A new study published in Current Biology estimated that some 36,500 deer deaths, 33 human deaths and 2,000 human injuries could be prevented annually by halting the switch from daylight saving to standard time in autumn and during the deer rut. USA Today reports that researchers analyzed more than 1 million deer collisions and 96 million hourly traffic observations, and found that deer collisions are 14 times more frequent in the two hours after sunset than before sunset, according to the study. When peak traffic volumes shift to after sunset following the transition from daylight saving to standard time, there is a 16% spike in collisions the week following, the study says. Delaying the sunset could also save the country $1.19 billion [...]

From hoof to shoulder, a whitetail deer stands 3 to 3 ½ feet (a muley is only slightly taller). Aim your binocular or spotting scope low in the brush or you’ll look right over a lot of bucks. Glass for a flickering ear or tail, the glint of an antler, a patch of white, a horizontal backbone in vertical timber… Find a piece of a deer and the whole animal will suddenly materialize in your optic. Lay back into a hillside, get comfortable and steady and break big country into quadrants. Raise and anchor your binocular/scope and scan one section slowly and methodically, then move to the next quadrant and the next… Then go back and glass each quadrant again. [...]