whitetail deer Archives - Page 51 of 93

11 02, 2022

Are Whitetail Bucks Becoming More Nocturnal Than Ever?

Clay Hanback2022-02-11T08:58:54-05:00February 11th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Are Whitetail Bucks Becoming More Nocturnal Than Ever?

I’ve been both awed and frustrated by the nocturnal tendencies of mature bucks for years, but last season was ridiculous. Everywhere I went, from Virginia to Canada to Indiana, bucks 3 years of age and older showed up on trail camera at night but moved little and randomly in daylight hours. On all the lands I hunted, human pressure, which can turn bucks nocturnal overnight, was light to nonexistent. Was this just me, or were other hunters experiencing the same? “We saw exactly the same thing on our north-central Pennsylvania farm,” said biologist Kip Adams with the National Deer Association. “I know of many folks in the eastern half of the U.S experienced the same thing. I firmly believe it [...]

8 02, 2022

How Many Whitetail Bucks Do Hunters Shoot Each Season?

Clay Hanback2022-02-08T11:33:27-05:00February 8th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Hunting News, whitetail deer|Comments Off on How Many Whitetail Bucks Do Hunters Shoot Each Season?

The National Deer Association (NDA) reports that hunters across the United States killed an estimated 3,041,544 bucks in the 2020-21 season, the most in 21 years. “2020 saw the highest buck harvest in the new century, and amazingly we estimate that we set another new record for the percentage of those bucks that were 3½ years old or older,” said Kip Adams, NDA’s Chief Conservation Officer. “U.S. hunters are taking fewer yearling bucks and killing more of them as mature deer, but this doesn’t mean fewer bucks harvested overall. We’re killing older bucks and more bucks than ever in America.” Nationally, the antlerless harvest (does and buck fawns) jumped 12% in 2020-21 to 3,207,937, reversing a three-year decline and putting [...]

26 01, 2022

Doe W/Antlers: One In 5,000?

Clay Hanback2022-01-26T09:35:10-05:00January 26th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Doe W/Antlers: One In 5,000?

How rare is a whitetail doe like the one in this picture? According to the Virginia Division of Wildlife Resources, there are two types of antlered does. The first are females with velvet-covered antlers. These animals usually have normal female reproductive tracts and are capable of bearing fawns. On the other hand, does with polished antlers are actually male pseudo-hermaphrodites. They have the external genitalia of a female, but have male sex organs internally. Antlered does are extremely rare. How uncommon? Some scientists say that one in every 5,000 does might have antlers For more on does with antlers, click here.

20 01, 2022

New Research On Whitetail Fawn Mortality And Survival

Clay Hanback2022-01-18T10:05:37-05:00January 20th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Science, whitetail deer|1 Comment

Most all scientific studies conducted during the past 30 years have documented predation, largely by coyotes, as the leading cause of whitetail fawn mortality. But wait a sec. “Predation may have less of an impact than we think,” writes Justin Dion in this article posted to the National Deer Association’s website. In the springs of 2016 and 2017, Dion and his fellow researchers at the University of Delaware captured and collared 109 newborn fawns in Sussex County in the southern portion of the state. The study area had about 50 deer per square mile, but a noticeable lack of predators. No confirmed sightings of bobcats and no bears. Only 9 coyotes had ever been reported harvested statewide in Delaware at [...]

18 01, 2022

Best Time To Scout For Whitetail Deer

Clay Hanback2022-01-18T10:02:10-05:00January 18th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Best Time To Scout For Whitetail Deer

As you reflect on last deer season and think, Man, what a killer or bummer year, guess what? It’s time to get out there and start scouting again. Snooping around for old sign gives you a leg up on the bucks you’ll hunt 7 or 8 months from now. Core of the Matter When scouting in late summer and early fall, the times when most hunters do it, you want to cover lots of ground, but you’re leery of laying down scent and jumping the deer you’ll hunt in a few weeks. So you play it safe and poke around the fringes of fields, woods and thickets. Sure, you find fresh tracks and maybe some early rubs. But these are [...]