Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2020 i Deer & Deer Hunting

It was 1980-somethin’ in the deer hunting world that I grew up in. Cotton balls soaked in Tink’s and Loc-On treestands. Grabber heat packs and Trebark pants Yes, it was so long ago, but vivid memories remain. History will tell us the 1980s were the beginning of deer hunting’s modern era, thanks in large part to the magazine you are now reading. The “whitetail industry” was just 3 years old when Reagan took office, but it didn’t take long for it to explode into a juggernaut. Some called it the Greed Decade, and in many ways it was — even in the hunting world. After all, this was the first time in our history when we saw landowners post their properties with no-trespassing signs (previously unheard of in most areas)…

Find us on Facebook FACEBOOK/DEERHUNTINGMAG WHO’S READY FOR BOW SEASON? REACTIONS: 383 | COMMENTS: 29 Chris Jalil: This guy! Brad Laster: Another month and a half here in Texas. Mark Hanley: Been shooting all summer! Jeremy Baker: Not quite. Have a few stands to hang and intel to gather. Getting there though. Lack of water in the Northeast has deer near what water there is. Randy Ralston: Me! William Frank Lang Jr: I’m trying to get there!! John Schiwitz: C’mon October 1st. Mike Matthews: October 1st can’t come soon enough. Social Snapshot *MONTHLY AVERAGES FOR 2020 DEER & DEER HUNTING FACEBOOK • PINTEREST • INSTAGRAM • TWITTER • YOUTUBE FOLLOWERS: 1.29 MILLION REACH: 9.3 MILLION VIDEO VIEWS: 1.93 MILLION DDH Community Corner Tucker Fields had a great start to the…

Although scent brings bucks closer, human scent sends them away. Total scent control equals more shots at trophy bucks. Here’s how to stay as scent-free as possible in five easy steps. SHOWER with scent-eliminating soaps and shampoos, not that fancy-smelling Irish Spring. Specially formulated hunting soaps and shampoos add no residues, washing away odor-causing bacteria and keeping them at bay for hours. WASH your hunting clothes in scent- and UV-free detergents. Grocery-store laundry detergents leave hunting duds smelling of flowery fragrances and leave material brighteners that deer easily detect. Choose only UV - and scent-free formulas made specifically for hunting togs. STORE scent-free clothing in airtight containers that will prevent outside scent contamination. Dress only after exiting smelly vehicles and entering the field. There’s no use cleaning hunting attire only…

ANOTHER CHAFE occurs when tax-paying public-land hunters are restricted in some way because of special interests. In Wyoming, non-residents must hire an outfitter to hunt national forest wilderness. Not backpackers, fishermen, horseback riders or mushroom pickers — just hunters, and only non-residents. In other states, a percentage of public lottery-won tags are reserved for guided hunters — in essence, a set-aside for the rich. Colorado’s State Trust Land system is a real can of worms. This land is treated as private property, except sections leased by Colorado Parks and Wildlife for hunting and fishing access, paid for with habitat-stamp funds. Only 20 % of all Colorado STL is leased for access, and the majority is not marked, as state law doesn’t require marking private property. Hunters are responsible for knowing…

Smoked BBQ Roast INGREDIENTS: + 1 large deer roast+ ½ cup chili powder+ ½ cup salt+ ¼ cup granulated garlic+ ¼ cup granulated onion+ ¼ cup black pepper+ ¼ cup sugar+ 2 Tbsp dry mustard+ 2 bay leaves+ ¼ cup Creole seasoning DIRECTIONS: Combine the ingredients, then generously coat and rub into the roast. Start smoker with lump charcoal and some wood chips. Let roast smoke with indirect heat for 4 to 5 hours, checking every hour or so to regulate heat and smoke and spray roast with water. After 4 to 5 hours, remove from smoker and place roast in high sided pan with ¼-inch water. Cover with tinfoil and bake for an hour at 250 degrees. Remove, dive in and enjoy!…

When reflecting on hunters of old, we often envision one with a traditional percussion-style muzzleloader. Centuries ago, percussion-style guns were heralded as the latest in firearms technology. Now, they’re used purely for tradition and heritage. And this past season, Pake Croy felt a little nostalgic. Croy has hunted his family’s farm in Missouri for most of his life and pursued a giant buck there for two seasons. He had numerous encounters with the deer and even came to full draw on it once, but it didn’t pan out. The deer survived. The 2019 Missouri gun season opened, and the hunt continued. On Nov. 22, he checked his trail cameras, but the big deer seemed to only move after dark. “I told myself, ‘I’m going to take the old black-powder [gun]…

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA! FACEBOOK.COM/THEPURSUITCHANNEL INSTAGRAM.COM/PURSUITCHANNEL @PURSUITCHANNEL/TWEETS WHAT TO WATCH YAMAHA WHITETAIL DIARIES Whitetail Diaries pursues white-tailed deer in every episode, incorporating insights about tactics and conservation messages. Hosted by Wade Middleton, the program also features numerous guest hosts as they hunt whitetails around the country. WATCH ON TUESDAYS AT 10:00 P.M. EST, WEDNESDAYS AT 7:00 A.M. EST, FRIDAYS AT 8:30 A.M. EST AND SUNDAYS AT 10:30 A.M. EST. DEER & DEER HUNTING TV WATCH ONLY ON PURSUIT CHANNEL 10 P.M. EST ON SATURDAYS, 9:30 A.M. EST SUNDAYS, 12:30 A.M. EST WEDNESDAYS, 6:30 A.M. EST THURSDAY. OCTOBER 3: MICHIGAN MADNESS Daniel Schmidt is hunting with Ted Nugent — together they share their thoughts on the current and future state of the hunting community. OCTOBER 10: FROM FALLOW TO FABULOUS…

I RECENTLY READ Don Higgins’ article, “Life Changing Bucks,” in the August issue of D&DH. Truth be told, I usually read Don’s articles with the mindset of “Here goes Don again, talking about how because he shot two 200+ inch deer, he’s an expert on deer hunting …” I still read his articles, but I perked up this time when Higgins spoke of the sacrifices of passionate deer hunting. I initially thought he would mention the sacrifices being better scouting, entry/exit routes, scent control, etc., typical stuff. But when he spoke about sacrificing family time and marriages, it hit home, because I was already minded to prioritize my family more this fall. Coincidentally, I read his article in the morning and in the late afternoon of the same day, my…

WILDLIFE RESEARCH CENTER: Micro Brew Craft Scents, including Trapper John’s Ultimate Buck Lure and Chainsaw Brian’s Premium Doe Estrus, are potent scents perfect for pre- and peak-rut dates. Trapper John’s Ultimate Buck Lure is a secret recipe formulated by the company’s late founder, including attractive oils and premium doe urine with estrous secretions. Chainsaw Brian’s Premium Doe Estrus is a concentrated doe estrus scent made with WRC’s finest premium doe urine with estrous secretions and supercharged with Territorial Musk and another secret ingredient. They’re available in 4-ounce bottles. WILDLIFE.COM CODE BLUE: Doe Estrous Scent Stalks hold synthetic doe-estrous scent, are legal in CWD zones and are designed for super-easy deployment. Scent Stalks last for eight to 10 days and can be hung from a licking branch or stabbed into the…

Deer hunting is often a game that comes down to mere seconds. A buck pops out of thick cover, making its way across a hardwood bottom to another patch of thick cover, not to be seen again in daylight for the entire season. The hunter has just a few seconds to make the decision to shoot or not. While the binocular closes the distance and reveals clues about the buck, questions race through a hunter’s mind at light speed: “Is the buck large enough to shoot? How many points does he have? What does he score?” That split-second decision has important consequences for a deer manager. Dead is dead, so when you harvest a buck, the decision is final. If you have a genuine interest in growing large, mature bucks…

The best kind of coyote trap has coil springs and a large jaw spread. It should be powerful enough to capture coyotes, which are strong. A small trap might not get a good grip on a coyote’s foot, making it easier for the coyote to escape. You also want a trap that closes quickly so a coyote can’t run away when it feels the trap closing. One with four coils is preferable. If you want to avoid damaging the coyote’s foot, try to find a trap with a center swivel. Coyotes tend to return to the same places, so setting a trap where you routinely see them can help you catch them. Coyotes are nervous about approaching places that are well covered. Avoid setting traps near high weeds or right…

1. LIGHTED NOCKS: Outlawing lighted nocks is downright counterproductive. Lighted nocks don’t aid the aiming process or make arrows magically more lethal. They help bowhunters better mark shots and follow up more intelligently, increasing the odds of game recovery. 2.WATER DEER: It’s illegal in some states to shoot deer standing in water. So, if hunting waterholes, you could easily break the law. This was no doubt devised to prevent deer from being shot while swimming large bodies of water, but protecting deer standing at the edge of water is quite the stretch. 3. TRAIL CAMERAS: Some states don’t allow the use of trail cameras during any open big-game season. This is the no-technology crowd run amuck. I would wager fewer rather than more deer are tagged because of trail cams,…

White-tailed deer surveys are conducted to learn more about a given population of deer, such as deer abundance, adult sex ratio, fawn recruitment, buck age structure, and/or quality of bucks Many local and state-level deer management decisions are driven by results from these surveys, and, consequently, it is important that surveys are as accurate as possible. Researchers have used many different tools to conduct aerial and ground-based deer surveys, including spotlights, thermal imagers, and game cameras; however, managers are continually seeking more efficient and cost-effective survey equipment. Deer surveys are often extremely time consuming and expensive to conduct, and the development of more efficient methods that maintain a high level of accuracy are a win all around. Recently, there has been rapidly growing interest in evaluating the utility of small…

All meat products, including venison, are highly perishable, and will easily spoil to the point of becoming inedible without proper storage conditions. While bacterial growth is the fastest and most common form of meat spoilage, chemical oxidation of fat and the resulting rancid flavors is another form of spoilage that can occur when bacterial growth is controlled. Fortunately, both types of spoilage respond well to temperature control. Refrigeration will slow both bacterial growth and chemical changes to some degree in the short term, but for long term storage, the most effective approach for minimizing spoilage is freezing…providing that it is properly done. Notice that I said “minimizing spoilage” because even properly frozen meat will be slowly (albeit very slowly) undergoing flavor deterioration during storage. Several things are important to achieve…

Few things in archery are more annoying, or more accuracy-destroying, than having the bowstring contact the inside of the forearm or wrist that holds the bow. It’s called string slap, and it can leave you bruised and sore for days. But it never needs to happen. String slap was much more common decades ago, when novice archers tended to shoot compound bows with a draw length that was too long for them. If the draw length is too long, the shooter has to exaggerate the body position at full draw, the bow arm is brought in closer to the path of the bowstring, and there is a better chance of it striking the forearm. Also, many archery coaches teach shooting with the bow arm elbow bent ever so slightly. This…

1 THE HEATER BODY SUIT The Heater Body Suit was specifically designed to keep your backside glued to the stand when the mercury dips. Serious hunters know the more time they spend in the woods, the better their chances of an encounter with a hit-list buck. The Heater Body Suit is a one-piece system that slides easily over garments, trapping warmth inside. The Polyester Tricot camo cloth is whisper quiet and the suit is filled with 300 grams of 3M Thinsulate™ Ultra Insulation and lined with a DuPont™ wind barrier, and is treated with (DWR) Durable Water Repellent. Slipping in-and-out of the suit is a breeze, and it rolls up easily for convenient on-stand storage. Chest straps and an ultra-quiet zipper mean you can quickly and easily free your upper…

Innocently enough, all I had been doing was teasing a couple yearling bucks with my grunt call. Mid-October, bow season in full swing, way early for great expectations, a casual smile split my face each time one of the bucks thought to take a step only to be frozen again with my bleats. The duo, while appearing addicted to my call, remained too wary to advance. Instead they shared occasional glances as if to say, “you go first.” In my treestand, tucked into the heavy cover of a dense hemlock some 40 yards distant, I commanded their actions like a mischievous puppeteer. My grunt call posing as a remote control, each time one dared a step I could stop it on a dime. Ears perking, eyes billowing, tails tensely twitching,…