Deer Science Archives - Page 38 of 44

1 10, 2013

Bowhunt a Culvert

admin2020-06-10T09:23:21-04:00October 1st, 2013|BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science|1 Comment

Bill wrote and talked about bowhunting an urban zone near Indianapolis: One of my best stand sites backs up against the interstate. Weird being in that tree before daybreak and hearing all those cars and trucks going behind me. But it turns out to be a great travel route. They (the deer) go from park property on the other side of the interstate, follow a creek under the interstate and move through the property. Two 10 pointers and a good-sized 8 were taken last year. Bill hits on a killer bow tactic. A bridge access or box culvert beneath a busy interstate or a lonely rural road is a great deer funnel. Whitetails are like us; they take the easiest, [...]

26 09, 2013

EHD Strikes Montana Deer…Again

admin2020-06-10T09:23:21-04:00September 26th, 2013|BigDeer, Deer Science, Hunting News|4 Comments

Montana wildlife officials say that more than 100 whitetail deer have been reported dead in the west Missoula Valley, in and along the Clark Fork River. “People are seeing healthy looking deer fall over dead,” said Vickie Edwards, FWP wildlife biologist in Missoula. FWP personnel have collected blood and tissue samples from a number of affected deer and are awaiting the results of laboratory analysis, but most certainly the cause of the death is epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD). Montana hunter Toby Bridges posted this picture from the area: “Along maybe 10 miles of river, there has been a near 100 percent loss of whitetails. If you cruise along that stretch with windows down, you will smell the death all along [...]

19 09, 2013

When Do Buck Racks Go Downhill?

admin2020-06-10T09:23:21-04:00September 19th, 2013|BigDeer, Deer Science|1 Comment

Most of us will never see a 9.5-year-old buck in the wild, but if you did here is what his rack might look like. This funky rack came off a buck that lived his whole life in an enclosure and died of natural causes, so his age is documented. They tell me that just a couple years before his death, this buck wore a nice, typical 10-point rack. According to QDMA biologist Kip Adams, wild bucks grow their largest set of antlers between 5 and 7 years old. The racks start going downhill immediately after that and can regress very quickly due to bucks’ teeth wearing down, impacts from previous injuries and overall old age that impacts their health. How long [...]

17 09, 2013

September Tactic: Grunt a Buck

admin2020-06-10T09:23:21-04:00September 17th, 2013|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science|2 Comments

A few years ago in September Taylor Fitzpatrick traveled to the Milk River in Montana to bowhunt with our friend Luke Strommen. The then 19-year-old Taylor climbed into his tree stand super early one morning, about 3:30. The air felt great, 42 degrees cool, and the full moon hung in the sky like a big pie. Taylor began seeing deer in the moon glow, moving back to their beds for the day. A 10-pointer that would score 155” walked beneath his stand and got him fired up. The sun came up hours later and he kept seeing deer. A buck with hard, fresh antlers cut across a corner of a distant alfalfa field. Taylor raised his call and floated some [...]

13 09, 2013

New Moon and Deer Movement

admin2020-06-10T09:23:22-04:00September 13th, 2013|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science, Hunting News|4 Comments

Did the moon phase play a major role in Danny’s shooting of the big 10-pointer “Spike” in Maryland last Friday? Blogging about the hunt, Danny wrote: Maryland bow opener was Sept 6–the morning after the new moon. The wind direction was supposed to be out of the NNE. I looked back through all the cam pictures I had, and it just so happened the last time we had a NNE wind was the morning after the new moon in August. Spike was at the location I call The Puddle on that very morning. Danny hunted “The Puddle” on September 6 and saw some 18 deer moving at first light, including a bachelor herd of 12-15 bucks. He shot the 164-inch 10-pointer [...]