Category: Deer Hunting

Michigan Antlerless Deer Permits

My freezer looks empty so deer hunting season can not get here soon enough. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources reminds hunters that the application period for antlerless deer permits is now open and runs through August 15. Hunters may apply for one license in any open Deer Management Unit (DMU) statewide; a nonrefundable $5 fee is charged at the time of application. Hunters may choose to apply for either one private-land or one public-land license online at E-License or at any authorized license agent or DNR Customer Service Center.

Young hunters, ages 9-16, can purchase one junior antlerless deer license over the counter July 15-Aug. 15. No application is required. A 9-year-old must be 10 by Sept. 26 to purchase this license.

MI Deer Hunting Licenses

Any leftover Michigan deer licenses not issued in the drawing will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Sept. 8 at 10 a.m. EDT, until license quotas are met. Antlerless deer license quotas for each DMU can be found at mi.gov/deer. Please note, DMU 333 has unlimited antlerless licenses that may be purchased without application beginning Sept. 8 at 10 a.m.

Drawing results and leftover license availability may be viewed at mi.gov/deer, beginning Sept. 1. For additional information, the 2016 Michigan Antlerless Deer Digest is available online.

Prep for Deer Hunting Season

It’s still summer with warm temperatures, but it’s already time to start preparing for the Michigan whitetail deer hunting season. That means getting scouting cameras out for summer surveys and setting up stands for fall success . There are many ways to bag a deer, but it’s hard to beat food plots for deer hunting in Michigan. No better time to start field prep for your whitetail plots than in late summer.

If you are unsure of your stand location, now is the time to consider making your move. A stand that has been in the same location for years can become stale; deer learn to avoid your location so a move of just 100 yards can make all the difference. Go with your gut and setup along travel corridors and pinch points.

Pure Michigan Hunt – Dream Hunt for Elk, Deer & More

Also, hunters can purchase a $5 Pure Michigan Hunt applications anywhere licenses are sold. Hunters may buy as many applications as they want. Three lucky winners will get prize packages that include elk (Michigan residents only), bear, deer and turkey licenses; first pick at a managed waterfowl hunt area, plus firearms, crossbows and much more – a prize package worth over $4,000.

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I believe there will always be controversy around the culling of white-tailed bucks. It’s one of those topics that never seems to be put to rest. I do feel like the term “cull buck” is way over used, often by hunters as a way to justify the death of the buck they just harvested. The number one problem for most hunters who want to employ culling practices to create a high-quality deer hunting property lies not only in having the opportunity to see and shoot the right bucks, but possessing the ability to precisely identify the age of the deer standing in front of them.

There is a substantial difference between a yearling buck with 8 antler points and a 4 1/2 year old buck with 8 antler points. Sure, most hunters can identify as yearling (1 1/2 year old) buck because they look like does with little antlers. Although these bucks can have from 2 to 10 points, it’s still an easy game to because their bodies are so small compared to older bucks. But after that buck tacks on another year or two in age, then the ability to age that deer on the hoof becomes a lot more complicated.

For example, go ahead and jump on any hunting forum and check out the photo section. There are, without a doubt, game camera photos featuring bucks. The person posting each of the photos will probably be requesting estimates with regards to the buck’s age and score. The most common guess will be 3 1/2 years of age, regardless of whether it’s actually at 2 1/2 year old or a 5 1/2 year old buck. But to be fair, there are a lot of photos of 3 1/2 year old bucks floating around, which is probably representative of the deer herd that hunters are hunting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx5vu7FcMmM

Speaking of game cameras, they are a great tool that should be used to help us age deer in the field. For culling to be effective, it also boils down to correctly aging the bucks that we come into contact on our hunting properties. If we do not have the ability to age bucks before pulling the trigger, then the error will be culling deer simply based on antler size. The fact of the matter is that the culling of whitetail bucks should based on both age and antler size, says Dr. Charles DeYoung, a research biologist with the Caesar Kleberg Research Center in Kingsville, Texas.

“It’s fairly easy to tell if a buck is a yearling, but once they get up in the 2- to 3-year-old range, it gets more difficult to accurately estimate their age,” DeYoung says. “I can think of several bucks I estimated to be 2 or 3 only to find out they were 6 when I examined their teeth.” That’s why it’s virtually impossible to judge a deer’s age or potential simply by examining antler points, shape or mass and then deciding if it’s a cull buck. It takes being familiar with deer body characteristics, which varies by area, but even that still leaves you making an educated guess.

For the average hunter that does not deal with white-tailed deer day-in and day-out the best thing we can do is harvest the bucks that we consider shooters and let the others walk. This will vary by area and by hunter. A shooter buck to one hunter may not be a shooter to another hunter. Try to harvest the ones that meet your personal criteria and leave the bucks that do not. Besides, there’s no guarantee that a “cull buck” that appears inferior because of uneven or unusual antlers will remain that way. They might, but the average hunter really has no way of knowing if a deformed antler is the result of poor genetics or just an untimely accident. Of course, if it’s observed in subsequent hunting seasons then it can make the decision quite easy.

Find maggots in your deer’s head or nose?

Yes, it’s gross, but these “worms” are totally normal. No, it’s not some brain eating virus or other deer disease. It’s just a really big maggot. The larvae is laid in the nasal passage by the adult fly in the warmer months of the year, typically the summer. The larvae lives deep within the nasal passage until the following spring then crawls out, goes into the soil and develops into an adult. A deer biologist told me that the worm/maggot/etc. was not harmful to the deer or to people that eat the venison. However, I suspect that these nasal bots freak out many hunters each year. And not the mention the deer that has this thing crawling around in their sinuses.

The maggots do not really cause the deer any harm, but rather just survive of the nutrition of the mucous and other food products that get up in there. After an “infected” deer is shot the deer will begin to cool off. This is when the alleged deer worms start moving around, wondering what went wrong. This is also when most hunters encounter them, as the maggots fall to the ground or are seen exiting the mouth and nose. Continue reading Worm in Deer Nose – It’s Normal

Question: “We’re getting on a new deer hunting lease and need to build some feeder pens. No feral hogs on this place, but we need to put some barb wire to keep the cows off of the protein feeders. What’s the smallest deer feeder pen size. that will work in this situation?

I would think one could make smaller feeder pens with barb wire than hog panel pens because the deer won’t have to jump them. We just want to provide some feed for deer without letting the cows eat it all. We want the deer to feel comfortable too. As far as height, we are thinking just three wires and about 40 inches high.”

Texas Hunting Times: There is only one rule you need to know when it comes to deer feeder pen size: BIGGER IS ALWAYS BETTER! It does not matter what type of fence you choose to go with, larger feeder pens are preferred by whitetail. This helps in many ways. The closer to the feeder the cattle are the more problems you will have when it does get really dry and they run out of things to eat on your lease.

This sounds trivial until you find your feeder emptied out way too earlier. The extra cost of materials that will allow you to build a much bigger feeder pen will be less the cost of losing a feeder full of protein to hungry, disrespecting cows.

Larger feeder pens will also allow more deer to feed in the pen at the protein station calmly, and with less stress. Make sure that you take the time to put in good corners so you can keep the wire stretched tight. Take the saying, “Do it right the first time,” to heart. When I was younger (and apparently more optimistic) I rebuild a deer feeder pen two additional times before I finally did it the “right” way. No headaches after that, just hunting.

As far as the pen size, I would make it at least 40 feet per side and 4 feet tall with bottom wire around about 20 inches off the ground. To help deer from getting barbed, I would recommend that you install cable twist (barbless barbwire) for the bottom wire and possibly even the top wire. I have seen deer feeder pens made of 3 wires, but the cattle had plenty of grass to eat on the property. If your deer hunting property looks overgrazed, build your protein feeder pen big, and build it strong.

Question: “My wife and I enjoy deer hunting, but really have some questions about around our house. We live in a suburban area with lots ranging from 4 to 10 acres. Good area for deer. First question is: Why would a whitetail buck shed his antlers almost 2 months before the rest of the other bucks? Next question, what type of grass do deer not like to eat, if any? I know whitetail deer prefer forbs and browse plants, but is there a native grass that they would not eat. Thanks for the info.”

Deer Hunting Pros: Whitetail bucks that are in poor body condition tend to shed antlers earlier. My guess is the buck you’re asking about is either in poor condition, may have suffered from injury or from illness in the past. Could of had something like EHD or bluetongue the year prior. There are many things that can cause a deer to be in poor condition. It can even result from poor nutrition, since you may have a deer overpopulation in your suburban area? Continue reading When Should Whitetail Deer Shed Antlers – Bucks Dropping Early

Wisconsin deer hunting is known for producing some truly giant bucks, both in terms of body size and antlers. This year, a giant main-frame 8 point buck was shot near the town of Ridgeway. The heavy-set buck has 8 normal points and 2 abnormal points, both of which are drop tines! One on each side. This is prime example of a monster whitetail buck that most hunters can only dream about. At this time, I don’t know who shot the deer, or who even commented on the deer, but here is what they had to say about this Ridgway beast of a buck:

Unknown Author: “Here’s the big 8 point buck shot while deer hunting in Wisconsin, longest tine is 17 inches. It’s already insured for $10,000.00 and in a vault. Rough estimate of the deer’s age by the DNR is 3 ½ years old, Boone and Crockett representative is scheduled to score the rack in about 40 days, buck shot on opening day. Trail camera pic’s started to show up after the buck was shot; no one talked about it prior to the kill (imagine that). Continue reading Big Buck Shot in Ridgeway Wisconsin – Giant 8 Point with Droptines!

Question: “We never deer hunted our property because there have never been any deer, but that has changed. Behind my barn I have recently found three does and a fawn on my game camera. These deer have been out there for about 3 months, but are coming from an adjacent property. One doe has a fawn so I know there is at least one buck somewhere around there. However, I have yet to see a buck on my game camera. Any suggestions on attracting bucks to come to my corn feeder from the neighboring lands? It’s buck-only during the deer hunting season and I’m hoping he shows up. Thanks.”

Deer Hunting Pros: Deer hunting would be so much easier if we could just bring them in on a string, but deer have a mind of their own. Free ranging whitetail deer have the luxury of selecting when and where they want to go. Bucks will cover more acreage than does, so the buck that sired the fawn you observed on your game camera may be miles away from your property today. Continue reading Attracting Bucks to Your Property

Question: “I deer hunt a suburban tract of woods directly behind my house. I live on the edge of a subdivision and own the 50×100 yards of woods that divide the subdivision and a horse farm. Its a natural funnel for whitetail deer that are traveling between two large-acre tracts of woods and I regularly see 18 to 25 deer a day walking through.

I shot a big, well for South Carolina, 8 point buck last week during the first days of the rut. I just moved here last spring and have never hunted in this type of situation before and never put much thought into this but… I know bucks get territorial during the rut. I do know this was the 8 pointers main area because I watched him run a nice 10 point out about two weeks ago. Continue reading Deer Hunting in South Carolina: Bucks and the Rut

Question: “My father and I own a small tract of land that we have owned for four years and use for whitetail deer hunting. The land is 185 acres and was low fenced until 2010 when the neighbor high fenced two sides of the property. Prior to the high fence I had a good buck to doe ratio but know all we is a few young bucks on game camera. Most of the bucks I see are good 8 to 10 point deer with lots of potential for antler growth. The deer herd seems to be healthy, as in lots of deer. I think reducing the deer herd would be a good idea.

Here is the deer hunting million dollar question: Do I shoot the cull bucks and hope the neighboring ranches do not shoot the better bucks or do I go for the good, but young bucks now? I know the bucks in our area move around a lot because a guy down the road shot a cull buck that I had on game camera last year. I know that it is hard to manage 185 acres, but I do not want to high fence the place a create an aquarium of deer. Looking to improve deer hunting but don’t just want to raise good bucks for neighboring tracts of land. What say you?” Continue reading Deer Management to Improve Whitetail Deer Hunting

Question: “We have enjoyed deer hunting in north-central for almost two decades. However, some landowners believe that deer die offs last year lowered the deer population. We waited to see what our surveys would show. Over the weekend, we all met at the deer lease to check out our game cameras. The number of photos we got over the two weeks they were out were similar as previous years, but the numbers have changed. Hard to tell from pictures what the density may be, so not sure about the die off.

What we have noticed is that the deer number seems to be the same from the number of photos, but the buck to doe ratio has flipped flopped. Last year was about 60 percent bucks and 40 percent does. This year it’s 40 percent bucks to 60 percent does. This got us thinking that some of the bucks in our area did die-off? This would explain the change in the deer herd composition we witness on our cameras.

One of the landowners said that the local biologist said their would be a big buck die off this season. The reasoning behind this thought was that the area did not get enough rain to allow the bucks to fatten up for the rut and the winter months. Have you heard of this, especially since everywhere has suffered from the dry conditions? Continue reading Deer Die Offs and the Impact on Deer Hunting