Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2015 i Deer & Deer Hunting

The theme for this year’s meeting, “Integrating the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation into Deer Management,” was addressed by several keynote speakers at the beginning of the conference. Dr. Jim Miller (Mississippi State University) presented an overview of the highly successful model while Don White, Jr. (University of Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station) questioned the model’s ability to sustain the many changes in society that have occurred since its inception almost 200 years ago. Established at a time when populations of these highly relegated “charismatic” species such as deer, elk and wild sheep reached dangerously low population levels from overharvest, the model served wildlife well during what we refer to as the conservation or protection era. But that is no longer the case as populations of those high-profile species have…

The theft of Ryan Bendelow’s buck might seem straightforward, but the case presented many challenges. That’s why Illinois Department of Natural Resources officer Dan Sandman had to proceed carefully and follow strict protocol while investigating the incident. Sandman, now retired, talked with Deer & Deer Hunting about details of the investigation, which ultimately led to the conviction. D&DH: During your initial visit to (the suspect’s) home, when you found the deer in his garage and questioned him about the ammo he used, why couldn’t you confiscate the buck as soon as it was evident he was lying? Couldn’t he have been ticketed for falsifying records or failure to notify because he tagged the buck with a harvest tag instead of contacting the DNR for an appropriate salvage tag? Wouldn’t that…

I’m a pack junkie. I have packs from more than 15 years ago and some I’ve gotten recently. Big daypacks, small waist packs, shoulder strap packs, packs with lots of pockets for too much stuff and others with too few pockets to hold enough. Packs with belts that cut into my waist, others with enough padding to be comfy for days. Packs with bad zippers and packs with uber-zippers. Deer hunters have used packs for centuries, maybe even longer. Native Americans had pouches fashioned from deerskins — some plain and some decorated with beads or shells. Europeans, Asians and Africans of olden times had similar pouches and bags for their gear, muzzleloader items and anything else they needed to carry in the field. Daniel Boone and America’s pioneers fashioned a…

Every hunter should wear a fall arrest system every minute they are off the ground. But, remember earlier D&DH articles pointed out that hanging relaxed in a safety harness can still kill you. The danger, called suspension trauma, occurs when a hunter hangs in a harness with his or her legs down and relaxed. The pooling of blood in the legs causes a loss of blood pressure leading to fainting, eventually resulting in death. During the past few years, equipment has been developed that reduces this risk, ranging from simple straps attached to a harness that a hunter can “stand” in, to descent systems for suspended hunters. Pick a self-rescue system and then practice with it until you know it thoroughly. When you are practicing, be sure to have a…

The idea of shooting a whitetail far from a road, deep in a draw, far back in the brushy hinterlands, or anyplace else where the drag would be long and difficult – or downright impossible – is precisely the kind of thinking that has saved many a whitetail’s hide over the years. But that shouldn’t stop you from hunting the best, most distant and most secluded whitetail coverts, where your chances for success are best. Armed with the following methods of getting your venison out, you’ll be able to hunt with confidence in all the places that whitetails roam. Six-Piece Plan To make the most of a whitetail’s prime cuts of meat, breaking the deer down into six easy-to-carry pieces is an efficient and effective plan. These six key parts…

Take advantage of the bounty of summer and get ready for deer season with a Weston Dehydrator, so you can make great veggie snacks and jerky the whole family can enjoy. Weston’s dehydrators include six- and 10-tray models along with a commercial grade model, all designed with horizontal air flow so you don’t have to rotate the trays. The six- and 10-tray dehydrators come with a quiet fan, color coded thermostat that adjusts from 84 to 155 degrees Fahrenheit and solid ABS thermoplastic housing. They’re lightweight and easy to clean, too. Fruit, veggies and meat easily release from the trays when done. The stainless steel model has more than 15 square feet of drying space, with trays measuring 16.25x13.34 and benefit-ting from the horizontal air flow. It has a 10-hour…

In bowhunting you regularly hear trite lines such as “Speed Kills” or “The Need for Speed.” And of course in the world of archery advertising nothing grabs you by the metaphorical lapels more convincingly than bragging that one bow’s faster than another, or better, the fastest of all. Perusing such hyperbole you might come away believing speed’s all that truly matters. Read the articles contained in those same periodicals and you begin to glean a much different picture. The phrase “speed bow” itself is highly subjective. Archery technology moves forward at such a meteoric pace that what was fast yesterday will illicit yawns today. I easily recall finally surpassing 300 fps – at great cost to shooting comfort, silence and forgiveness. Three hundred’s available in the most economical bow models…

1 Rage Chisel-Tip SC Upgrades to the new Rage Chisel Tip SC broadhead include incorporation of the proven Shock Collar blade retention and deployment system and a more aerodynamic, redesigned ferrule. With .035-inch razor-sharp stainless steel blades, the Chisel Tip SC will put down deer and other big game animals with ease, thanks to the 2-inch cutting diameter. It’s available in 100-grain models, coming three to a pack along with a practice head. Info: www.RageBroadheads.com 2  Wood N’ Stream Platinum Wood N’ Stream has partnered with 3M and added its patented Thinsulate Platinum Insulation with X-Static antimicrobial odor control technology in several new boot lines this year. Included are the Instigator, Gunner, Mountain Ridge, Maniac, Navigator and Endeavor Extreme series boots. The long-lasting X-Static technology helps eliminate…

I enjoy Deer and Deer Hunting magazine! Best publication around for deer hunting, especially archery. However, I need to point out a VERY SERIOUS error in the “Tree-stand Safety Tips” feature on page 57 in the August 2015 issue where it reads, “Put a whistle, horn, strobe, two-way radio or a cell phone in your pack.” Question: Your pack is hanging on a tree hook so it’s accessible when you’re hunting, or it’s at the bottom of the tree tied to your haul line. You fall and are hanging in your harness, or worse. Where is your emergency device? Not where you are. Put and keep those devices on your body, in a shirt pocket, etc. I’m a certified NBEF/IBEP Bowhunter Education instructor volunteer with Texas Parks and Wildlife. Also…

When I began deer hunting back in the 1970s with my father, he carried a sling pouch for our lunches and ammo. Nothing else. I remember he had a duffle bag from his days in basic training that we tossed some sleeping bags and clothing into, but we didn’t have any kind of real backpacks. Those were for camping, right? Well, those days are way past gone. Backpacks aren’t just for Western hunters, campers or mountain climbers. With the great variety available today it’s important to shop around to find just the right pack for your needs. Here are few things to consider: • Lightweight and durable models are available because of tougher fabrics and better designs incorporating tacked corners, welded seams and space age materials. • A hydration bag…

The sport of deer hunting is one of the safest recreational activities around. Millions of hunters go afield every year and probably the most common injury is a minor cut from a hunting knife. But because deer hunting is so safe, it’s easy to be lulled into a sense of, “It can’t happen to me.” An attitude of invincibility, my hunting friends, is a dangerous one to have. We can’t avoid all risks, but we can anticipate the major ones and take actions to maximize safety, so we can continue to enjoy the sport we love. Just remember, an accident can happen to anyone, at any time. A Scientific Look at Safety My colleague Dr. Eric Jones and I make our livings as research scientists, so we approach deer hunting…

If there aren’t any trees available for hanging your deer, you can skin it on the ground. Carry and use a tarp or small roll of plastic sheeting. After field dressing, put the deer on its back and cut up the deer’s chest, all the way up the bottom of the neck. Slice up the front legs to meet the first cut. Peel the skin down around the neck and brisket and then pull it down off the chest and sides. Cut down the inside of the back legs and peel that skin back and down. Flop the deer over a couple times to remove the skin from the back. Cut through the tail base. Pull the skin away, then proceed with your chunking or boning work. Don’t forget to…

Kevin Clouse was hunting with Tombstone Creek Outfitters in Missouri four years ago when he and his hunting buddy separately saw a monstrous deer they immediately nicknamed the Beer Can Buck, because of its massive beams. Clouse saw it about 80 yards away and shot some video with his phone. Two evenings later, his buddy saw it chasing does about 75 yards away. Both realized this was a buck of a lifetime, which isn’t all that uncommon in the Show Me State. In 2012, they didn’t see the buck, but a couple of game cameras captured images of it at night. Smart buck, being cautious, staying in the same area. The year before it had been chasing does when Clouse and his buddy saw it. The buck was caught on…

LAND of WHITETAIL Every passionate deer hunter wants to know everything he or she can about whitetails. “Land of Whitetail” takes you along on some great hunts, but also teaches you about our most popular game animal, too. You’ll find out what makes them tick, why you find them in a location, and how their feeding patterns affect your hunting. Shows air on the Pursuit Channel and include Food Plots with a Purpose, Feeders: Nutrition vs. Hunting, Land Management, Last Minute Prep and much more! View the show on Pursuit Channel. SHOPDEERHUNTING.COM Gun Digest Shooter’s Guide to Rifle Marksmanship If you’re heading to the range to zero a new scope, burn some powder and get ready for firearms deer season then the “Gun Digest Shooter’s Guide to Rifle…

Illinois uses a point system for license revocation/privilege suspensions. State law holds that each time someone is found guilty of a wildlife code violation by an Illinois circuit court or a U.S. District Court in an Illinois district, the number of points assigned to that violation will be charged against that person. The defendant in the Copper buck case was convicted of trespassing and the wrongful taking of game. He was assessed nine points for one violation and three for the other. “His second (conviction) was assessed three because of the single-incident rule,” said Dan Sandman, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources officer who investigated the case. “The points are in our database from three years from date of conviction. Anytime you accrue more than 12 points in any three-year…

You’ve likely heard of the October lull, when whitetails seemingly go underground prior to the rut explosion. Research proves it’s more myth than reality, but you couldn’t prove that by my Wyoming experience. I had teamed up with the experts at Big Buck Outfitters and although deer sightings were constant, mature local bucks had seemingly disappeared off the face of the Earth. Outfitter Brian Beisher suggested we leave the river-bottom and move into the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains. Maybe a change of venue would improve our luck. Rifle hunters generally save the famed month of November for their whitetail hunts, but a handful of states offer the option of buck encounters prior to the rut. Montana’s season opens in October as does my home state of Wyoming. South Carolina…

For me, a pack is one of those “don’t leave home without it” items that I’ve used for more than 30 years. I remember as a kid carrying all of my gear in my pants and jacket pockets. It didn’t bother me at the time but it would drive me crazy now. I guess we learn how to hunt smarter as we grow older. I’m a stickler when it comes to organization, and that’s what a good pack will do for you – help keep you organized and more efficient so you can hunt smarter and more enjoyably. It’s like the difference between driving to a hunting location or flying there. If I’m driving, I invariably bring too much gear. I just keep piling it in the truck. Hey, I…

There are about 11 million (86 percent) treestand hunters of the almost 13 million deer hunters in the United States. When I began deer hunting in the mid-1960s, hunters who wished to hunt from elevated stands primarily built platforms in trees, using ladders or steps nailed to the tree trunk to climb up to the stand. Often, construction was not the best, and after a couple of seasons the tree trunk would grow and pull the nails through the boards, or sometimes the boards simply rotted away. During the 1970s, treestand hunting experienced a major evolution when the Baker Company of Valdosta, Georgia, marketed the first commercial climbing portable treestand. The old Baker stand could be easily carried to the ambush spot and hung on a tree. In about 1976,…

Whitetail lore’s filled with sage advice suggesting the best possible periods to kill trophy bucks. Many of these treatises put forth the proposition that no other seasons than those under discussion are viable, or as often, that hunting during such periods all but guarantees success. Of course, in whitetail hunting most especially, nothing’s ever guaranteed, but we all strive to improve our standing against an arguably superior chess player. We also understand, in broader terms, those ideal circumstances – conditions allowing you to climb into cold stands with cocksure anticipation – can prove as concrete as fairy dust. I mean, really, how often do things actually click into place like a crossword puzzle you inconceivably have all the answers to? Obviously, seldom during the single week, or just a weekend,…

I spotted the buck on a wooded fence line about the same time it spotted me. The deer stood staring in my direction, and when I decided it was time to move on and started heading toward it, the buck eventually took off in an awkward run, turning into a four-footed bounce, which led to it tripping and skidding forward on its nose. It was one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen in the deer world and wondered if the deer was blind in one eye or had some other type of affliction. Years later, I mentioned the encounter to Wildlife Research Biologist Bill Wishart, who worked for the Alberta Fish and Wildlife Department, and after describing the characteristics of the animal the topic of deer hybridization came up.…

Our grandfathers, great-grandfathers and hunting ancestors before them wouldn’t have dreamed of leaving the heart and liver of a whitetail out in the woods for the wolves and coyotes to scavenge. Those organs represented the hard work of a hunt well done, as well as nutritious protein for a hungry family that was glad to have it. Today, perspectives seem to have changed. Fewer and fewer hunters bother to save the heart and liver from their kills. One reason for this relates to the relative abundance of deer we are blessed with in modern times. With the opportunity to harvest multiple deer each year between archery, firearms, muzzleloader and special seasons, it doesn’t seem as important as it once was to save a whitetail’s heart and liver for consumption. But…