Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2018 i Deer & Deer Hunting

The buck flicks his tail and takes two steps. Here we go. He’s perfectly quartering away. Clench that release and bring the bow string back. When that cam turns over, it’s downhill from there. The draw’s back wall is rock solid. It’s time to bare down and relax your grip hand. Wiggle those grip fingers just a tad. You don’t want to torque the shot. One-one-thousand. Lock that top pin on the crease of his shoulder. Two-one-thousand. Hold it still. Three-one-thousand. Exhale. WHAP! The buck kicks then sprints wildly. He stops after about 50 yards and tumbles to the ground. All is again silent. Unleash those endorphins and feel the rush. How many times have you played out this scene in real life? Dozens? A few? Once? Never, but have…

DDH TV  Upcoming Episodes of Deer & Deer Hunting-TV on Pursuit Channel Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m. EST, Thursdays at 3 p.m. EST and 10 p.m. EST. MAY 3: “TC IN TEXAS” Dan Schmidt takes his Thompson/Center to Texas for a tour of big bucks. MAY 10: “HAVE PATIENCE” A windy Kansas bowhunt tests Mark Kayser’s patience to the max. MAY 17: “FEELS LIKE HOME” Dan Schmidt enjoys the hospitality and hunting at the Patterson Ranch in Texas. MAY 24: “LADIES, FOOD AND SAFETY” How to get these three factors working together on your hunting land. MAY 31: “HUNT SMARTER” Tips and tactics to hunt smarter, not harder. JUNE 7: “PEER PRESSURE IN THE DEER WOODS” All about the pressure and stress that deer put on each other. WHAT TO WATCH…

Deer hunters are continually looking for tools and management strategies that will help maximize the quality of hunting opportunities on their properties. In most cases, the goal of these activities is to promote a healthy herd with an abundance of large-antlered bucks. High-quality habitat, adequate doe harvest and restrictive buck harvest are a few fundamentals of deer management familiar to most hunters that can promote quality bucks. But where do you turn when all of the pieces of a solid deer management plan are in place and you’re still not harvesting the bucks that you’d hoped for? The next management target for many becomes herd genetics. It’s no secret that age, nutrition and genetics are the primary factors influencing the antlers grown by a buck, and it’s completely logical to…

As hunters are passing up shot opportunities at younger bucks more and more often, the problem of reliably identifying deer from year to year arises. Oh sure, a few bucks have very distinctive antlers that allow little chance of mistaking them, but there are many more young bucks with few distinctive features relating to their racks. And what about those months when bucks are not sporting antlers? Does that leave recognizing them in the future only to guess work? Not necessarily. There are other characteristics that make each whitetail unique. Sometimes a scar or deformity serves the purpose. Many deer, especially bucks, have damaged ears, and the shape and position of the ripped or missing portion serves to firmly establish the deer’s identity. But it must be kept in mind…

In my first “Grow ’Em Big” column (April 2018 issue), I debunked myths that you need deep pockets, big acres and to kick all of your loved ones off your land in order for habitat improvement projects to be worthwhile. In fact, with careful planning you can hunt the snot out of the ground, with deer seeing it as one big sanctuary. At the same time, you can make all sorts of vital improvements, costing next to nothing more than sweat equity, with these projects actually being more critical for small- and average-sized hunting grounds than for big chunks of land. In this column, I’m going to cover the first steps of planning habitat improvements, before you ever pick up the chainsaw or buy a bag of seed. While goals…

Deer change their diet as winter approaches to a less nutritious woody browse, and it takes a few weeks to make the digestive change. Is this because there is no other food source so the digestive system changes over time to accept the woody browse? Or does the system “automatically” change due to photo-period, and they therefore switch to the woody browse? Another way to ask this: If a deer were in a controlled condition/environment, say in Upstate New York, and was fed succulent forage throughout the year even through winter would its digestive system change? I guess it’s a chicken or the egg question. — Rich George, Edmeston, NY Editor's note: Thanks for the letter, Rich. Your question was the last DDH correspondence we had with Charlie before…

The Hanson Buck broke the previous World Record held by the Jordan buck for close to 80 years. Now, 25 years have passed without another deer knocking it off its throne, confirming just how incredible and rare this massive 14-point typical buck was. For younger hunters who weren’t around and didn’t read the accounts back when Hanson connected on this amazing deer, here’s the true account of how that whitetail was harvested straight from the record-holder’s mouth. FARMER/HUNTER Milo Hanson lives in a remote agricultural area of northern Saskatchewan. Farming is a quiet life, so he looks forward to getting together with his neighbors during the deer season each fall. He enjoys hunting alone, but often meets with a few friends and they put on deer drives through the woodlots…

We live in the age of “sharing.” Rides, homes … pictures of what we ate for lunch, the deer we killed, the deer we caught on trail cameras. But let’s face it, in spite of our sharing mentality, there’s still plenty of competitive spirit out there. Everyone likes to know what person, business or product ranks at the top — the best pitcher, top SUV, smartphone or Mexican restaurant. Or, closer to home, those “Editor Choice” honors for best binoculars, bows and bolt-action rifles. But here’s one you might not have thought of — what is the best food plot seed to plant for whitetails? Yes, hard to do. Comparing apples to oranges. Subjective. Small plot needs are different from big landowner goals. All complaints accepted. But let’s give it…

On the www.SaddleHunter.com hunting forum a member invited me to bowhunt in Ohio. Mike and a friend had hunted the property during early bow and gun seasons and sent pictures of two good bucks to entice me. It worked, but my only available week was immediately after Ohio’s gun season and unfortunately Mike had to work. My first day was spent scouting, and with no snow or foliage, crunchy frozen leaves and it being after gun season, preparing two locations without disrupting deer was impossible. My best setup was in a stand of white pines bordering a weed field. The pines offered concealment cover, buffered the cold winds, and the deep, weed- and brush-filled ravine running along their backside was a perfect bedding area. The location wouldn’t allow morning entries…

SHOPDEERHUNTING.COM White-tailed Deer Management and Habitat Improvement This comprehensive book gives hunters and property owners the tools needed to make their land veritable deer havens. Drawing upon author Steve Bartylla’s 20-plus years of experience creating and managing whitetail hunting properties, this resource spells out practical and potent strategies to improve every aspect of a hunting property. MSRP: $24.99 Info: www.ShopDeerHunting.com  and search SKU S3321 DEER OF THE MONTH  Ken Smith of New York was still-hunting a feeding area on Nov. 20, 2017, with 12 inches of fresh snow on the ground. This beaut of a buck appeared and Ken’s Marlin .308 Win. made the shot count. The buck was estimated to be 7½ years old! Congrats! Submit your deer stories and photos to BigBucks@fwmedia.com  for consideration…

The Rompola Buck. If you’ve been around the deer world as long as I’ve been, a few names need no introduction. That one is perhaps the most infamous. But was it real or just an elaborate fake? And, if it were real, how could it just seemingly disappear almost as fast as it appeared? Let’s back this up. This story starts back in November 1998. The world was a lot simpler then. Relatively few people had computers (we’re talking desktops) with Internet access. Fewer had cell phones. Most of us were still living in a call-you-on-the-rotary-phone or (gasp) send-you-an-actual-letter-in-the-mail kind of world. The news trickled out rather slowly, but it gained momentum quickly. A guy by the name of Mitch Rompola from Traverse City, Mich., allegedly shot a 12-point buck…

Dutch ovens and venison roasts are both so very adaptable in the kitchen that a good cook can create a myriad of delicious meals with them. Johnny Hatridge, of Arkansas, has his own creative spin on the classic. And be sure you don’t forget the corn bread — it’s the perfect complement. INGREDIENTS: 10 cups coffee 5 red potatoes, cut bite-size 2 to 3 pounds deer roast 5 carrots, cut bite-size 1 large onion, diced 4 stalks celery, cut bite-size 4 cloves garlic, diced 4 turnips, cut bite-size, optional 3 Tbsp. olive oil 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 bell pepper, diced Corn starch DIRECTIONS: In a large cast iron Dutch oven, heat olive oil and brown roast on all sides. Add onion, garlic and bell pepper. Pour coffee…

I’ve an issue with kinetic energy — KE — as a unit of measurement for arrow lethality. KE is fine for measuring killing potential for rifle bullets, because hydrostatic shock resulting from extremely high velocities is responsible for much of a bullet’s lethality. Arrows don’t kill through shock, but hemorrhaging via penetrating vital organs. This makes KE, as related to arrow performance, largely meaningless. Yet somehow it remains an industry standard. In terms of arrow penetration, momentum trumps KE every time. Here I hope to clear up confusion in direct relation to bowhunting lethality. ENERGY TRANSFER VS. DEPENDABILITY Before moving forward it’s important to understand that higher momentum — or KE for that matter — doesn’t automatically make arrows more dependable, at least from a standpoint of arrow/broadhead construction. Many…