There are five bits of information I strive to get starting now and throughout deer season that helps me pattern and harvest mature white-tailed bucks. These include:

• Determining if mature bucks are in the area
• Learning which mature bucks move more during daylight
• The locations of food, cover and water within their range
• Which habitat features (food, cover, and water) are most huntable under specific conditions
• Characteristics of targeted bucks

I’ll share my thoughts on the first three of these today and finish part 2 next week.

Scout to determine if mature bucks are in the area: The first step to harvesting a mature buck is hunting where mature bucks live. I don’t mean hunting in Kansas because it produces mature bucks annually. I mean hunting within the range of one or more mature bucks. To be more specific, I mean having stands/blinds in an area where a mature buck is active during hunting season. Seeing mature bucks in a bean field that’s recently been harvested will likely result in the hunter having plenty of time to read. This is especially true if a more preferred food source (standing beans, etc.) occurs within that buck’s home range during the remainder of hunting season.

Mature buck visiting Trophy Rock during daylight

Learning which mature bucks move more during daylight: Seeing or getting a Reconyx image of a mature buck is always a thrill. However getting multiple pictures of a mature buck during daylight is much better. Bucks have unique personalities. Finding bucks that tend to move during daylight hours is a huge step toward locating harvestable mature bucks! Gads of studies using GPS collars, etc., have conclusively shown that most mature bucks move more at night. Finding the buck that shows a trend of being active during daylight in an area where you have permission to hunt is a HUGE step toward harvesting that deer.

The locations of food, cover, water within their range: Most stands will be located near food, cover, or water. These are necessary components of habitat for a deer to survive. Knowing where each of these habitat components is located and which one the buck frequents the most during daylight is critical for stand placement. I often don’t place a stand directly overlooking food, cover, or water. Rather I place my stand in areas where I believe the buck is traveling to one of these critical types of habitat. Mature bucks will often reach these destinations just at or during dark. By selecting a stand location along his travel route, I’ve increased my odds of seeing him during legal shooting hours.

If the buck is using more than one source of food, cover, and water during daylight, there’s an even more important factor that will determine my stand location. I’ll share that next week.

It’s almost deer season! Let the serious scouting for 2012 begin!

Growing (and hunting) Deer together,

Grant

Deer season opens in the coastal counties of South Carolina August 15, 2012. Other states, such as Kentucky, open their seasons while many bucks are still in velvet. This leads to many questions including, “About how long before a buck sheds his velvet are his antlers finished growing?”

Pumpkin Face at Boom Powerline Pond

Generally speaking, bucks stop adding inches to their antlers about three weeks more or less prior to shedding their velvet. However, just as important is the rate of antler growth while bucks are in velvet. In general (depending on location and quality of food available) new antler growth begins as soon as the previous set is shed. They continue to grow through early to mid August. At this time the antlers are still covered with velvet, but begin mineralizing (hardening) and not adding additional size.

This means we can observe or get images of bucks during mid August and know about how large of antlers a buck will produce. I typically estimate their score and then reduce my estimate by 20% to compensate for the removal of velvet.

This year some bucks won’t add many inches during August due to the drought. Protein is a big component of antlers. Plants experiencing severe drought stress have very low protein levels. Deer are not able to store protein like they do energy (in the form of fat) or some minerals (in their skeletal system). Hence, if protein is in short supply it has a direct impact on antler growth.

Unless deer have access to supplemental feed, protein is in short supply throughout the area impacted by the current drought. Average antler size will likely be smaller this year compared to most years in the drought-impacted areas. These cycles come and go. It’s the overall health of the deer herd that concerns me the most as a biologist and as a hunter.

During normal years, hunters have a very good idea what the total antler size will be by mid August or so. This year, at least in areas experiencing extreme drought, hunters may know the antler size of bucks much earlier.

Growing (and watching) Deer together,

Grant

Hunters that live in the Midwest and those that travel there each fall to hunt may need to change their strategies and/or stand locations this fall. This is because of corn – or the lack there of!

There are usually 90 + million acres of standing corn throughout the Midwest during the beginning of deer season. Standing corn provides both cover and food. In many areas, standing corn is the best cover for deer within their range. In addition, corn’s grain is good source of carbohydrates which deer aggressively seek during the fall. This is in part because deer are genetically programmed to store fat to survive winter.

Corn field cut as silage

Knowing this preference for corn has helped many hunters pattern mature bucks. Once the corn is harvested deer become easier to pattern as their available sanctuaries are limited and easy to locate. In addition, deer continue to return to the harvested corn fields seeking the grain spilled by the combine.

This cycle will not occur in many areas of the Midwest during the 2012 deer season. Due to the drought corn crops in many areas won’t produce a good yield. Many, many farmers are currently cutting their corn crops as silage in an effort to salvage what’s available before it withers away.

Unlike harvesting ripened corn, cutting corn for silage involves harvesting the entire stalk. There is no grain spilled as part of the harvest. This leaves no cover (not even enough stalks to hide a deer) and certainly no grain to attract deer. This will cause a major change of how and where deer use their home range. Some bottlenecks, travel corridors, etc. won’t be used by bucks as they have been in the past. Likewise, deer will use other portions of their range much more than during “normal” years.

This is not a year to simply assume that traditional stand locations are the best. This is a year to increase the amount of effort you scout in proportion to the magnitude of the change in food and cover availability at the location where you hunt. Like many farmers, you may have to change strategies to salvage your hunt this fall.

Growing (and hunting) Deer together,

Grant

I spend a bunch of time each year patterning bucks at The Proving Grounds. The largest factor that makes this job easy or difficult is the size of the acorn crop. Unfortunately (even with the drought) there is a very large acorn crop developing.

Large cluster of acorns

Whitetails in most areas have been eating acorns as long as there have been acorns. They obviously enjoy the taste of acorns as they often abandon soybeans, etc., as soon as acorns begin to fall. Patterning deer that are feeding on acorns can be easy if you hunt where oaks are somewhat rare or limited in distribution. This would include such areas as the edge of prairies, where most of the land is in crop production, etc. However, if you hunt near swamps, mountains, etc., where oaks are the most common type of land cover, you know patterning deer during years with large acorn crops can be very challenging.

When acorns are the primary food source, bucks can literally bed and eat within yards of each other for days at a time. It’s tough to approach and hunt deer that have very limited movement between food and cover. In addition, during years with large acorn crops bucks tend to feed on acorns throughout most of the deer season. Food plots can be very unproductive stand sites until very late during the season.

With this knowledge, I’m scouting and hanging stands that allow me to approach and leave locations of acorn producing oaks with the minimum disturbance to the area.

If you live in areas with lots of oaks, I suggest you start scouting for acorns now. By scouting the tops of trees you can determine the size of the acorn crop where you hunt. If you hunt in an area where oak trees are rare, this is an easy task and great hot spots can be found relatively easily! If you hunt in areas where oak trees are the dominate type of cover, get prepared mentally for a challenging hunting season.

Growing (and hunting) Deer together,

Grant

N.C.D.C. (National Climatic Data Center) released their drought outlook yesterday. It was literally and mentally not a pretty picture. Most of the whitetail’s range is predicted to experience a significant drought through September. This means antler and fawn development will probably not be as good as it could be in most areas. There will be exceptions with areas that irrigate or receive a timely rain. But most deer herds will suffer.

US Seasonal Drought Outlook

There are other impacts of drought stress on whitetails than the obvious reduction in forage, and therefore, herd quality. One of the worries I have when droughts occur is E.H.D. (epizootic hemorrhagic disease) and B.T. (bluetongue). These are both viruses but are genetically different. However, the signs and/or symptoms of both viruses can appear similar. In fact it requires samples and testing to confirm which virus is present in sick or dead deer. For more detailed information about EHD/BT, check out this fact sheet.

Unlike CWD, EHD/BT is not spread from deer to deer through direct contact. Rather it is transmitted from deer to deer by biting midges (called sand flies, gnats, no see ums, etc.). Research indicates that the scale of EDH/BT outbreaks is more closely related to the population levels of midges than deer. In other words, reducing the deer population probably won’t decrease the level of an EHD/BT outbreak.

Populations of the biting midges, and therefore EHD/BT outbreaks seem to explode when a drought has occurred resulting in lots of mud or moist soil being exposed. If rain occurs following such a drought, there is usually a huge hatch of the midges. Should widespread rain occur during sometime from July until it frosts, conditions could be perfect for a very large EHD/BT outbreak. Usually less than 25% of a deer herd dies during an EHD/BT outbreak, but there have certainly been cases where more than 50% of the herd dies.

There is no known vaccine, etc., to use for EHD/BT. Fortunately, EHD/BT is not infectious for humans.

I really want it to rain throughout the drought stricken area! However, I really don’t want it to remain dry until August and then rain. That could be a perfect recipe for a massive EHD/BT outbreak.

Precipitation needed to end drought

If you begin seeing deer that appear sick or finding sick and/or dead deer by water call your local wildlife biologist and/or game warden. They won’t be able to help the deer, but it will be very important to monitor the scale of the outbreak.

To end on a positive note, when a resource (food, cover, and water) is limited, it’s much easier to pattern deer. If conditions don’t change drastically before hunting season throughout most of the whitetail’s range, it may be one of the best hunting seasons for seeing deer that has occurred in a long time! I’m not hanging all my Muddy stands yet. I’m saving a few to place on whichever water source is available should the drought not end before hunting season begins.

Growing Deer together,

Grant

It’s certain that the quality of forage bucks consume is a huge factor in the size of antlers they produce.  If your goal is to manage deer to produce better antlers, you must improve the quality of their diet. Establishing and maintaining food plots is probably the most practiced method of improving the quality of forage available to a local deer herd.

The phrase “food plots” is a very generic term. It’s used to describe everything from very small hidey hole plots best used to attract deer into shooting range to large ag fields that are capable of providing most of the quality forage necessary for all the deer in that area.

Unfortunately the lack of a precise definition has created some unsatisfied hunters. Some folks plant a hidey hole sized food plot and are upset when they don’t see an increase in average antler size.

Bucks Eating An Abundance of High Quality Forage Like Soybeans Grow Bigger Antlers

Deer will consume several pounds of forage daily. At one end of the spectrum, it’s easy for a few deer to consume all the forage in a small plot before it provides any measurable advantage toward the herd’s health. The other end of the spectrum is the large production soybean fields in the Midwest. There are so many acres of soybeans in many areas that deer densities of even 100+ deer per square mile still have plenty to eat. This is a primary reason that deer in these areas produce larger antlers and more fawns than in areas where the landscape is primarily covered with trees.

Research has shown that in areas with relatively poor habitat (all trees, no crops, limited early succession habitat), just 1-2% of land in high quality food plots can make noticeable increases in average antler size!

However, to have this type of success, it requires more than simply scratching the dirt in an acre or two for each 100 acres. To increase the average antler size the deer must consume the forage, the forage must be available throughout the early and mid growing season and year round is better. The forage must transfer nutrients to deer.

This means the forage must be high quality (Eagle Seed forage soybeans have tested among the highest in digestible protein of all forage crops by multiple universities), and produce enough tons of forage to feed the herd.

Food plots can be a great hunting and herd quality tool. However, like most things in life, you rarely get more out of them than you put into them. There is no magic recipe. Food plots designed to improve herd quality require time and effort to establish. They also require ample soil moisture – which is currently missing from much of the whitetail’s range. I hope there is adequate soil moisture where you plant food plots!

Growing Deer together,

Grant

By mid June most bucks’ antlers are developed enough to get an estimate of their configuration and potential size for the season. I always have my Reconyx cameras pointed at Trophy Rocks this time of year. Some recent posts on my Facebook page indicates that there is some confusion of why I strongly prefer Trophy Rock as a source of trace minerals compared to cattle blocks, homebrews, etc.

So, for the record, Trophy Rock is all natural. It’s mined in Utah and shipped – there are no artificial additives, etc. It’s mined from an ancient sea bed that was capped over (probably by volcanic action). This allowed the sea minerals to remain and harden throughout the deposit (not settle out and leave pure salt).

Trace Minerals Help Bucks Express Their Full Antler Growth

There are more than 60 different trace minerals in Trophy Rock. The amount of any of them, except salt, is low. That’s appropriate for trace minerals. Deer only need a very small amount of trace minerals daily. Let’s define “trace.” Most researchers refer to trace minerals in parts per million (ppm) of the diet. For a point of reference, one (1) ppm is about one inch in 17 miles!

It doesn’t take much of a trace mineral to benefit a deer. But without access to trace minerals in their diet, bucks won’t be able to express their full antler growth and does won’t express their fawn producing potential.

At My Property Deer, From Mature Bucks To Young Fawns, Are Currently Using Trophy Rocks

Researchers don’t know all the trace minerals or the quantity of each that deer require. It’s likely some of the trace minerals deer require to express their potential are available in the soil and/or plant. The availability of trace mineral varies significantly from area to area and even field to field in some cases!

This is why the vast majority of cattle mineral blocks only include six minerals and most products made for deer include a maximum of 20 trace minerals. If there are appropriately fertilized crops or food plots in the area, deer most likely have access to all the macro (“needed in larger quantities” minerals like calcium and phosphorous) minerals. However, no matter how much of the macro minerals are available deer will produce smaller antlers and fewer fawns if they don’t receive the necessary trace minerals.

There is a horrible drought occurring in most of the Midwest as I write this. However, I was thrilled at the antler growth patterns and fawn production shown by my Reconyx cameras this week. I feel strongly that having Trophy Rocks out at my place has helped the herd.

I notice deer tend to use Trophy Rocks more during periods of drought. This is probably due to the fact that they are consuming a lower quality of forage (not getting as many minerals from the plants compared to during a normal growing season) and consuming more free water (standing water compared to getting water from plants).

Certainly all deer, from mature bucks to young fawns, are currently using Trophy Rocks at my property. Fellow hunters and landowners that I’ve shared trail camera pictures with have all agreed that the bucks at my place are showing bigger antlers per age class compared to where they hunt.

Growing Deer together,

Grant

It’s been very dry throughout much of the whitetail’s range so far during antler growing season. For example it was the second driest May since records have been kept in Arkansas, fourth in Kansas, seventh in Missouri, and eleventh in Oklahoma. N.O.A.A has been keeping records 118 years. It has been very dry during the growing season in these states.

2012 United States Precipitation Ranking

These rankings are based on statewide averages. I think it is drier at my place (just a few miles from Arkansas) than the Missouri average indicates. Likewise, I’m sure some areas in these states have received an isolated thunderstorm or two and aren’t as dry as indicated by these statewide averages.

Plants need water to transport nutrients from the soil and air into and throughout the plant. Without adequate moisture, plants are simply not as nutritious compared to more normal growing conditions. Remember plants are simply transfer agents and if plants are lacking nutrients, so are the critters that consume them. Deer in drought areas won’t produce as large of antlers or as many (or healthy) fawns compared to the same deer during better growing conditions (different years).

Therefore droughts have a huge impact on hunters deciding on where (which state or region) to go hunting and deer herd managers deciding on whether to harvest bucks during drought years. I use maps to plan where to hunt and data from N.O.A.A can be a very valuable scouting tool!

Is the primary goal of planning an out of state hunt is to chase deer with larger antlers than what’s typically produced near your home? Then studying the N.O.A.A. data and determining the severity and duration of droughts can be just as important as studying the average antler size from specific counties, etc.

For example, planning a deer hunt in Kansas might not yield the expected results if that area is experiencing one of the worst growing season droughts during the past 100+ years. This is always dependent on the local conditions. For example, if you were planning to hunt near an irrigated soybean or alfalfa field, the drought might make the hunting better! The local herd had access to quality forage and all the deer in the neighborhood will likely be feeding at the irrigated crop versus spread out in the drought stricken native vegetation.

For deer managers that manage and hunt the same deer from birth through maturity, droughts may cause a different decision. Consider if you and your guests have passed bucks waiting for them to express 90+% of their antler growth potential. These bucks reach 4.5 years of age during an extreme drought. Due to a lack of quality forage, those mature bucks only express a portion of their antler growth potential – maybe not as much as they did when they were 3.5 years of age. The manager then has to decide if he and his guests will attempt to harvest the bucks even though they are only expressing a portion of their antler growth potential. This is a personal choice – one that should be based on the reason you/the landowner hunts.

Personally, I enjoy the challenge of hunting mature bucks and does. Given the extreme drought conditions at my place this year, I will focus on harvesting enough does to balance the amount of food available during these poor conditions. They will likely return again. During years with better growing seasons, each deer will have ample food to produce the best antlers and fawns they can.

I will also attempt to harvest a mature buck. I enjoy large antlers as much as most hunters. However, my primary satisfaction is being able to pattern and harvest a mature buck. My guests and I will only harvest a small portion of the mature bucks that our years of management efforts have yielded. I realize now that bucks will not express their full antler potential this fall. However, they will still be just as alert and skilled at avoiding predators (2 and 4 legged). The hunt will still score as much to me as if I was hunting during a year with average or better growing conditions.

I hope the growing conditions are good where you hunt. If not, I hope you still enjoy the hunt!

Growing Deer (during all conditions) together,

Grant