Category: Deer Hunting

Spring is just about over and summer is just around the corner, so most hunters  already have their spring food plots in the ground and growing. Of course, this year has been a year of extremes for deer managers. Some parts of the white-tailed deer’s range are under severe drought while others are under 15 feet of water. Food plots have a hard go at it under either of these extremes, so hopefully your property is somewhere in the middle. Here is a question I received recently:

“Would you recommend planting Lespedeza striata in wildlife openings for deer as a forage and attractant? I am in a mountainous part of southeast Oklahoma and the soils are acidic. It is not practical for me to lime it all. I’m told this Lespedeza will grow well under these conditions, but would you consider this a high quality food plot for deer?” Continue reading Food Plot for Whitetail Deer in Oklahoma

Deer hunters are a lot smarter than they used to be. In the past, the most important thing hunters cared about was getting a buck, but now with the popularity of deer hunting and management, many hunters have turned to habitat enhancement and improved deer herd health to increase overall quality. One of the best ways to help white-tailed deer is to increase their nutrition, and this is typically accomplished through supplemental feeding.

This is typically accomplished through food plots and/or protein pellets, and this varies by region as well as state law. That being said, let’s not confuse baiting with providing supplemental forage that truly enhances a deer’s diet. The ideas are completely different. The most common form of supplementation in the southwest is feeding protein pellets. This is because many hunters lack the equipment necessary to do a food plot justice. Continue reading Feeding Soybeans as Protein for Whitetail Deer

Question: My father owns 125 acres of wooded land in central Connecticut and we want to improve our deer hunting. The property is surrounded on three sides by more forest and the fourth side borders an old field. I am looking into clearing and planting a food plot in the middle and trying to increase bedding cover and browse on the property for whitetail deer by hinge cutting trees. I am also going to create watering holes from some streams that flow across our property by blocking them up.

I was wondering if you had any suggestions or ideas on how to maintain better deer health and support more deer as well as increase deer sighting while hunting both does and bucks. Right now the property is mainly tall hardwood trees. I didn’t know if you could help me out so I figured I would send an email and find out. Continue reading Deer Habitat Improvement in the North

Question:  I deer hunt in North-Central Texas. Next weekend, I plan on building a round feeder pen at my deer lease. I am purchasing ten 16-foot hog panels that are 34 inches in height. I have heard that if the feeder pen is too small deer will avoid the feeder.

With this in mind, how big will my feeder pen be using ten panels and is this big enough? Also, I would appreciate any tips on how I can get a perfect circle and how may posts would I need. Thanks for your help.

Answer: Pen size is important because deer do not want to feel confined. Your panels total 160 linear feet, so with that you will be able to construct a circular pen with almost a 51-foot diameter (diameter = circumference/3.14). That is plenty big for whitetail deer. Of course, going to big is cost prohibitive and gets out of hand. I think 10 panels will make a perfect size pen. As far as fence post, I would suggest putting two post per panel, or one post every 8 feet.

To get a perfect circle, place a stake directly under your feeder or proposed deer feeder location. Then,  loop a string half the length (25  feet) of the desired diameter of the circle over the stake and walk around the stake while keeping the string tight and marking the ground with your boot or some other tool.

We recently built 3 feeder pens and used eight 16-foot panels for each of them and they looked good. I think they were plenty big, so deer should not at all feel confined in your ten panel pen.

There is still a little time before spring green up, so I suggest getting your pen built before it gets hot. This will also give deer plenty of time to become familiar with your setup. Good luck with your upcoming deer hunting season.

There are many ways to make whitetail deer hunting on your property or hunting lease better. Whitetail are the most popular big game animal in North America, so it should come as no surprise that hunters are always trying to find habitat management practices that can make the deer on their lands bigger and healthier. One way to provide additional food for whitetail is by planing trees for deer.

For those of hunters that have been considering plant fruit, nut, or various other tree types to support the wildlife on your property, remember that between mid-November and mid- to late February is the time to plant if you’re doing seedlings.When the trees are in dormant state, they react more favorably to replanting. This allows them to set up their roots over the winter to some extent, making them ready for warmer weather and spring rains. This is also when food is most abundant for deer, so browsing pressure on your new tree should be lower. Continue reading Planting Trees for Better Deer Hunting

Question: I am interested in providing additional forage for the whitetail deer in my area in order to improve body condition, grow better antlers, and improve the overall deer hunting. I know that browse plants make up a lot of a whitetail’s diet, and have been thinking about planting Japanese honeysuckle because I know that they like it. Do you have a place to purchase Japanese Honeysuckle seed? Have you ever purchased seedlings or has it just always grown naturally where you’ve hunted? Thanks.

Answer: Better deer hunting is something that you can make happen, and you are on the right track. Deer management that leads to better deer hunting is all about age, genetics and food. You have two options because there is native honeysuckle and Japanese honeysuckle. Although I would suggest trying native honeysuckle over introducing a foreign plant into your area, the choice is up to you. I have seen Japanese honeysuckle growing in the wild and it does not completely dominate areas like some non-native plants can do. Maybe that is because deer love it. Continue reading Improved Deer Hunting: Plant Japanese Honeysuckle for Whitetail Deer

Every hunters that chases white-tailed or mule deer dreams of one day taking a truly remarkable animal. Though each and every deer is special in it’s own way, there is a small percentage of bucks that develop and carry really, really big antlers! I’ve always wanted to go deer hunting in Canada, but have never had the chance. Not only do these Northern deer grow respectable sets of antlers, they also have some massive bodies! Check out these mule deer hunting story straight out of Canada:

“Saturday morning of deer hunting season – I saw a huge mule deer buck feeding out in field with three other bucks. Watched him for over one hour in my spotting scope and got some pictures through the Vortex. I knew from the first second I saw this buck that he was a true giant, even for Canada, but I never had him pinned at what he actually scored! I watched him bed down. I went in for the sneak through the standing flax and ended up getting within 43 yards, but when he stood up he walked straight away and I had no shot with the bow! Continue reading Deer Hunting in Canada – Big Canadian Bucks!

White-tailed deer hunting is a big deal in Texas. In fact, deer hunting has also become a big business for some people. Guided deer hunts for both bucks and does have become the norm at ranches scattered across the state. The state of Texas works with landowners willing to improve the habitat and deer herd found on their property. The program is called the Managed Lands Deer Permit (MLDP) Program.

The MLDP Program is incentive based where landowners perform certain management practices and in turn received special MLDP permits. The number of permits issued is based on the proper number of deer that should be removed to keep the habitat and deer in good condition. This all seems well and good, but landowners collect and submit their own data, leaving room, for the lack of a better term, for “fudging.” After reading this comment, I think at least some of the guys out there are not all that worried about habitat management. Continue reading MLDP Property is Deer Hunting Sham?

This past weekend at our deer lease in East Texas, located in both Trinity and Angelina County, one of the hunters shot the best whitetail buck ever taken during the 25 years we have hunted this East Texas property. In addition, the deer hunting has improved greatly since the implementation of the antler restriction regulations, with more and better bucks having been observed in the last 6 years (since the new rules started).

The 10 point buck my buddy shot had a nice wide rack with impressive mass throughout the antlers. While looking at the high quality bucks we’ve shot over the last couple of years, I think back to those little basket-racked bucks that were the norm when we first started deer hunting this part of East Texas. I know the antler regulations get bad-mouthed by some, but myself and the majority of deer hunters realize just how beneficial the antler restrictions have been to deer hunters in East Texas. Continue reading Regulations Help Deer Hunting in East Texas

The whitetail deer gun hunting season opened this past weekend in Oklahoma and I my top target was a big mature 8 point buck that I had caught on camera on several occasions. I was willing to hunt hard to bag this buck, so I spent 8 hours in the deer stand on opening day, first catching a glimpse of him at 9 o’clock in the morning as he jumped a fence about 425 yards away. At least, I thought it was him.

This “sighting” was enough of a relief for me, as I had heard at least a 10 rifle shots since sunrise within a mile of our deer lease. The big buck appeared again shortly after 10 o’clock as he had moved closer, but the buck was still moving through a bunch of trees at around 200 yards with enough brush and sticks and grass to obstruct a clean shot. I thought my deer hunting season was really going to start off with a bang as I waited about 10 minutes for him to reappear closer and on the edge of the brush. That didn’t happen.

As it turns out, the buck went downhill, moving down into a deep, heavily wooded draw. I lost him. With the “video” of the big buck playing through my brain, I waited and hoped that he would turn around and head back my way. I had identified this Oklahoma buck as a shooter from my game camera photos, and after seeing him in person I knew he was the real deal. Continue reading Oklahoma Buck Gets Hammered!