Adam and Brian are in Kansas filming a late season bow hunt. Yesterday afternoon about prime time some does and young bucks were in the food plot Adam and Brian were watching as they eagerly waited for a mature buck to approach. Then several of the deer on one side of the field sprinted away with two coyotes in pursuit. Many hunters have shared this observation with me recently – seeing deer chased by coyotes.

Many hunters have shared seeing deer chased by coyotes recently.

Several research projects during recent years has documented that coyotes are killing a significant portion of fawns in some areas. It’s also been documented that coyotes (and other predators) can cause significant stress or mortality to adult deer.

Even if this research hasn’t been repeated in the state where you hunt, you can look for signs of predator/prey populations being out of balance toward predator species. Do you often see adult deer being stalked or chased by coyotes? Do deer where you hunt act extremely wary or alert when a coyote howls? Do you get trail camera pictures of multiple coyotes together?

Coyotes weren’t considered to be pack hunters when I was in graduate school (many years ago). However, coyotes have been documented to have interbred with gray wolves in the northeastern states and Canadian provinces. Large “coyotes”, such as 80+ pounds, have been documented in states as far south as my home state of Missouri.

Genetic testing has shown that some of the large “coyotes” are actually wolf/coyote hybrids while others are dog/coyote hybrids. In both cases these hybrids are certainly capable of killing adult deer, and tend to hunt in packs more than pure coyotes.

Coyotes (and other predators) were hunted frequently when I was a child by farmers that were protecting their stock and by trappers that gained income by selling their pelts, glands, etc. However, the number of farmers, ranchers, and trappers has decreased substantially during the past 20 years.

The number of coyotes has increased significantly in many states as well as the average size of coyotes in some areas. It’s time for hunters to help bring back a healthy balance between predators and prey species in many areas. I’m loading up my Winchester ammo and FoxPro caller and going out to do my part.

Growing Deer together,

Grant

I was checking traps this week and noticed a bunch of vultures coming from the ground. That’s never a good sign. As I peeped over the creek bank, I saw a very good two year old buck – dead and already consumed by scavengers/predators.

This two year old buck, found dead at The Proving Grounds, probably had the chronic form of EHD

A quick check confirmed my suspicions that the buck’s hooves were cracked and sloughed. This buck apparently had the chronic form of EHD (Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease). If you are not familiar with EHD, check out this quick fact sheet.

The day I found this buck, Adam and Brian filmed a doe that was harvested by one of our friends at the Redneck Blinds Proving Grounds. She also had sloughed hooves – a survivor (so far) of the chronic form of EHD.

I’ve also had many friends calling from throughout the Midwest that have either found fresh dead deer or had trail camera images of bucks that have already shed their antlers.

Amazingly I read a report last week that EHD was over. That’s incorrect. Anything that stresses deer tends to have a long term impact. In addition, the chronic form of EHD is known to impact deer for months after a frost kills the biting flies that transmit the virus.

The death toll from this year’s outbreak of EHD isn’t over. Deer with the sloughed hooves will have a very hard time escaping predators this winter. As the cold weather makes predators (primarily coyotes) burn more calories and as the population of rodents and rabbits decreases, deer become more and more of a primary food base for coyotes. Deer, even mature bucks, with sloughed hooves due to EHD, have very little chance of surviving this time of year.

The increasing predator population, compared to years ago when fur prices were high enough to encourage trapping, will result in a higher late season death toll from EHD than I was taught in school. The only way to help these bucks is to remove as much stress as possible by making sure quality food is available and reducing the population of predators! That’s my plan.

Growing Deer together,

Grant

The rut is tough. It’s probably like playing professional football without pads! Certainly some players would get hurt. The same is true with deer. Some bucks get hurt (gored, kicked, etc.) during the rut.

Muddy Ranch buck sheds early

Bucks shed their antlers when certain hormones, primarily testosterone, drop below minimum levels. A buck’s testosterone level can drop earlier than normal if he is injured or sick. A few bucks are injured every year during the rut so it’s common to hear of a buck or two that someone saw or got a trail camera pic of during early December that has already shed.

This year may be a bit different. The largest outbreak of hemorrhagic disease that’s been recorded in 55 years occurred. Record droughts occurred throughout much of the whitetail’s range resulting in decreased forage quality and production. In short, many deer herds experienced a LOT of stress during 2012.

I knew all of this, but wasn’t prepared for all the reports, trail camera pics, etc., I’ve already received from folks about bucks that have already shed! The subjects of my recent blogs were about why I like and the techniques I use to tag bucks during the late season!

I’ll still hunt until the end of season (January 15th at my place in Missouri). However, the number of hit list bucks that hold their antlers till then will be slim. The good news is that I can begin shed hunting January 16th!

Growing Deer together,

Grant

As I explained in my blog last week, Hunting Strategies: The Late Rut, my primary buck hunting strategy this time of year is geared around fawns. Female fawns reach puberty when they’ve grown enough to weigh about 70 pounds throughout most of the whitetails range. That’s obtainable in most areas if there is adequate quality forage and a fairly balanced adult sex ratio. One of the many benefits of a balanced adult sex ratio is that there are plenty of bucks available to breed the does as soon as they become receptive.

These fawns often reach puberty during the later portion of deer season which causes a flurry of rutting behavior. In areas where the deer herd is “tuned up” (a balanced adult sex ratio, older age class bucks present, and ample quality forage to allow deer to express most of their body and antler size potential) female fawns typically reach puberty about a month or so after adult does. This flurry of rutting behavior is often called the “secondary rut.”

I live and hunt on an island of deer management. I’m only aware of one neighbor (out of 34) that establishes food plots (although the game wardens have made a few cases of folks hunting over bait), passes up immature bucks, or attempts to harvest as many does as bucks. I’m truly an island in a sea of properties that simply shoot deer – primarily young bucks.

Even though my property is a deer management island, I’ve been able to improve the habitat enough that a substantial percentage of female fawns in my area reach puberty and bred during their first winter (there’s hope for all you “island” deer managers)!

Coyotes are tremendous fawn killers, 60%+ of all fawns born in an area are killed primarily by coyotes.

However, if there aren’t many female fawns, this exciting hunting opportunity won’t happen (as well as several other negative impacts to the deer herd). That’s one reason I trap and hunt coyotes. Coyotes are tremendous fawn killers. They tend to kill fawns during the first few hours and weeks after the fawns are born. Amazingly, several university research projects have shown 60%+ of all fawns born in an area are killed by predators, primarily coyotes in most studies. This has huge impacts on the herd.Once you’ve digested that information, realize that the number of coyotes is rapidly increasing in many areas, especially in eastern states! At 60% +/- fawn mortality, there won’t be many fawns reaching puberty the following fall and therefore the fawn/food source hunting strategy won’t work. Actually, after a few years of heavy fawn mortality no deer hunting strategy will work well because there won’t be many deer!

That’s why I trap and hunt coyotes! Just as good stewards work to balance adult sex ratios and provide ample quality forage, they should also work to balance the predator/prey relationship so neither get out of balance and do long-term damage to the habitat or other species of wildlife. In many areas, removing predators benefits the deer herd and deer hunters as much as other deer management activities.

I’m out to check my traps now, and I’m spending most afternoons watching food plots and enjoying seeing fawns! I’m very confident one of them will have a mature buck following.

GrowingDeer together,

Grant

Ingredients:

4 squirrels (skinned and cleaned)
3 or 4 15 oz. cans chicken broth
1/2 tsp. chopped garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
2 Tbs. butter
1 carrot, chopped & diced
1 stalk celery, chopped & diced
Salt & Pepper to taste

Dumpling Ingredients:

One package Anne’s Frozen Dumplings

OR

1 package egg noodles

OR

Make your own using this recipe:

3 cups flour, double sifted
¾ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
4 ½  Tbs. shortening
1 cup milk

Instructions:

Cook the squirrels, garlic, onion, carrot, celery, butter, with chicken broth and water (if needed to cover the squirrels) in a slow cooker on low for 8 hours. Remove the squirrels from the broth mixture. When cool enough to touch separate the meat from the bones. Transfer broth mixture to a large pot on the stove and bring to a low, gentle boil/simmer. Add the noodles and cook as directed on the package. Sometimes you will not use a whole package if your broth has cooked down. Use your best judgment in how much of the noodles to add. Once noodles have softened add the squirrel meat and enjoy!

If you don’t have a slow cooker then cook the squirrels with the ingredients noted above in a large pot on the stove. Bring the squirrels to a boil then reduce the heat and cook on low for about 1 ½ hours. Remove the squirrels from the broth mixture, let them cool, then separate meat from the bones. Bring the broth mixture back to a low, gentle boil/simmer.  Cook as directed above.

Dumpling Instructions:

In a bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt together. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture using a pastry blender (or a fork or your fingers – whatever you have available) until it looks like small peas.

Slowly add the milk to the flour mixture, about ¼ cup of milk at a time. Stir the milk into the flour before adding more. Stir until a ball of dough forms (you may not need all the milk – use your judgment). Do not over-mix. Roll the dough out on a floured surface with a rolling pin until the dough is about ¼ inch. Cut the dough into rectangles that are about 1 inch by 3 inch in size. Set aside on wax paper for about 30 minutes to “firm up.” Add dumplings to recipe as noted above. Reduce the heat and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes until dumplings are tender. Do not stir dumplings – you might gently tilt the pan to keep them from sticking but it is better to let the gentle boil keep them moving.

This time of year I always hear a lot of talk about the “late rut.” It’s often used in discussions about hunting strategies and stand placement.

Throughout most of the whitetail’s range, most does become receptive during early November. This is based on literally 10’s of 1,000’s of fetuses removed from harvested does and aged to determine their conception dates. With years of these data it’s clear that moon phase, weather, etc., doesn’t impact when deer breed. The only significant change in breeding dates for specific herds/properties that I’ve documented (or heard about) were caused by hunters purposely altering the herd’s adult sex ratio. They changed the herd’s adult sex ratio by harvesting more does and passing young bucks on properties where the deer harvest had been predominately bucks for years. I’ve documented a shift in the average breeding date of more than 30 days as a response to a few years of working to balance the adult sex ratio. As a result of these efforts the hunting also improved substantially as more mature bucks were competing for does. The bucks responded to rattling, grunt calls, decoys, etc.

The more balanced the adult sex ratio, the shorter and more intense the rut will be.

The more balanced the adult sex ratio, the shorter and more intense the rut will be. For example, if the deer harvest in an area where you hunt has been close to being balanced (as many does as bucks) for a few years, then expect a few does to become receptive early, a flurry of breeding activity, and then the breeding activity tapering off. Imagine a bell-shaped curve of breeding activity. The right side of the bell is usually a gentler slope (the breeding activity may tapper off slower than it started) than the left side.

Female fawns usually reach puberty and become receptive if they reach 60-70 pounds during their first fall/early winter. In soybean and corn production regions, areas with high quality native habitat, properties with a substantial amount of quality food plots, etc., many female fawns will become receptive. Depending on the quality of the habitat, this can vary from a very small percentage of the female fawns (usually in areas where timber is the primary land use) to 80+% in areas of Iowa.

In areas where a high percentage of female fawns do reach puberty during their first fall, the amount of bucks seen cruising, chasing, etc., certainly appears like a second rut! This is simply one more reason to manage for a balanced adult sex ratio and high quality habitat. This work not only will allow bucks to produce larger antlers, but create better hunting throughout a longer period of time!

Simply stated, the intensity of the” late rut” is strongly related to health of the female fawns in that area. The health of female fawns is determined by the herd and habitat quality. You can enjoy an action packed late rut by either hunting in agricultural production areas or working to improve the herd and habitat quality where you hunt.

I live on an island of quality deer habitat – literally. I live and hunt where timber and fescue (same as a biological desert) are the primary land use. I’ve worked to improve the habitat and have created quality hunting in a white-tailed deer habitat desert. You can enjoy the “late rut” anywhere, even if you hunt on an island like me. However, those of us that hunt on an island must work a bit harder to enjoy the same quality of hunting as those that hunt in corn and soybean production areas!

Growing Deer together,

Grant

By today, November 23rd, most does have been bred where I live in southern Missouri – and throughout most of the whitetail’s range. There are exceptions including parts of Alabama, south Texas, etc. How can I say that confidently?

Each year throughout the whitetails’ range most fawns are born before June 15th (except in parts of Alabama, south Texas, etc.). The gestation period for white-tailed deer is approximately 200 days. Therefore does bred on or before November 23rd would be born on or before June 11th. Most fawns are born during mid-May to early June.

This picture was taken May 25th and the fawn is probably a week or less old. Not many fawns are seen traveling with does at this time of year at my farm.

Fawns are usually two to three weeks old when they begin actively following does. It’s certainly possible to see a doe moving a fawn (encouraging it along) before the fawn is two weeks old, but when you begin seeing fawns in multiple places you can be confident they are at least two to three weeks old.

A great tip is to pay attention to when you see fawns or begin noticing fawns on trail cameras and then subtract 190 days and estimate when the peak of breeding occurred (and will occur again) in that area.

I’d much rather hunt a week or so before than after the peak of breeding! When the majority of does are receptive, bucks don’t have to move far to find a doe and begin tending her. Bucks will move the least amount possible while tending a doe. More movement simply means another buck is likely to attempt to cut in on the action.

I like hunting before the peak of breeding more than the week after the peak of breeding. There are two reasons for this statement. First, there will likely be more bucks available to hunt during the pre-rut. Some bucks will be killed by hunters, injured or killed while fighting, etc., during the peak of breeding. There will simply be fewer bucks available to hunt after the peak of breeding. Second, the level of activity/movement seems higher before the peak of breeding compared to after the peak. The party is just starting and everyone wants in on the action!

Paying attention to when you and your friends begin seeing fawns next summer can be a great clue to when you should schedule time to hunt next fall!

Growing Deer together,

Grant

As usual, I’m hearing mixed reports about the intensity of the rut from different areas. I’ve received a BUNCH of email from GrowingDeer.tv fans that have tagged huge bucks in Kansas. Most of these pictures are accompanied by a note describing the intense rut action the hunter observed! Friends from other states are discussing the lack of rutting behavior they’ve observed this week. Mixed reports of rutting behavior from different areas are common each year.

This is because there are many factors that influence the amount of rutting behavior (seeking, cruising, and chasing) that hunters see during daylight. One of the biggest factors that determine how much deer activity hunters observe is the weather.

At my place, located in southern Missouri, I’ve seen more bucks than normal for this property (at this time of year) out seeking, cruising, and/or chasing the past two days. It seems rutting behavior is more visible during daylight hours this year compared to past years. You can see the bucks (their behavior/my hunting techniques, etc.) I’ve been watching on November 26th on GrowingDeer.tv.

The temperatures at my place have been in the upper 40’s/lower 50’s during the day and the upper 20’s/lower 30’s at night. These temperatures are approximately 10 degrees cooler than normal. That’s about perfect to encourage daytime deer activity! These same temperatures in northern parts of the whitetail’s range for this week would probably be warm enough to cause deer in that area to be active primarily at night.

It’s easy to swap stories with buddies, etc., and get confused about exactly how many bucks you saw and what the conditions were when simply trusting your memory. For years I kept written records of what I saw while hunting. Based on my observations I could adjust my hunting strategies to the current conditions. However, to make use of those observations, I had to enter all of it in a spreadsheet, try to find weather and moon data for those dates, and then work to get all of it in some format that I could understand.

This year I found a much easier and more accurate way to track how many deer I see, the sex ratio, average number of points, and weather and moon data for exactly when I saw the deer! I simply bought ($3.99) the ScoutLook DeerLog app. I always have my smartphone with me while hunting. Just after I see a deer, I simply open the app and enter, using an easy form, the gender, age, and points (if a buck) of the deer I saw. DeerLog then automatically grabs the weather and moon data for my location and that exact time! I’ve shared just a few lines of the data I collected this morning! I simply made a few strokes on my phone and DeerLog did the rest!

ScoutLook DeerLog app allows me to track my hunting observations

I can keep this information to myself, compare with buddies, etc. I find that by reviewing just a few days of my records, I can predict with great accuracy which stand and when I should be hunting. If the weather conditions are roughly the same next year, I’ll know exactly where to hunt or what stage of the rut to be expecting. If the weather conditions are substantially different, I simply compare to my own or a buddy’s observations during similar conditions at that time of year. That’s a very powerful tool!

I’m headed back to the stand now. I hope I get to record some more observations and a kill! If I punch my tag, I’ll share pictures soon.

Growing (and hunting) Deer together,

Grant

I enjoy hunting the rut! I’ve hunted everyday this week and have seen deer every time out! What’s not to like about those odds? It may have something to do with where I hunt. I hunt a property that is primarily covered by oak timber. I’m sure mature bucks are seeking/chasing does as aggressively here as they are throughout most of the Midwest. Then why am I not seeing mature bucks? The answer is simple. In areas where the primary land use is agriculture crops, deer often stick to the areas with cover, even when searching/chasing does. The areas with cover are limited, therefore where deer are traveling and stand locations are easy to find!

During the rut this buck ventures into the open to feed

When cover is the primary habitat type, deer simply don’t have to venture into the open except to feed on forage that requires sunlight reaching the ground. If there are plenty of acorns in the timber, then deer don’t tend to use the forage plots often – especially during daylight.

Bucks cruise through food plots during the rut, just not on a predictable pattern

Bucks will cruise through food plots, and other openings during the rut, but not on a predictable pattern. The two pictures in this blog were from 700+ images from October 30th through November 8th. Hunting there would have produced some excitement related to seeing a mature buck only twice.

Data like this is why I hunt primarily known travel corridors (such as ridge tops where the topography is steep), etc. when hunting woodland habitat. Any type of bottleneck due to cover, topography, water, etc., can be an outstanding location during the rut.

Deer can also be relatively easily patterned during the late season when most acorns are gone and deer are hungry and trying to maintain/regain body weight. The late season can be a great time to pattern mature bucks, especially if there is quality forage/grain that hasn’t been hunted so much during the early season that deer associate the area with danger and only feed there at night.

The rut can be a very exciting time to hunt, especially if you hunt in an area where the primary land use is ag and most of the crops have been harvested by mid October. If the land use where you hunt is primarily timber and there are quality forage/grain crops in food plots, then the best time to pattern a mature buck will probably be during the late season when the food supply is limited and easy to scout.

It’s always about being able to identify and hunt the limited resource. Receptive does are the best limited resource during the rut.  They are tough to pattern as they often change the portion of their range they use for 24-36 hours when they are receptive. That’s why the best odds to harvest a mature buck during the rut are to hunt cover where it is limited and travel corridors where cover is the primary land use.

Growing Deer together,

Grant

This is a common question among hunters this time of year! Are mature bucks moving during daylight? Are bucks using scrapes, seeking does, chasing does, or are does receptive?

The Scraping Stage Of The Rut

By making a few observations while in the field hunters can get a good indication of the stage of the rut where they hunt! The adult sex ratio is a huge factor in the intensity of the rut. One of the first considerations is the past adult deer harvest sex ratio. If primarily bucks have been harvested and you typically see and/or have trail camera pictures of mostly does from your area, then don’t expect a rip-roaring, mature bucks cruising everywhere type rut. If there are substantially more adult does than bucks, the bucks won’t have to travel very far to find a receptive doe. Your observations of rut behavior will likely be very limited if you hunt a herd where the adult sex ratio strongly favors does.

If you and the other hunters where you hunt have harvested deer with a goal of creating and/or maintaining a balanced adult sex ratio and allowed a large percentage of the bucks to live to at least three years of age, then you have the opportunity to experience a hunt with deer expressing a lot of rutting behavior.

In such areas, the first sign I look for is lots of scrapes being actively used. The scraping stage of the rut occurs between when bucks shed their velvet and before a majority of does are receptive. Certainly bucks, does, and fawns may use scrapes, especially the licking branch, throughout the year. However, the vast majority of marking and checking the ground portion of scrapes occurs between velvet shed and when a majority of the does are receptive. If you are seeing lots of fresh scrapes – the chase phase of the rut is probably one to three weeks away at that location.

After the scrape phase, its’ common to see (in person or on trail cameras) mature bucks actively walking with purpose. They seem to be going somewhere. They are not taking a few steps and stopping to eat or check for threats (normal mature buck behavior). This is the seeking stage. Mature bucks are moving – but very few chases (bucks chasing does) are observed.

The seeking stage often changes to the chasing phase within a few hours or days. During this stage all bucks (unless they are injured) will actively chase does that are receptive. It’s common to see multiple bucks chasing a single doe. A more common observation during this phase of the rut is to see fawns without a doe. Does tend to abandon their fawns while they are receptive to breeding. If you are hunting and see several fawns without does (and it’s not because a substantial doe harvest just occurred), you know two things: the chase phase is on and the receptive does (and therefore the bucks) are using a different area. You probably need to change stand locations!

I’ve asked the GrowingDeer.tv Team that uses our Facebook page to keep us updated on the stage of the rut they are seeing – real time useful information to help those that haven’t been in the woods for a few days. This is a very exciting time to hunt! Join us on Facebook and get up to date information!

Growing (and hunting) Deer together,

Grant