No, in Midwestern, Southern and Eastern states, the whitetail deer that most of us hunt do not migrate. In fact they are homebodies, typically living their entire lives in a home range of a mile or so, with buck core areas smaller than that. But yes, in Western states some herds of both whitetails and mule do deer migrate. Based on 40 years of radio-tracking data, Montana biologists have documented that whitetails in the western mountains migrate to dense forests during the winter months. Herds move an average of 8 to 15 miles, going down in elevation as far as needed in search of conifer needles to eat, overhead tree canopy to block the snow and thermal protection created by [...]

Have you ever seen a buck in velvet well past September, maybe into November or December, or even with velvet antlers still intact in spring or summer? Commonly called a “stag,” the oddball buck exhibits unusual antler growth and retains velvet on the antlers due to low testosterone levels. Scientists refer to this condition as cryptoridism, and it’s rare. It can result from a birth defect or disease that causes a buck’s testicles (one or both) not to drop normally. Or, a buck may injure his privates, say on a wire fence (ouch). Cryptorchidism can occur in whitetails, blacktails (picture above) or mule deer (below). A stag buck is different, and he doesn’t engage in the seasonal rituals of normal [...]