot some great bucks every year in part to the good buck age structure and the fact that they keep the deer numbers at the proper number for the habitat.

Scoring bucks on the hoof is not easy, but there are some things that you can do that will get you in the ball park. Antler score is all about mass, beam length, inside spread and tine length. The first three can lumped together as a base score. The best way to estimate these is to look at some antlers from bucks that have been shot on your place. Measure the mass, beam length and inside spread. Use this to give you an idea of what the average for these measurements are in your area.

Generally speaking, a mature buck in your area probably has mass measurements that total between 27 and 30 inches. The beams on that same buck are probably 20 to 22 inches in length with a inside spread of 16 to 17 inches. Taking the average of all these ranges, the base score for a buck in your area would be 28 1/2 + 21 + 21 (again, there are two beams!) + 16 1/2 for a total of 87 inches. This means that a mature buck in Comanche County would have a base score between 85 and 90 inches. While hunting in the field, adjust this number to the high or low side depending on the buck.

The only measurements to add in to the gross B&C score would be the tine length, which you can estimate from game camera photos or in the field. Photos are preferred by myself because it allows me more time, and often more angles, to make a decision. However, sometimes bucks that you have zero pictures of show up. This method will allow you to knock out a very close estimate in short order.

Lastly, antler score is a great tool for tracking deer management efforts, but score is not everything when it comes to deer hunting. The harvest of trophy quality animals means that you are doing something right, but mature bucks should probably be harvested, especially those 6 1/2 years of age or older, regardless of antler score. Calculate the gross score of your buck from these photos by using a base score of 90 and adding in the length of all normal and abnormal points.