Deer Management Archives - Page 16 of 53

2 04, 2018

Deer Management How-To: Build A Mineral Site

admin2020-06-10T09:15:54-04:00April 2nd, 2018|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Gear Reviews|Comments Off on Deer Management How-To: Build A Mineral Site

Now is time to build new mineral sites (or start recharging old ones) on your hunting land. “Licks” are easy and relatively inexpensive to build and maintain, and they serve 2 purposes: 1) provide trace minerals and vitamins for all deer, from bucks growing new antlers to does getting ready to drop fawns; and 2) they are top spots for you set trail cameras and monitor growing antlers all summer as you prepare your 2018 game plan. Scientists note that whitetails use mineral sites most heavily from late summer until the first frost next fall. From personal experience and observation here in Virginia, bucks start hitting minerals whenever we set them out in early spring through the first 2 weeks [...]

26 03, 2018

Why Are Fewer People Hunting in 2018?

admin2020-06-10T09:15:54-04:00March 26th, 2018|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|2 Comments

A survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reveals that only 5% of Americans age 16 and up hunt. That's half of what it was 50 years ago. The number of licensed hunters, most of them deer hunters, dropped from 14.2 million in 1991 to 11.5 million in 2016. Most disturbing, the decline is expected to accelerate over the next decades. Why fewer of us? I have my suspicions and government agencies and wildlife organizations have their theories, but I wanted information from real-life hard-core hunters, so I did a little Twitter/social survey. It’s far from scientific, but pretty darn representative I believe. Loss of Access By far the number one reason fewer people are hunting, especially east of [...]

22 03, 2018

Pennsylvania Bill: Increase Penalties for Trail-Camera Thieves

admin2020-06-10T09:15:54-04:00March 22nd, 2018|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|1 Comment

Lancaster Online reports that State Representative Neal Goodman (D-Schuylkill County) recently introduced House Bill 484, which would increase penalties for any low-life who would steal another hunter’s trail camera. Under the proposed bill the theft of a cam would be added as a specific crime within Pennsylvania’s Game and Wildlife Code. Moving trail cameras to the wildlife code would allow a hunter to report the theft of one to state a wildlife conservation officer, who could then investigate the crime. Currently, the theft of a cam in Pennsylvania (and most other states I assume) must be reported to local or state law enforcement, who as Lancaster Online rightly points out “certainly have lots of more pressing issues to deal with.” [...]

7 03, 2018

What to Plant in Deer Food Plots

admin2020-06-10T09:15:54-04:00March 7th, 2018|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management|Comments Off on What to Plant in Deer Food Plots

Time to start thinking about what to plant this spring: If you live and hunt in the Northeast: Try planting a 60/40 mix of perennial clover (Imperial Whitetail Clover is my favorite) and chicory. Later in July or August, plant a couple of cool-season (fall) plots heavy with brassicas and the like. If you live and hunt in the Mid-Atlantic: Trebark camo creator turned deer-management guru Jim Crumley plants good old ladino clover on his 300-acre property along the James River in Virginia. “It’s a low-maintenance, high-quality perennial (25% protein) that, once planted, will last for 5 years and can be easily over seeded,” he says. If you hunt in the South: If you have the land, equipment and money [...]

5 03, 2018

Potential State Record Mule Deer Sheds!

admin2020-06-10T09:15:54-04:00March 5th, 2018|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Management, Mule Deer, Shed Hunting|Comments Off on Potential State Record Mule Deer Sheds!

My friend Ricardo, a New Mexico hunting outfitter who specializes in limited-entry archery hunts for giant mule deer, found this antler on public land. Look at the size and deepness of the front and back forks--that is what you look for on a trophy mule buck. The shed taped out a tad over 96 inches. “If you double the antler score for the other side and give him a 30-inch spread the buck would score 223 4/8, potential state record! I’ll keep looking for the other side.” Picture below is last year’s shed off the same buck. “He put on a lot (tine length and mass) this year, but lost the extra point,” Ricardo says. Deadline to apply for the [...]