Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2017 i Deer & Deer Hunting

“ THE ONLY WAY TO BE TRULY SATISFIED IS TO DO WHAT YOU BELIEVE IS GREAT WORK . AND THE ONLY WAY TO DO GREAT WORK IS TO LOVE WHAT YOU DO . IF YOU HAVEN’T FOUND IT YET , KEEP LOOKING AND DON’T SETTLE . HAVE THE COURAGE TO FOLLOW YOUR HEART AND INTUITION . ” - MERCE CARDUS It takes guts to give up everything you know to start over. But it takes something else — vision, imaginaion,creativity, inventiveness, among other things — to kick-start an industry. That’s exactly what the founders of this magazine had … in spades. The first issue of Deer & Deer Hunting appeared 40 years ago this month, but history will show that its roots trace back to a 1960s hunting camp who…

National interest in white-tailed deer hunting began building during the 1950s, as modern wildlife management techniques took hold. Regulated seasons, bag limits and aggressive forest management allowed herds to build and spread across areas that were devoid of whitetails. Sportsmen took notice and deer hunter numbers increased dramatically throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. In the 1960s, a group of Wisconsin hunters formed a camp and called themselves “The Stump Sitters.” They were not only passionate about hunting, they craved more information about the animals they pursued. They soon attracted like-minded individuals and, by 1973, were large enough that they incorporated. Their mission was simply to learn more about deer and share these insights with each other. “Before Al Hofacker and I started the Stump Sitters Whitetail Study Group, we…

Mortally wounded bucks can behave in strange ways, but the giant Illinois whitetail had even John Engelken shaking his head. After leaving a huge tract of timber, the buck walked to a farmhouse and crossed the yard, leaving a drop of blood not far from its picture window. When Engelken finally put his hands on the buck’s antlers, he was close enough to the house that he could look into a side window. Engelken, among the country’s masters at recovering deer with trained dogs, has learned to accept such bizarre blood trails as a matter of course. “I think it’s kind of built-in to what I do,” he laughed. “Typically I only get called in on the hard trails; the ones where a hunter or outfitter can’t find the deer,…

Safety Equipment: Inspect carefully for expiration dates, damage and wear, and make sure everything is stored together. Hunting Tools: Be sure sights and scopes are secure and sighted-in, and that you have sufficient ammo, bolts and arrows. Inspect bow strings and replace if needed. Stands: Inspect and repair all stands (portable and permanent) and repair/ replace as needed. Now would be a good time to paint permanent stands and make sure they’re in safe and clean condition. Transportation: Make sure ATVs, trailers and hunting trucks are in good repair and inspect tires, including spares. Do all maintenance well in advance of hunting season. Clothing: Be sure that you have all the clothing you need for the upcoming season. Clean, repair and replace as needed.…

As any seasoned hunter knows, there are many variables that go into tagging a buck of a lifetime, but there is one factor that perhaps outweighs all others — habitat. Steve Bartylla’s book “White-tailed Deer Management and Habitat Improvement” gives hunters and property owners the tools they require to make their land veritable deer factories. Drawing upon Bartylla’s 20-plus years of experience creating and managing whitetail properties, this book spells out practical and potent strategies to improve every aspect of a hunting parcel. From creating more cover to adding the right forage to getting whitetails to move to desired areas, the veteran land manager and host of the online series “Grow ‘em Big” leaves no stone unturned when it comes to deer management and habitat improvement. Bartylla also touches upon…

Those who read this column regularly have heard about the old hand-cranked meat grinder that is an heirloom in my family, having come over “on the boat” from Bohemia with my great grandmother in the late 1800s. I’m sure the grinder wasn’t used for venison in the old country, because those mostly poor but certainly hard-working folks could barely make ends meet working from dawn until dark with a little vegetable garden, a hen house, maybe a cow for milk — and a lot of work as day laborers. There was little time for hunting, and probably no access to the local duke’s forest and game anyway. Such was the life of many of our collective ancestors — and part of what brought them to America. Fate being what it…

1 ALPS OutdoorZ Packs For short or long hunts, ALPS OutdoorZ Big Bear X pack is a dual-use rig that will get you there and back in style. It’s constructed of tough, abrasion-resistant 1680 ballistic nylon with an 800-square-inch lumbar pack and additional 1,900 square inches in the daypack. The new Crusader X and Bandit duffel bags offer similar rugged design and lots of space. You’ll be covered whether you’re hauling boots and camo for the woods or boots and casual wear for a weekend away with friends. Info: www.AlpsOutdoorz.com 2 Ameristep Supernatural Blind With the new Ameristep Supernatural Blind’s NATURSHELL exterior fabric, shiny glare is a thing of the past. The proprietary fabric includes natural fibers that eliminate the sheen seen on some other fabrics, and with…

It was a brisk November evening. A boy and his father were bundled up in layers upon layers of clothing and had a small heater in their box blind. They were braving the cold for the chance at shooting a deer. The season was almost over, and it would be one of the boy’s last chances of the year. Then, all of a sudden, there was a sound in the hushed forest, a crunching noise. Probably just a squirrel, the boy thought to himself. But it was no squirrel. In the dim light a white-tailed deer appeared and the boy’s attitude changed from bored to wide awake in the blink of an eye. The boy’s father ranged the deer — broadside at a stiff 100 yards away. He knew it…

Always curious and highly innovative, Engelken is in the process of training a raven to assist his bloodhounds in tracking injured deer. Ravens (as well as crows and eagles) are noted sight-hunting, carrion-eaters with an uncanny ability to quickly locate dead animals. “I spent a long time in the Arctic, and from time to time a raven would join me and my dog as we trekked, just flying along with us,” Engelken said. “Since then I’ve wanted one, and I’m finally in the process of training one.” Since it’s illegal to possess a wild crow or raven of American lineage (though it’s legal to kill them, of course), Engelken had to buy one from Africa. “I’m not hunting her yet, as I have some training to do, and I’m very…

The history of D&DH magazine began well before the first issue appeared in 1977. During the late 1960s, Brauer, an insurance salesman, and Hofacker, an electrician, were members of a deer hunting camp in northern Wisconsin called “The Stump Sitters.” The camp consisted of about a dozen diehard deer hunters who hunted only during the gun-deer season, with the exception of Brauer and Hofacker, who were so passionate about whitetails that they hunted with recurve bows (a novelty back then), as well as 35mm cameras. As the ’60s gave way to the ’70s, Brauer and Hofacker thirsted for, but could not find, in-depth information about white-tailed deer. This prompted them to found The Stump Sitters Whitetail Study Group in 1973, a members-only club where deer hunters could share their insights…

Over the past 30 years, game cameras have evolved from expensive, cumbersome film units to affordable, compact digital outfits. These advancements have contributed to the increasingly widespread use of game cameras in outdoor pursuits, and allowed this technology to become firmly entrenched as an integral part of white-tailed deer hunting and management. Today’s game cameras allow users to capture limitless numbers of videos and images that can be used to scout for the next hunt and learn more about the specific population characteristics of deer herds, including fawn production (i.e. recruitment), sex ratio and deer abundance. Land managers and wildlife professionals frequently turn to game cameras when surveying deer herds because of the wealth of information provided at a relatively low cost, and, as such, camera surveys often play a…

This venison chili recipe is provided by Stacy Lyn Harris, a best selling cookbook author, blogger and speaker. She regularly appears on cable and broadcast television series as a guest chef and sustainable/lifestyle expert as well as contributing to various national publications. For more information, subscribe to her websites, www.StacyLynHarris.com and www.GameAndGarden.com and follow her on her social networks @stacylynharris. INGREDIENTS 1 16-ounce can of tomatoes, diced 1 Tbsp. minced canned chipotle chili in adobe sauce 5 slices bacon, finely chopped 4 pounds venison stew meat, cut into ½-inch cubes Pepper and Kosher salt 2 Tbsp. olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped 1 can kidney beans 3 Tbsp. chili powder 1½ tsp. ground cumin 1 ½ tsp. oregano 4 garlic cloves, minced 4 cups beef…

It’s not uncommon to get a call or email about a strange occurrence found on a deer — from “messed up” antlers and hooves, to missing testicles on what appears to be a buck. But one of the most common deer phenomenon I’m asked about deals with various observable growths. Though some, such as cutaneous fibromas often called “deer warts,” might be more common than others, they still draw attention. One common growth that is often misidentified is the seroma, or hydro-cyst. These large growths appear near the brisket on deer, though in some rare instances might show up in other areas of the body. They often resemble a basketball stuffed under the hide. When someone spots one of these growths, they commonly think it’s a cancerous tumor. In the…

Big changes have come to Deer & Deer Hunting-TV this year. The show has moved to Pursuit Channel and is the anchor of the new “Deer & Deer Hunting Saturday Night Deer Camp.” This is a carefully selected block of great white-tailed deer hunting shows, anchored by the 13th season of legendary D&DH-TV. Hosts Dan Schmidt, Gordy Krahn, Steve Bartylla and Mark Kayser will be highlighted on exciting hunts while providing great information on various hunting topics. The iconic show will be joined by Destination Whitetail and Land of Whitetail, two of hunting’s most popular series, also produced by F+W Outdoors, parent company of Deer & Deer Hunting. D&DH-TV along with Destination Whitetail, Land of Whitetail and other D&DH web shows can also be found at Deer-Hunter.TV Deer-Hunter.TV, and…