Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2023 i Deer & Deer Hunting

It is with heavy hearts that we pass along the news that longtime D&DH contributor Dr. Leonard Lee Rue III has left this world to be with his Holy Father. He was 96. If there’s one person who has changed the way modern American hunters understand whitetails, it’s Dr. Leonard Lee Rue III. Known simply as “Lennie” to his friends, he is widely credited for his landmark insights on deer behavior. He pioneered such research when he became a private-land wildlife manager more than 65 years ago. This legendary naturalist, author-photographer and wildlife behaviorist worked for more than 70 years and traveled to all seven continents. He compiled more than 30 books on wildlife, including the landmark “Deer of North America” (1978) that was the first and foremost source of…

Everyone has at some point asked this question. What is the best way to handle the Moment of Truth, the moment we should be preparing to take the most high-percentage shot? To handle it right takes training, learning and self-control. That’s why it is the best idea to takes does or small bucks early in your bowhunting career. Being able to think “been there, done that” is a welcome and necessary factor when a game animal you really want strolls past your stand. You need to be fully aware that a direct look in the wild animal world is a look of dominance and/or predation, or a close examination of something worrisome. Prey species look directly at something bothering them, to check it out. Cats and wolves … and us,…

This recipe can be customized to your tastes and can be creatively adapted to whatever supplies you may have on hand. For this recipe, we typically use a single femur bone to make 4 quarts of bone broth, but other large bones such as a bone-in shank or shoulder blade would work as well. Don’t worry about completely cleaning meat off the bones, any leftover bits will just add to the flavor of the broth. However, it is important to saw or break the bones so the marrow is exposed and can flavor the bone broth. Additionally, any vegetables added into the broth do not need to be peeled or prepared other than simply chopping. So, you can utilize portions of vegetables you might not otherwise consume, such as onion…

Deer research continues to produce new, interesting and sometimes controversial findings. For example, application of new techniques and larger study sample sizes have generated evidence that challenges long-held beliefs regarding white-tailed deer reproductive behavior. Anyone who thinks they are completely versed in whitetail breeding-related behavior had better not become too entrenched in their way of thinking. As I discussed in the September 2010 issue of Deer & Deer Hunting, a recent study using GPS radio-collars indicates estrous females do not necessarily employ a passive, energy-conserving — sit-and-wait — mating strategy, as formerly believed. Apparently, estrous females commonly leave their home range for a brief period in search of the best possible mate. Likewise, researchers have apparently overestimated the importance of male dominance in the whitetail’s mating system. Based largely upon…

I like to walk and stand when I hunt. This change of pace can be good and bad. Good because if I move slowly and stand enough, I have a good chance of staying reasonably warm and a good chance of seeing game animals before they see me. The potentially bad part? I have Type II diabetes, as do more and more people. Diabetic feet lose their sensitivity, are no fun in any weather, and in cold weather may cause serious problems – frostbite or freezing without knowing it. What we don’t feel can seriously hurt us, taking away most or all of the enjoyment of being active outdoors in cold weather. There’s also a thing called pre-diabetes. That means our body is getting ready to have full-blown diabetes, sometimes…

Phenomenal is the only way to describe the big buck hunting success of 21-year-old Gregory Shembarger from Berrien Center, Michigan. By the time he was 20, he had two Boone & Crockett-qualifying nontypicals to his credit, both of which scored more than 200 inches and each deer was shot with a muzzleloading rifle. Coincidentally, the racks of both bucks have 22 points. Shembarger got the “smallest” of the two whitetails on property his family owns in southern Michigan’s Berrien County on November 23, 2021. The antlers from that whitetail gross scored 211 and netted 201 1/8. Gregory got his first booner in Illinois on December 5, 2019 at the age of 18 on property his family had been leasing for years. The massive rack on that deer had a gross…

Four different people, plus one rifle, plus five shots each, equals 1 MOA. That’s what the .30-06 CZ Alpha 600 was able to do out of the box at 200 yards with Sierra 165-gr. TGK Gamechanger ammunition. When I first received the loaner rifle, all I had for testing was a few boxes of old hunting ammunition. Old, meaning slightly worn cardboard boxes with stickers advertising a price of $6.80 for a box of 20 rounds. In today’s world, that’s ancient pricing. Even so, from a rest the rifle managed just more than 1.5 MOA with that hunting, not match, ammunition. I’ll admit that the .30-06 isn’t my go-to round. Unless I’m shooting light reloads out of a Garand, it generally throws me around more than is fun. Even with…

The passing of whitetail behaviorist Dr. Leonard Lee Rue III in November (see page 6) sent waves through the hunting community. Here’s a sample of what fellow D&DH readers had to say about him on our social media pages: RAY OLSEN Glad to have his book, “Deer of North America,” in my library. I ordered it when I was 14 years old. Rest in peace, Dr. Rue. JAKE SZUMIGALA One of the greats on deer. Rest easy, sir, and thank you for all you taught us. SCOOT RAINES I can’t think of a single person that knew more about white-tailed deer than Leonard. DAVID WHITE I met the man. Extraordinary knowledge of the whitetail; his photography was great; and I have a signed picture, of which I will cherish. BOB…

I enjoy swapping and reviewing chips. That’s a given for many hunters. That said, my two favorite swaps of the year are the first late summer swap and the first after gun seasons are closed. The first tells me what I have, while the second gives me a good picture of what next season could potentially become. Today, let’s focus on getting a thorough inventory of bucks after the gun seasons are closed, as that’s either happening or will be real soon. Unlike when I was a kid and believed that nary a single buck could have possibly survived the orange army’s onslaughts, a bunch do every year. Here’s how I’ve inventoried the survivors for many years running, now. PILING IT ON Where legal, simply offering a single bait pile…

One of my most memorable confrontations with whitetails occurred on the shore of Clifford Stream on a cold and frosty Veterans Day morning. It was still dark, but a streak of pink showed on the eastern horizon when I beached my canoe two miles from my remote camp on the shore of Musquash Bay in northeastern Maine. After securing my watercraft to a shoreline fir, I entered the dense blackgrowth cedar swamp and took up a trail I had previously hacked out of the thickets. A short hike brought me to the first of a chain of knolls that lined the stream. I had never hunted the area before, but I had scouted it thoroughly after the previous hunting season. At the stream, I picked up an archaic logging trail…

Traditional archery has experienced a renaissance of late, with seasoned archers seeking an added challenge that turns even does into a big reward and others simply looking for a simpler bowhunting experience free of technological clutter. Companies such as the venerable Hoyt, Howatt/Martin and Bear Archery Products, and myriad custom makers, are selling traditional bows in numbers not witnessed since before the late 1970s “Compound Revolution.” If you’ve caught the traditional bug, here are some pointers. BUYING SINGLE STRING Traditional bows gain 3 to 4 pounds per inch of draw and have no let-off. Draw weights are stated at a 28-inch IBO standard. When beginning, choose a bow pulling 45 to 50 pounds (even if you pull 70-pound compounds); a take-down model allows buying heavier limbs later if you wish…

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Each year, new ammunition offerings hit the market, and consumers immediately take notice. This is something for deer hunters to recognize, as the latest products sometimes offer advantages you can’t get elsewhere. Here are some of the best. BERGER AMMUNITION ELITE HUNTER Berger Ammunition’s Elite Hunter is available in 6.5 and 300 PRC. In 6.5, it’s a 156-grain bullet, and in 300, it is a 205-grain bullet. Both are optimized for a high ballistic coefficient. It also delivers a hybrid profile for long-range precision. REMINGTON CORE-LOKT TIPPED Remington Ammunition now offers the next generation of Big Green’s Core-Lokt. The company releases the new Core-Lokt Tipped. It features better ballistic coefficient, flight accuracy, and can initiate rapid expansion. Choose from 13 popular calibers ranging from 243 Win. to 300 WSM. HORNADY…

Imagine you’re in a dream, hunting one of the micromanaged, mature-buck-rich properties many of the TV, video and other outdoors personalities hunt, where bucks are not targeted until they are at least 3½ years old. If you’re used to hunting areas with heavy competition, you would be in seventh heaven knowing a mistake before releasing your arrow would not necessarily end an opportunity and would definitely not be a season killer, because you’d get another opportunity at a mature buck. Now wake up, and face the reality that isn’t gonna happen. You simply can’t afford it, or maybe like me, you don’t have the unusual desire for a guaranteed season. So instead, you go out and compete against the masses of other bowhunters for few mature bucks. The few mature…

As seasons are closing or winding down, the thoughts of many hunters and habitat managers start wandering to shed hunting. Who doesn’t love finding a shiny chunk of intact bone, or, even better, a matched set? It’s a thrill! It even serves a couple useful hunting and management purposes, as well as giving us a reason to get off our butts. Though it’s certainly no lock that the bucks whose sheds we find will survive until or be bigger next season, one sure doesn’t hate the odds of either. It’s often one of the first good feels we often get of what could potentially be next season. Here’s how I generally approach shed hunting and where I find most of the bone. SPRING SCOUTING I don’t care how long I…

A proper stir-fry is perfect for venison as this hot-and-fast method ensures your game will finish at medium-rare (or close to it). In this instance, yes, you can use slices from any hindquarter roast, or you can even opt to use trim or cuts from the front quarter. With any cut of meat, when you shorten muscle fibers, you reduce chewiness. Because we are slicing our venison to bite-size pieces that are 1/4-to 1-/2-inch thick, these smaller pieces, even from the front quarter, will result in a tender texture. I have yet to find a store-bought teriyaki sauce that I enjoy, so years ago I took matters into my own hands. This sauce is not complicated and if you enjoy Japanese cuisine, you will find a lot of the ingredients…

Trying to understand how white-tailed deer move is like trying to understand how people move on a given day. In a human’s case, age, personality, where they live, what they like to eat or the comforts they prefer might dictate movement. Not surprisingly, the reasons why whitetails move are very similar. To gain a better understanding of deer behavior, we must look at both the natural and physical factors that cause deer movement. 1. Food. The type and quality of food sources will greatly influence when they move and how far they will go to find the food they prefer 2. Cover. To survive best, whitetails must locate the thickest cover possible in the closest proximity to primary food sources. 3. Weather. Scientific studies show that most whitetail feedings occur when…

White-tailed deer fight to stay alive all of their lives, and human hunters and wild predators are not the only things working against them. Mother Nature can be both tough and cruel, as evidenced in how bucks bounce back from broken antlers and how they sometimes yield to the rigors of the rut. When it comes to antlers, when a buck breaks an antler beam or tine fighting, the damage to the antler will not affect how future antlers will grow. However, if damage is done to the antler pedicle (the cellular bone layer between the skull and antler) there is a real possibility that future antler growth will be compromised. It’s been my experience that when a buck breaks off an antler at the pedicle layer, causing damage to…