Derrick | Whitetail Hunting

Habitat Management: Talk to a Wildlife Pro

Question: I have some property that I’ve been managing for wildlife for several years, but I’m not sure that I’m making any headway. I’d like to have more deer, larger bucks, and generally better whitetail hunting, but I don’t seem to be seeing any results. I’ve been thinking about getting another opinion, as in contacting a private biologist, but am not sure that they won’t just try to sell me food plot seeds. What do you think about getting a professional biologist out to my property?

Answer: Do it! I’m always surprised at how hesitant many folks are to seek professional advice when it comes to managing their property for native habitat and wildlife. It’s almost as if people think that because managing land has to do with whitetail and trees and wildlife food that they it should be easy to figure out.

If you have never assessed and managed wildlife habitat before, there’s no reason why you should know anything about deer habitat management, so don’t be afraid to ask for help. You, of course, bring the local knowledge about how deer use or don’t use your property, and your knowledge about hunting, deer behavior and deer habitat requirements are invaluable. Continue reading Habitat Management: Talk to a Wildlife Pro

Question About A Deer Lease

Question: I know this sounds like a ridiculous question, but I have an opportunity to secure a deer hunting lease from a landowner who has openly admitted to me that he intends to sell his property, but he is just not sure when this might happen. The landowner that is looking to lease his land has given me his word that I “won’t loose my money” should he sell. However, I have had no prior dealings with the man to make a sound judgement call on the strength of his word.

As I understand it, any new buyer would have no obligation to honor a hunting lease, and I cannot see him making it a requirement of the buyer. Any deer hunters ever been down this road before? No money has exchanged hands at this point, and I just want another opinion before I even think about moving further. It could be a good opportunity, but I don’t want to lose a bunch of money on a would-be deer lease. What would you do? Continue reading Question About A Deer Lease

How do Deer Get Tumors?

Whitetail hunters sometimes encounter deer with warts or lumps on the skin. These bumps do not hurt the deer since they are usually non-cancerous tumors called either fibromas or papillomas. In both cases, the warts or tumors are caused by viruses. The difference between the two is that fibromas grow either from the skin or from the layer beneath, while papillomas grow only from the skin.

To a hunter, both lumps will look dark-colored and hard to the touch. These external warts generally do not cause problems for afflicted animal, but they are not pretty to look at. Deer hunters often think the meat is inedible because of these tumors, but that is not the case. Since lumps are usually found only in the skin, not in the muscles, there is generally no problem.

However, there could be tumors located inside a deer’s body, such as on it’s organs, that could be cancerous and the venison should be discarded. While whitetail hunting, do not be overly alarmed if you come across an animal with external tumors because they are not uncommon.

Whitetail Hunting Is Not Just Food Plots

There is nothing in the world that I love more than whitetail hunting. There is something about it that I really enjoy, and it’s not all about hunting season. In fact, I get just as much fun getting ready for deer season. I don’t own a huge tract of land, although I am lucky enough to have 134 acres on which I’ve been able to implement my very own whitetail deer management program. I’ve learned a lot of valuable lessons over the years about deer behavior, what deer eat, and what they need.

In the end, for those landowners and hunters that are serious about managing deer populations, we should want to create the best whitetail habitat. For this is where quality hunting opportunities are literally born. The real secret that I’ve determined when looking at properties where individuals want to improve the deer herd is finding and enhancing the most limited habitat element. It’s easy to concentrate on one single facet of habitat and provide a whole lot of one thing, but they need it all! Continue reading Whitetail Hunting Is Not Just Food Plots

Antler Growth in Whitetail Deer

Question: Hello, my 11 year old son is in the 6th grade and he is wanting to do a science fair project on the stages of white-tailed deer antler development. Would you happen to have any pamphlets or pictures you could send him in the mail? We would like to display them his project. Any help would be greatly appreciated. He is all excited and can’t wait to do this project. He loves whitetail hunting!

Answer: Interesting. Someone else also emailed me today about their 9 year old son doing a similar project on antler growth in whitetail. You can use these photos showing antler growth in deer from this site that show the stages of antler development.

Will Piebald Doe Have More Piebalds?

Question: I have a piebald whitetail doe in my area. When she mates, will she have piebald fawns? I have talked some hunters, but no one seems to know for sure. What do you think her chances are of having more spotted deer?

Answer: Genes are funny things and they can recombine during conception to form either normal looking fawns or piebald fawns. It all depends on the buck and his gene composition. However, since the doe is piebald, my guess is that there is about 25% chance her fawns will be piebald right out of the gate. Continue reading Will Piebald Doe Have More Piebalds?

Aging Mature Bucks from Camera Photos

Question: I live in southeast Minnesota and I only want to shoot mature whitetail deer on my land, but I’m new to whitetail deer hunting and don’t really know what I’m doing. I have had my trail camera out and have seen 2 nice bucks. One is a 2.5 year old deer I believe and the other is younger. I was wondering if I could send you some pictures of them and have you age them for me and give me some hints on how to do it? Our bow season opens September 19th and I don’t want to have one of the bucks walk under my stand and shoot him just to find out that he is not a mature deer. Your help would be appreciated.

Answer: The 9 point buck looks to be exactly what you thought; a 2 1/2 year old buck. The 8 point whitetail is a yearling (1 1/2 year old buck). By the way, many people refer to fawns as yearlings. Fawns are fawns, yearlings are 1 1/2 year old does or bucks (they have their first set of antlers as yearlings).

With whitetail, some characteristics you can use for aging whitetail bucks on the hoof is to look at antler mass, the chest in relation to the belly, and the shape of the head. In almost all cases, antler mass increases with age. For example, look at the yearling 8 compared to the 2 1/2 year old 9. In addition, as a buck gets older, his belly gets larger and fuller. So does his chest.

With a larger chest and belly, this can cause the back of a mature whitetail to sway downward and make the legs appear shorter. Lastly, play close attention to a buck’s head. As a buck gets older, his head will appear shorter (from left to right) and deeper (up and down).

It’s a good idea to keep good photos of all age “known” age clases of bucks to improve your ability to accurately age deer while whitetail hunting. That way, when you get photos of deer that you are unsure of, you can compare them to your file photos and judge the new whitetail buck based on the above criteria.

Feeding Record Rack for Whitetail?

Question: I am trying to improve my whitetail deer herd for better whitetail hunting. To accomplish this goak, I’ve started feeding protein to additional nutrition to the local deer herd. What do you think about using Record Rack protein pellets because it’s the one I’ve been feeding?

Answer: Record Rack is fine choice for adding supplemental nutrition to whitetail diets. If you are interested in other options, I would compare the mineral and vitamin percentages with Purina or other brands. Many feed stores will mix their own pelleted deer feed, but make sure you check the nutritional content for a head-to-head comparison of products. Continue reading Feeding Record Rack for Whitetail?