Deer Science Archives - Page 5 of 43

20 04, 2023

Deer Science: Why Bucks Vanish from Your Trail Camera

Clay Hanback2023-04-20T09:01:50-04:00April 20th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Deer Science: Why Bucks Vanish from Your Trail Camera

Researchers at Mississippi State’s Deer Lab analyzed the movements of 30 GPS-collared adult bucks, and found that 20 of them, or 68%, were “sedentary” and confined their movements to a single home range. The other 10 bucks were more adventurous and mobile, moving back and forth between multiple home range sites and core areas from summer to fall and winter. These mobile bucks traveled an average distance of 4.4 miles between their seasonal living areas. The takeaway: When a mature buck you have on camera in September or October suddenly goes missing for weeks or a month, chances are he’s one of those mobile bucks that has moved a mile or 2 or 3 to another section of his home [...]

18 04, 2023

When Coyotes Kill the Most Fawns

Clay Hanback2023-04-18T14:22:07-04:00April 18th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, Predator Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on When Coyotes Kill the Most Fawns

Won't be long until the whitetail fawns start dropping, and to that end here's some new research. In South Carolina, researchers from Clemson University tracked the movements of 49 fawns and, separately, the movements of their mothers. Seventy percent of the fawns died before September, most of them eaten by coyotes. The 14 fawns that survived tended to have more aloof mothers who kept a greater distance from their fawns when apart, and who also visited the fawns mostly during daytime hours. The study found that does that visit their fawns at night, when coyotes are more much more active, dramatically increased their fawns’ chances of dying.

3 04, 2023

Oldest Wild Whitetail Buck Shot on Outdoor TV

Clay Hanback2023-04-03T09:18:59-04:00April 3rd, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, CZ-USA, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|1 Comment

Jason Morton spotted the buck and knew right away the animal was old. The deer was a bag of bones, and walked stiffly with a slow, hip-swaying gait. The 7-point antlers were on the heavy side, but stubby and going downhill from what the rack must have been a few years ago. The “Legend,” as the buck was known around this part of southeast Kansas, walked closer, and Jason had a decision to make. He raised his CZ rifle in 6.5 PRC and looked once more at the ancient deer through the scope. Doubt he’ll make it through another tough winter, Jason thought as he pressed the trigger. Minutes later guide Brian Helman got a text but no picture: Ever [...]

14 03, 2023

Here’s What Deer Hunting Will Look Like in 2030

Clay Hanback2023-03-14T08:41:17-04:00March 14th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, CWD, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|3 Comments

When I moved on from squirrels to birds to hunting deer with my dad in the 1970s, there were about 200,000 whitetails in Virginia. Today, we’ve got almost 5 times that many. In the 1980s and 90s, we went from “if it’s brown it’s down” to the “horn porn” era. Whitetail management was in its infancy, and many people mistakenly took working to improve the health of a deer herd for engineering the growth of gigantic antlers. All you saw in hunting magazines and on videos, which were exploding in popularity then, were images of pen-raised bucks with enormous, protein-loaded 190- to 250-inch-plus racks. If the average hunter dared drag a forkie or 6-point back to camp, he was ridiculed [...]

28 02, 2023

What Causes Bucks to Have Weak Brow Tines or No Brows?

Clay Hanback2023-02-28T15:35:19-05:00February 28th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science, whitetail deer|1 Comment

Last month I hunted a friend's ranch in West Texas, 5 hours west of San Antonio and 80 miles north of Del Rio. This is a raw, rocky desert environment that had experienced a long drought, though there is a good water system on this 1,000-acre property. My buddy Cecil recently purchased the ranch, and he has been running 8 to 10 corn feeders year-round. There has been minimal protein feeding here the last 2 years, but he plans to fill the protein feeders and increase supplemental feeding this year. I hunted a week and one thing jumped out at me: 7 out of every 10 bucks of all age classes we saw had small and weak brow tines (that’s [...]