Deer Science Archives | Page 2 of 34

5 02, 2020

Should You Feed Deer In The Winter?

Clay Hanback2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00February 5th, 2020|BigDeer, CWD, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Should You Feed Deer In The Winter?

Yes, natural food is scarce and whitetail deer are hungry and scavenging every bite they can find right now in late winter. NO, you should not feed them. No corn, no apples, no hay, nothing. “Congregation of deer is a way in which Chronic Wasting Disease is spread through nose to nose contact,” explains Ryan Brown, director of Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries. “We encourage the public not to feed deer, because the deer don’t need it in Virginia to survive, and number two, attracting deer to a particular feeding location simply ups the odds that the disease will be spread within the herd.” CWD can be spread by disease prions that live in the soil for years. “The prions [...]

2 12, 2019

6 Things To Remember When Hunting Public-Land Bucks

Clay Hanback2020-06-10T09:14:51-04:00December 2nd, 2019|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on 6 Things To Remember When Hunting Public-Land Bucks

I’m a big fan of Penn State’s Deer-Forest Blog. It’s science-based and consistently provides practical and relate able information for wildlife observers and hunters alike. In this recent post the researchers talk about deer behavior in big woods on public lands. Many of you hunt that type of habitat and those tough bucks. Here are a few highlights you need to remember: Having tracked GPS-collared deer for years in big, rough, hunted woods in Pennsylvania, the researchers say that one critical learned behavior of deer is to find safe zones where they avoid hunters. When deer are disturbed, they do what deer do--run away. If they run to a spot where they don’t get disturbed again, then they will [...]

22 11, 2019

How To Grunt Up A Buck

Clay Hanback2020-06-10T09:14:52-04:00November 22nd, 2019|BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on How To Grunt Up A Buck

One afternoon in Iowa, Pat Strawser sat in his stand and watched some does and small bucks enter a picked cornfield. A heavy 7-pointer popped into view, followed by more does. “I was trying to keep track of all the deer when a huge buck strode into the field,” said Pat. “He pinned his ears back and marched toward the Big 7.” The hunter grabbed his grunter and went to work. He called several times--nothing. Gradually he increased the volume and intensity of his calls until both the mature bucks picked up their heads and looked his way. “They were about 125 yards out,” says Pat. “Once I had their attention, I gave even louder grunts and then a snort-wheeze. [...]

20 11, 2019

Hunt The Rut: What Is A “Buck Excursion?”

Clay Hanback2020-06-10T09:14:52-04:00November 20th, 2019|BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Hunt The Rut: What Is A “Buck Excursion?”

A recent post at QDMA starts out like this: One thing researchers have deciphered in recent years using GPS technology is a somewhat new behavior that white-tailed deer do called an excursion, which is a brief trip or trips outside their established home range. This behavior especially occurs during the rut, and I have a personal story from the 2018 season to prove it. We have been running 8-10 trail cameras for years on a 1,000-acre farm in the Virginia Piedmont. Imagine our shock and excitement when we checked a card and saw one image of this awesome buck from November 18, obviously an older deer with a ton of character. We had never seen this freak before, no images [...]

30 10, 2019

Whitetail Science: The Reason Bucks Scrape at Night

Clay Hanback2020-06-10T09:14:52-04:00October 30th, 2019|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|1 Comment

Bucks scrape at night, you know that. Every study on scrapes conducted over the past 30 years has confirmed it. One major study in Georgia, considered by many to be the ultimate research ever conducted on scrapes, found that 90% of scrape visits occur at night and, get this, the most active time at scrapes is between 2 and 3 a.m. Hunters always figured bucks do it for the safety factor—cover of darkness and all--but one of the country’s foremost whitetail scientists has a different take. Dr. Karl Miller, who for years was the head man at the University of Georgia’s Deer Lab, says it’s more difficult for bucks to see and sort out other bucks and does at night [...]