Deer Management Archives - Page 11 of 53

10 04, 2019

11 Easy and Affordable Food-Plot Tips For Deer Hunters

admin2020-06-10T09:15:19-04:00April 10th, 2019|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|Comments Off on 11 Easy and Affordable Food-Plot Tips For Deer Hunters

If you own or lease some hunting ground, it’s time to get your hands dirty. The better you plan, build and maintain food plots over the next several months, the more deer you’ll attract and hold on your land come September. Here’s a 12-pack of pointers to help you do it. Design Before You Dig On an aerial map, look for strips and pockets of open ground toward the interior of your property that you can turn into ½-acre plots. “Inside” planting keeps your plots—and the bucks they will attract--away from roads and the neighbors’ fence lines. Also, the closer you build a plot to thick bedding cover the better your chances that a mature 8- or 10-pointer will pop [...]

1 04, 2019

2018 Pennsylvania Deer Harvest Highest In 14 Years…State “has never managed whitetails better.”

admin2020-06-10T09:15:20-04:00April 1st, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science|1 Comment

From the York Dispatch: "The (Pennsylvania Game Commission) reported that a total of 374,690 deer were harvested during the state’s 2018-19 hunting seasons, which closed in January. "That total tops the previous year’s harvest of 367,159 by about 10 percent." The 2018 antlerless harvest of 226,940 was up about 10 percent over last year. Data show that most does—64%--killed by hunters were 2.5 years old, and the remainder were 1.5 years old. The 2018-19 buck kill of 147,750 was down 10% from the previous season. The commission says that steady, heavy rain during opening weekend of gun season was the biggest reason for the decline—it kept a lot of hunters out of the woods, and the bucks didn’t move well in [...]

11 03, 2019

2018 Virginia Deer Harvest

admin2020-06-10T09:15:25-04:00March 11th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|Comments Off on 2018 Virginia Deer Harvest

In my home state of Virginia last season, hunters harvested 190,636 deer, including 96,239 antlered bucks, 12,342 button bucks, and 82,055 does. Bowhunters killed 26,676 of those deer. For the first time since crossbows became legal for all archery hunters in fall 2005, the number of whitetails taken with crossbows exceeded the number taken with vertical bows. Blackpowder hunters shot 43,749 deer during the popular November muzzleloader season. Firearms hunters (rifles and shotguns) killed 120,074 deer, or 63% of the total. Approximately 161,800 deer (85%) were checked using the Department’s electronic telephone and Go Outdoors Virginia online checking portal. Virginia Deer Project Coordinator Matt Knox expected the fall 2018 harvest total to be down for 2 reasons. First, much of [...]

5 03, 2019

Grow Better Food Plots: Whitetail Institute Soil-Test Kit

admin2020-06-10T09:15:25-04:00March 5th, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|1 Comment

Whether you are a novice or expert at food plots for deer, whether you plan to plant 2 plots or 10 on your land this year, the first and most critical step to success is to do a soil test and determine the pH of the dirt you’ll be working. Some soils are heavier than others…other dirt is lighter. Some soils hold moisture longer…some dirt dries fast… You get the idea--not all dirt is created equal. By testing the soil where you’ll be planting to determine its exact pH, you’ll know how much lime and/or fertilizer you’ll need for the planting process and optimal forage growth. This test kit from Whitetail Institute gives you everything you need and makes it [...]

3 01, 2019

Hunt Tactics for Winter Bucks

admin2020-06-10T09:15:26-04:00January 3rd, 2019|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|Comments Off on Hunt Tactics for Winter Bucks

We have 2 more days to hunt deer this season in Virginia…if you’re still hunting too, try these tips. Afternoons are always best in late season. Deer move straight from their beds to a cornfield or beans or a thicket or a pasture with weeds--anywhere they can find last scraps of food. When you hunt a food source, the wind can’t blow back toward a bedding cover or travel lane out, and it can’t swirl out into a field where the does will pop out first. Set up downwind of a trail or funnel where your scent will blow back into a dead zone in the timber where no deer will hopefully come out. If just one doe winds you [...]