Whitetail Hunting

Long Island Whitetail Buck with Quadruple Beams!

Bigs whitetail bucks from Iowa, Illinois, and Texas get tons of press, but there are also some big bruisers produced in New England, believe it or not. One lucky deer hunter managed to harvest a big white-tailed buck on the afternoon of Monday, October 26. It was then that Bjorn Holubar headed into the woods near Brookhaven Long Island to hunt a thicket where he had discovered several big rubs just the day before.

He did everything that he could to make sure the big buck did not detect his presence, then he walked out a few hours later with the remarkable 200-class 20 pointer pictured above. The buck is an amazing quadruple-beamed buck that has an excellent chance to break the New York state archery record. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, but on this day it looks like Mr. Holubar was both!

Hunting white-tailed deer is not only challenging, but it is exciting as well. For centuries, hunters have gone whitetail hunting for food, but more recently deer hunting has also involved sport hunting. In addition to recreational hunting, hunters and landowners have begun to implement intensive whitetail deer management programs to improve the health and quality of the deer and habitat found on their properties. When it comes to whitetail deer hunting, all hunters are looking for techniques that will make them more successful. Whether it be bagging a deer or bagging a mature buck, whitetail deer hunting is a challenge. Continue reading Whitetail Hunting

Big Kaufman County Whitetail Buck Harvested

Eric Minter with 27 Point Non-Typical Buck

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game warden Eric Minter is living large. That’s because on October 21 he found himself as the lucky hunter staring down the buck of a lifetime from a Gorilla treestand hung high in a creek bottom filled with white oaks raining acorns. When all was said and done, it was Minter putting his own tag on a whopper 27-point non-typical Kaufman County buck. There is no official green score number on the multi-tined monster yet, one look at the photos from the buck would lead one to believe that this deer will score well above the 200-inch mark on the non-typical side of the Boone and Crockett scoring sheet.

“I’ve been kind of leery of telling everybody just yet because I don’t know what he scores and I don’t want to guess and it be a lot lower or higher than I expected,” Minter said. “But this is unbelievable.” Some observers who have looked at the whitetail think it’s possible that the Minter buck could potentially challenge the existing Pope & Young Club state record non-typical in Texas, a 225 7/8 inch buck taken by bowhunter Jeffery L. Duncan on the Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge back in 2001. Not bad for Minter’s first bow buck. Continue reading Big Kaufman County Whitetail Buck Harvested

Minnesota Bowhunter Bags 16 Point Buck

Minnesota Public Land Monster

Minnesota has big deer and big time deer hunters, so it’s not surprise that another nice buck was harvested this year on public land through some smart hunting. Minnesota’s tough winters make for large bodied deer, and large bodied deer tend to produce outstanding antler mass. But not only does the 16 point buck harvested by Chris Wenisch have mass, the buck has tine length, to0.

Source: Chris Wenisch, an environmental health specialist with the Kandiyohi County Public Health Department in Minnesota, tagged this 16-point public land prize one week after missing a tough shot on the buck at 30 yards. View the slideshow to learn how a smart move put Wenisch in perfect position to make the most of his second chance.

Six Legged Fawn Photo and Video

Six Legged Fawn

White-tailed deer are survivors, but this has got to be the toughest deer ever. A six legged deer fawn was discovered in Georgia. Though the fawn was born with 6 legs, 50% more than the average deer, that was not enough for this poor little critter to endure. The fawn also has two tails, two pelvises and uses one leg from each pelvis to walk.

If that was not enough, the fawn had to be rushed to a nearby animal clinic for emergency surgery after being attacked by dogs. It was reported that one of the tails had to be amputated. The vet said,”It received minor injuries from the dogs but is now recovering — and doing quite well.”

A fawn with six legs really is really an anomaly. It appears it is an identical twin that didn’t form all the way. Vets and biologist are reportedly reluctant to release the young fawn back into its natural habitat and are considering sending it to the University of Georgia to be studied.

Whitetail Hunting: First Bow Buck Kill

Reader Submitted on October 19, 2009

I’ve been bow hunting white-tailed deer ever since I started shooting archery in 4-H Shooting Sports (almost 12 years ago now). However I’ve never taken a deer, buck or doe, with a bow. Now that I’ve been out of college for a while, I have had more time to dedicate to deer hunting. The property I hunt is located in Colorado County, not far from Speaks, Texas. I’ve been trying to make it out all all month, but with the bad weather and college football games my time has been limited.

So, I finally make it out this middle of October Saturday morning. I’m sitting in my tree enjoying the cool air and watching the geese fly over. My deer stand backs up to a rice field. From out on the prairie field comes 2 does on a dead run and they stop about 40 yards from the tree I’m set up in. Then seconds later, a whitetail buck comes trotting up behind, nose to ground, neck swollen, and on their trail. I grab my bow and nock an arrow. Unfortunately, he never stops despite my yelling at him.

That evening, I return to my tree to wait. After being on stand for an hour and a half, the same buck comes walking up from behind me and proceeds to start munching on some fallen oak leaves. I manage to twist my body and nock an arrow without being detected. As he stands broadside, I pull back and my arrow falls to the ground! The young buck turns, but does not know what’s going on. In what seem like seconds, I nock a second arrow, pull back, and release. The next thing I see is the orange fletching on my arrow sticking out his side.

Nervous and shaking, I call my dad off his stand where he was hog hunting an open field. He arrives about 15 minutes later and I crawl out of the tree. We go search for my buck. Following what seemed to be a text book blood trail, there he lay only 50 steps from where I shot him. My first buck with a bow was not a big one, but one I will never forget.

The experience has taken me to a whole new level of whitetail hunting enthusiasm. The white-tailed buck, taken in an one of Texas’ antler restriction counties, is a spike with a 12 inch beam one side and a 3.5 inch antler on the other.

Deer Management on Small Acreage

Question: A couple fellow deer hunters and I were talking about managing whitetail deer on low fence land. The topics of buck to doe ratio, mature bucks, and letting deer go and grow all came up. The question nobody could give a good solid answer to was “if you start taking doe to get a better ratio, will the bucks leave the ranch to go where there are more does?” Most of these hunters hunt properties ranging from from 200 to 900 acre low fence properties. What do you think, because I was of the opinion that property size would play a big role? Less deer means more food for the ones there already, but I can also see where the bucks might just go to another ranch that has an abundance of doe?

Answer: The positives of a good deer management program definitely out weigh all of the concerns you mentioned regarding your local deer population. A better buck to doe ratio will give you a more defined rut, but you also have to realize that if you reduce the number of deer on your property, then neighboring deer will also move into your ranch. Particulary when times are tough. Antlers will get better with a lower deer density. Of course, with a better buck to doe ratio you will see more of your bucks, and it just makes the hunt more fun in my opinion.

If you have small acreage then concentrate on improving your deer habitat and making certain parts of your ranch sancuary areas that you simply stay out of. Thats the way to hold mature bucks on your property. Most people hunt every square inch of small properties and that’s where they go wrong. Bucks can roam as much as 3 to 5 miles in one day during the rut, so you will not be able to hold all your bucks, but you will probably gain some, too. I have regularly harvested does on our ranch and activity during the rut is awsome. We also see some of the same bucks year after year.

I know some guys that have been managing a 640 acre low fence place for the past 12 years with some outstanding results. And yes, the ranches around us are deer hunted, too.

Improving Buck to Doe Ratio

Question: I recently purchased a 700 acre ranch located in North Texas and am interested in deer and habitat management. I am confident that the buck to doe ratio is skewed and that there are many more does than bucks. Over the past hunting season we made quite a few deer observations from hunting blinds, and we saw about 5 does for every buck. And most bucks were young. We don’t really have an idea of what the total deer density is, but we know that we want to remove about 50% of the does so that we can get the ratio down to 2 does for every buck. What do you think?

Answer: I must point out that removing whitetail deer from your property, regardless of sex, creates more food for the remaining deer population. Everyone understands this simple concept, but don’t forget that deer will adjust their home ranges from neighboring lands and likely spend more time on your property because of decreased competition for forage. If the deer habitat on your property is at least as good as your neighbors habitat, then deer in the area will “immigrate” onto your ranch (meaning it will become a more important component of their home range) and re-balance.

If your deer habitat is much better than the surrounding area, then whitetail deer will continue to move onto your property (use your ranch much more) at much higher rates and you will see rapid changes with regard to buck to doe ratio. Bucks always position themselves for optimal food. This is why whitetail bucks are always anchored next to protein feeders, high quality food plots, and the best natural forage. So removing half of the does will improve your ratio, but remember than additional does and bucks will move in from surrounding ranches. It will take several hunting seasons, but it can be done.