Big Deer TV Archives - Page 144 of 181

28 04, 2017

Whitetail Dispersal: How and Where Button Bucks Find Home Ranges

admin2020-06-10T09:16:29-04:00April 28th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science|2 Comments

In the early 2000s researchers with Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences captured and radio-collared 543 bucks, 454 of which were less than 1 year old when captured in the winter. Of particular interest: How and where the young bucks would “disperse” in the summer and fall. In this Deer-Forest blog post, the researchers explained: Dispersal is a one-time movement from a natal (where born) home range to a different adult home range. For our research (and most studies) we say an animal disperses if there is no overlap between natal and adult home ranges. So what did they find? *About 75% of the bucks dispersed as 1-year-olds. Half the dispersal occurred in spring (May-June) and the rest in [...]

26 04, 2017

How Spring Floods Affect Deer

admin2020-06-10T09:16:29-04:00April 26th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Predator Hunting|Comments Off on How Spring Floods Affect Deer

This week a low-pressure system has brought steady rain and localized flooding to the Carolinas, and today it’s moving up the East Coast. Late April and especially May is also when floods are common along the Mississippi and other rivers and streams in the Midwest. How does all this spring rain and flooding affect the whitetail deer? The good news, biologists say that rising floodwaters of river and creeks won’t kill many if any adult deer, though it will displace the animals for days and perhaps weeks. But the deer will filter back into their habitats and core areas once the waters recede. While pregnant does will move out of rising water now and for the next few weeks, the [...]

24 04, 2017

Remove Rust from a Gun

admin2020-06-10T09:16:29-04:00April 24th, 2017|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting|1 Comment

Store all your firearms in a cool, dry place, with a dehumidifier running nearby for good measure if there is any hint of moisture (as in a basement). But if you pull out one of your guns and see a few blotches of rust on barrel or receiver, here’s an interesting way to remove it. From Range 365: The trick…is finding a penny minted before 1982, which were 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc. To start you need some light oil (good old 3-in-1 will do just fine), a medium brass-bristle cleaning brush, some paper towels, and your pre-1982 penny. Pick a spot to start, put some oil on the metal, rub the penny over the area, and wipe [...]

21 04, 2017

Earth Day 2017: Hunters America’s #1 Conservationists

admin2020-06-10T09:16:29-04:00April 21st, 2017|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting|Comments Off on Earth Day 2017: Hunters America’s #1 Conservationists

On Earth Day tomorrow, I refer you to an enlightening passage written some years ago by two of America’s top deer biologists, Drs. Larry Marchinton and Karl Miller: In the United States roughly 3 million white-tailed deer are harvested each year… This translates to about 150 million pounds of meat. Add to this the amount of elk, turkey, squirrel, rabbit and other game as well as wild fruits, nuts, and vegetables that is consumed. To produce this amount of beef, chicken, or vegetable crops in addition to that which is already produced would be ecologically devastating. Acres and acres of wild places would have to be destroyed to accommodate this increased agricultural production. More wildlife habitat would have to be [...]

18 04, 2017

How Deer Antlers Grow

admin2020-06-10T09:16:30-04:00April 18th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|Comments Off on How Deer Antlers Grow

In April, as the days continue to get longer and daylight increases, new antlers begin to grow from buds that form on the pedicels on a buck’s head. Typically within a month, main beams and brow tines begin to sprout and split off. A month or so later, in early June, second and third tines will form. Throughout early summer, the fledgling racks grow fast and furious. Antler tissue is the fastest growing tissue known to man. Beams and tines may grow a quarter-inch or more per day, the process driven by a buck’s hormones and the photoperiod of the days. According to Missouri scientist Dr. Grant Woods, a buck’s rack will show most of its points by mid-June, though [...]