Category: 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

There are hunters all across the US that enjoy white-tailed deer hunting, but the camo-clad men and women of Wisconsin are particularly fond of their deer. Wisconsin has a good thing going according to the latest assessment of the state’s deer hunting situation from private biologist, Dr. James Kroll. The report sounded good. The only problem was the $125,000 price tag for the hunting study told hunters and state officials what they already knew about their robust deer herd.

Source: “State Rep. Brett Hulsey, D-Madison, is right to point out that Wisconsin seems to be paying Gov. Scott Walker’s “deer czar” an awful lot of money to tell us things we already know.

“$125,000 of our fishing and hunting fees which came from the pockets of Wisconsin sportsmen and women paid for James Kroll, Governor Walker’s deer czar, to tell us what we already know: Wisconsin has some of the best deer hunting in the nation,” says Hulsey, an active hunter and member of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. Continue reading Deer Hunting in Wisconsin is Good, Kroll Says

Question: “I’m an archery hunter from Utah interested in deer hunting in Arkansas. I’ve hunted mule deer but love chasing elk, now I am looking to get into whitetail deer hunting. My wife is also just getting into the sport. She’s small and can’t pull a whole lot of bow. I was thinking a whitetail hunt might be the thing for her too. I’ve heard Arkansas has lots of whitetail. We are both college students and don’t have a ton of money to pay for a private hunt. We are going to start saving up for travel and permits for next season. We are just interested in a fun deer hunt, not after huge trophy bucks.

Does anyone have any suggestions being that I have never been to Arkansas? How can I plan a good fun deer hunting trip in Arkansas? What do I need? Also, is there any kind of private land hunting that would not cost me as much as the car I drive? Even cull or “management bucks” would work. Any help is greatly appreciated. I work summers here for the forest service and would be thankful for and Arkansas deer hunting ideas.”

Response: Deer hunting in Arkansas is very doable. Arkansas has a lot of public land to hunt. Here is some good news for you – none of the wildlife management areas (WMAs) in my area require a hunting permit. We have Mount Magazine WMA, Petit Jean WMA, and Muddy Creek WMA. This probably will provide you and your wife with all the public land you could ever want to hunt. Bow hunting season opens in mid-September of each year.

A five day deer hunting license will include whitetail, bear and small game. Turkey hunting will be closed due to lower numbers in recent years. Arkansas public lands hold good deer numbers and even a few nice bucks. As with deer hunting elsewhere, food sources will be key during late September and early October. My recommendation for stand locations would be to find white oak acorns on a north facing ridge. Find deer sign and hunt it hard.

The best bow hunting time for deer in my opinion would be the week prior to our ML season open, which is mid-October. Deer movement, and especially buck movement, during this time of the season will be high. Rattling for whitetail bucks will work too, but you will need patience. Some of the areas will also have feral hogs, just make sure to shoot them all if you can.

Arkansas really is a friendly place to out of state bow hunters. If you plan on deer hunting in Arkansas on public land make sure you go to the state web site and look around. Hunters can find the harvest numbers for the different WMAs under the deer hunting section. Good luck to you and your wife.

If you are like us, then you are always on the lookout for some new whitetail deer hunting tips. Every once in a while we pick up something new that can be used to put a buck on the ground. But most of the time we stick to the tried-and-true methods that have worked again and again, season after season. After all, hunters have been chasing whitetails for centuries, so go with what’s worked in the past.

Before worrying about gear, wind direction, scent control and make and model of the gun or bow that you are using, put some serious thought in to location. In deer hunting, like real estate, it’s all about location, location, location! Whitetail are a lot like the people hunting them, creatures of habitat. They tend to use the same areas again and again. Find their favorite habitat and you’ve got them. Or better yet, find a buck’s favorite path to a high quality food source or his bedding area and you can set up shop. Continue reading Deer Hunting Tips: Hunt Corridors, Natural Travel Areas

Hunters spend a lot of time preparing for the fall whitetail deer hunting season, but sometimes the most important thing is not the gear, it’s not even the deer, but it’s shot placement that is the deciding factor on whether or not one takes a deer home or not. After decades spent in the field, I’ve learned a lot about deer hunting and tracking these animals, not that I’ve had to track that many, at least not that far.

Most of my deer hunting tracking trips have been fairly short, typically about 35 to 50 yards. And for those that aim for heart and lung shots, this is about the distance you should expect a hit animal to run before it runs out of gas, or better stated, oxygenated blood. In my opinion, the lung shot is my favorite place when it comes to shot placement. Even when I don’t need to track the animal, because I see it collapse within eyesight, I still make sure to take note of the blood trail. Continue reading Deer Hunting Tracking Tips: Shot Placement Matters

Question: “I have a 80 acre deer hunting lease in Zephyr, Texas. This town is located in Brown County. The place we hunt has two creek bottoms going through it and we have about 65 acres of brushy habitat. Even the grassland areas are still pretty tall since the property is not grazed. We want to improve the deer hunting on the lease, so we are looking for ideas. Based on our game camera photos, we have a good number of does and some big bucks in the area, but how would I go about getting them on my place and staying around there? Thanks.”

Response: First off, an 80 acre ranch would make up only a small part of a mature buck’s home range. In fact, the good news is that it could possibly overlap of several bucks. But in short, deer will be moving onto and off of your deer lease quite regularly. This will make management efforts difficult if you are trying to go that route, but there are some things you can do to ensure that you see more deer.

If you want deer to come to you, the property you hunt must have something they want, and even better, something greater than what the neighbor has to offer them. Whether it’s protein pellets, food plots, corn, water, or bales of alfalfa hay. These deer attractants, or baits, can really help. If you have a couple of good water sources, that would be a start too. But it will take more than just good food to keep deer visiting your parcel of Texas paradise. Continue reading Tips for Deer Hunting Small Acreages

Question: “What are some of the deer attractants that you like for deer hunting? I’m confused if I should buy some special thing or just use corn. Other hunters on our deer lease said that I should not shoot does until December because the more does we have on our land during the rut, the more bucks that will show up. They say that if we start shooting does in November the other does will be pressured off the land onto other places. Then the bucks will follow them. Is this true?”

Response: I disagree with waiting to shoot does that late in the year. In fact, it’s best to shoot them as early as possible so that the remaining food sources can be saved for deer that you are not going to shoot. If you need to decrease the deer population, don’t let them eat for two additional months. That is valuable winter food they are using. For example, six does eating for two months is 12 months of food usage… the same amount a single deer would eat in a year! Continue reading Deer Hunting: Shooting Does Early is the Best Plan

Question: “We have a small farm 60 acre in Pennsylvania that we use for deer hunting. We are interested in managing the place to attract and hold whitetail and to make it better for whitetail hunting. I know the place is small, but is there anything we can do to provide more for the deer and keep them hanging around? About 45 acres are wooded and the rest are fields.”

Response: There are things that any hunter can do to develop better deer hunting, even those restrained to small acreage deer management. You are not the only one in this situation because most land owners do not have thousands upon thousands of acres. Most land holdings are less than 100 acres. With only 60 acres there is very little you can do to hold deer on your place for very long. However, you can provide foods for them to eat and attract them. Continue reading Habitat Management for Better Deer Hunting

Question: “I’ve got a deer feeder with a fence around it set up for deer hunting on my lease. It’s got about a 20 foot diameter and the whitetail deer are just demolishing the corn. However, I have no clue where to set up my game camera. The camera does have a flash so I do not want spook the deer, especially any bucks using the feeder, but I still want to get some photos of a big buck that I believe is using the area. I’ve seen him several times in the area. Any game camera placement tips would be appreciated. What should I do?”

Response: When it comes to using motion detection cameras for deer hunting, game cameras should face either North or South, although facing to the North is best. This is important or otherwise you will get photos of the rising or setting sun, when most deer will be at your feeder, and you will not be able to see much. Trust me, you do not want any part of the sun screwing up your game camera photos. Continue reading Game Camera Placement, Feeder Size for Deer Hunting

Question: “We have a 700 acre high-fenced ranch located in Mason County. We have been involved in whitetail deer management activities over the past four years, improving the habitat and selectively harvesting deer based on surveys in an attempt to improve deer hunting. I know we have does on our ranch, but since we put up hog panels around our deer feeders all we see are bucks. How do we get our does back to using these feeders again? Any ideas? For reference, our feeder pens are about 30 feet in diameter.”

Response: This is something that many ranches experience across the state of Texas. Managing for deer typically means lowering the number of deer on a ranch in line with the available habitat. With whitetail deer at a proper density, hunters will see fewer deer than when deer are at higher, unhealthy numbers. This can be a part of the “problem.” However, I suspect the biggest issue is that the does not do feel comfortable at the feeders. But it has nothing to do with the hog panels. Continue reading Does Not Showing Up at the Feeders