Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2018 i North American Whitetail

In 1994, Dr. Harry Jacobson and I traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland, to present a plenary paper to the 3rd International Congress on the Biology of Deer. Our paper, “The White-tailed Deer: The Most Managed and Mismanaged species,” shocked many of our fellow professionals. We noted that whitetail populations were basically out of control, resulting in habitat deterioration and significant impacts on the species’ biology. We also predicted increases in diseases as a consequence. Our final recommendation was: “We propose that sport hunting is the most efficient and viable means of controlling deer populations; however, management should control population sex and age ratios as well as numbers. Significant increases in antlerless harvest (to >50 percent of total) is needed in most states. Reduced buck harvest is required to obtain mature age…

THE story of my unbelievable 2017 Illinois bow season actually began 13 years earlier. On Dec. 1, 2004, I shot my biggest buck ever at 214 inches. That was the first time I’d ever set my sights on a specific buck, and within 30 days of my first laying eyes on him, he was wearing my tag. That story should have ended there, except for one issue: I was falsely accused of wrongdoing in taking this deer, and he was confiscated by law enforcement. I hired an attorney and got my rack back, but the whole incident left a bitter taste in my mouth. For whatever reason, I felt I had to prove myself. Those who truly knew me assured me they never doubted I’d done everything legal regarding that…

We use these unbiased observers 24/7/365 to support our year-round research, management and hunting efforts. What follows is a basic look at how you can get more and more useful information from your own cameras. HUNTING APPLICATIONS When scouting, many of us are looking for clues that will indicate where a specific mature buck is going to be at a given time during deer season. Figuring out the answer to that question, so we can set up an ambush for the animal, is whitetail hunting’s holy grail. In fact, many hunters feel that’s an exact definition of “patterning” a buck. In our 1994 book, The Art & Science of Patterning Whitetails, Gordon Whittington and I loosely defined “patterning” as determining what the herd is doing, why they’re doing it and…

The story of how Patrick Shem-well arrowed a 200-inch buck on public land in western Kentucky is one of pure obsession. It started out innocently enough, in summer 2014. Patrick was riding his bike back into a large block of Muhlenberg County public hunting land to scout for deer. He liked to ride up to places from which he could overlook the hilly countryside, allowing him to glass deer at long distances. On one of his evening scouting forays, Patrick saw a really big buck cross a “haul” road (a lane used for transporting materials on mining land). That moment would forever change the bowhunter’s life. He went home that night and started studying aerial photos, trying to pick out a place where he might have another encounter with the…

1 Donnie Inman took this late-season brute in southern Ohio on Jan. 16, 2018. The hunter made a perfect heart shot with his Mathews Halon 32. 2 Brock Gale downed this high-racked buck with his PSE bow on Nov. 11, 2014, while hunting in Jackson Co., Illinois. 3 David Bearden shot this massive triple-brow buck on the morning of Nov. 11, 2017, in Montague Co., Texas. Despite strong winds, the hunter made the shot using a Browning A-Bolt in .270 Win. 4 Larry Wynia hunted this incredible Yankton Co., South Dakota, buck for three years before finally closing the deal on Nov. 4, 2017. The non-typical green-scored 182 3/8. 5 Faith Pitts took this trophy 10-pointer on Jan. 14, 2018, on private property in central Florida. Congratulations, Faith, on your…

Any serious whitetailer will tell you there’s really no “off-season.” The pursuit of mature bucks entails so many ancillary — but nonetheless critical — tasks and responsibilities that even when the actual hunting season is a distant memory or a seemingly faraway destination, there’s something drawing us back to the deer woods. North American Whitetail presented by Quick Attach has evolved into more than just a hunting show. Our goal is to reflect the continuous “cycle” that we, as avid whitetail hunters and habitat managers, live out every year. No part of the calendar is a better example of that than early summer. As May turns to June, we hunters across the whitetail’s range find ourselves busy prepping for and planting warm-season food plots. Before long, we’ll also be checking…

When it comes to food plotting, there’s more than one way to be successful. A wide range of products and methods can be used to make your hunting land better. And not all of them cost a lot of money. What follows isn’t necessarily a look at the ideal way to establish plots. These are simply lower-cost alternatives that still yield good results. To see the very best ways, all we have to do is look at farmers. They produce crops for a living, not just as a hobby. When that’s the case, you figure out the best ways to grow plants or it in effect becomes a hobby startlingly fast. Remember, all we’re trying to do is grow enough food to feed some deer — we aren’t trying to…

The first consideration most of us make when shopping for a new trail camera is price. The market will serve anyone who’s willing to spend $50 or $500, but somewhere between those numbers is the middle ground most appealing to the masses. Few of us have the coin to plunk down five C-notes for a single camera, but some of us who’ve bought the cheapest models available have learned that cost savings can come at the expense of quality. While price tags are important, it’s probably a better idea to factor in available technology and overall build when deciding on a purchase. On the surface, it might seem most cameras offer similar features and therefore operate similarly. But this isn’t always the case. It pays to understand the relevant terms…

As an underclassman at Palestine High School in Illinois, I had the distinction of serving as the sentinel officer for our chapter of Future Farmers of America. At the beginning of our meetings, the vice president would call roll of officers. When he got to me, I’d recite, “Stationed by the door. It is my duty to see that the door is open to our friends at all times and that they are welcome.” Yes, it was my duty to stand watch, so to speak. As best I could, anyway; I was all of 5-7 and 140 pounds soaking wet, so I really wasn’t physically qualified for the post. Nevertheless, it was in FFA that I learned the meaning of the term “sentry duty.” In today’s world of copious whitetail…

Among the challenges for agencies charged with public safety is how to reduce the number of animal vehicle collisions (AVCs) — espe cially those involving larger wildlife, which can do cata strophic damage to cars, trucks and the occupants thereof. While all wildlife collisions are problematic those involving whitetails result in the greatest number of tragic outcomes for the public. In an average year, whitetail-related collisions cause around 200 human deaths and billions of dollars in vehicle and road infra structure damage. Hoping to reduce this massive prob lem, the Virginia Department of Trans portation (VDOT) recently joined the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) to evaluate a microwave road side animal detection system (ADS). The setting for this experiment was Virginia Smart Road, a Montgomery County test roadway on which…

Larry Wheeler had just shot the biggest whitetail he’d ever seen in the wild. Shaking with adrenaline, the crossbow hunter tried hard to follow the mortally wounded deer as it fled for cover. His effort was fruitless, however; branches from the pecan trees in the orchard he was hunting hindered his view. Little did Larry know that pulling the trigger on that buck would mark the beginning of a journey that would prove both frustrating and remarkable. Larry, a resident of Francis, Oklahoma, was hunting a 640-acre Pontotoc County property that’s part Hereford cattle ranch and part pecan orchard. The property has frontage on the South Canadian River. This portion of the river bottom is choked with tall grass, briars and cottonwood trees, which provide exceptional security and bedding cover…

A DIFFERENT KIND OF WIRELESS CAMERA What if you could check all your trail cameras simultaneously from one central location? With CuddeLink, you can. SOME HUNTERS are extremely cautious about checking their trail cameras, fearing the intrusion will over-pressure deer and leave behind alarming human scent. Cellular camera technology emerged as a possible solution to that problem, but some whitetail hunters soon learned that cell signals in their areas simply aren’t strong enough to reliably transmit photos. That, in addition to price, has discouraged some hunters from going the wireless route. After talking with the folks at Cuddeback at the 2018 Archery Trade Association show, I was delighted to hear that the Wisconsin-based company has set out to solve those problems by creating an entirely new kind of camera network.…

ELITE The all-new Ritual measures 33.25” ATA and weighs 4.3 pounds. It’s available in draw-length options from 26.5” to 31” and draw weights from 50-70 pounds, with a 6.75” brace height. IBO speed is 335 fps. A variety of color options are available, including Mossy Oak and Realtree camouflage. (elitearchery.com ) PSE The Carbon Air Stealth, the flagship of the all new Evolve series, has a 6” brace height and measures 33” ATA. It offers 80-90 percent letoff and weighs just 3.2 pounds. The bow’s IBO speed rating is 334 fps, and draw lengths are available from 25.5-31”. You can get this one in Mossy Oak, Kryptek or black finishes. (pse-archery.com ) MATHEWS Measuring only 28” ATA, with an IBO speed rating of 343 fps, the Triax was…