Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2025 i Deer & Deer Hunting

Not sure if I speak to you when I say this, but us graybeards yearn for the old days of deer camp. I’m talkin’ real deer camp, not this modernized whatever it is you want to call it. The days before smartphones, antler envy and woke wildlife management. The meat pole was the epitome of what deer camp meant to us. It was the gathering place where boys became men, and men hammered down any of life’s anxieties that troubled them. At least momentarily. Most of the privileged kids I knew had families that called it the “buck pole.” That’s because they had family land to hunt — private ground usually totaling 20, 40 and sometimes even 80 acres. A place where deer could seek refuge from the public-land gang.…

In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. During the dark months of the next 2½ years, Europe exploded with tanks, bombs and guns. The violent side of Hitler’s new German policies proved worse than anyone could have imagined, including legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold. It is quite ironic how the perils of war run parallel with historic and current political battles over deer management. As the brutality of World War II increased, Leopold became entangled in vehement debates on the conservation front. Both state and national governments were promoting the construction of dams for more power and the clear-cutting of wilderness areas and state forests for more timber and roads. Leopold fought these acts of violence against nature with his sharpened pencil and lined notepads. His words deepened in philosophical content and…

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Most hunters bring their hunting rifles out for the season, take a few shots at the distance the gun was originally zeroed at and call it good. But is it really? There are a few things to consider whenever you are sighting in a rifle. ENVIRONMENT Where you are hunting can make a difference. Bullet trajectory can change with elevation and temperature (if you are using a temperature sensitive powder). If you are traveling to a location with drastically different conditions from where you normally hunt, be sure to verify your zero in your hunting environment before heading out into the field. SHOOTER MAINTENANCE Ensure everything on the gun is tight, especially scope bases and rings. Apply some light oil or lubrication and perform a quick inspection to make sure…

1 SAVAGE ARMS 110 TRAIL HUNTER LITE RIFLE An all-around hunting rifle needs to stand up to the elements, no matter the conditions. Savage teamed up with Hogue to introduce the 110 Trail Hunter Lite. Hogue Overmolded rifle stocks have long been known to provide outstanding performance and grip. The full coverage rubber overmold on the stock provides the user with a superior hold on the rifle in all conditions. The Cerakote ceramic coating on the barreled action helps to seal out the worst that mother nature can dish out. The 110 Trail Hunter Lite will be the rifle that helps you fill your tags. • Tungsten Cerakoted barreled action • Hogue Overmolded rifle stock in Black • Button rifled barrel • Threaded, heavy sporter, straight fluted barrel • 2…

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It’s been over an hour since I first saw his majestic antlers towering over the tall wheatgrass surrounding a distant cottonwood. The buck took his sweet time picking his way toward this alfalfa hideout, but now as the sun sets, he’s making a straight line for my location. It’s been a hot opening day of archery season, and I’m 30 yards from the nearest water. FOOD No matter where you go, early season archery seasons require a dynamite food source if you expect to see the parade of whitetails us old-timers so-often talk about. For example, it could be bur oak acorns in the Midwest, apples in the Great Lakes region, or persimmons in the South. Whatever to go-to food is, find it, and focus on it before these unpressured…

There are likely as many ways to effectively hunt bucks as there are shoes in a shoe store. The beauty of it is that it’s impossible to tell a hunter their approach was wrong, when they ethically and legally score. That said, I’ve found two general approaches to work best for tagging bucks. That’s what we’re about to dive into. TAKING WHAT YA GET The first method is what I’ve used most over the years. Without a doubt, I do a whole bunch of what we’ll be covering next, but I’ve logged probably twice the time in stands utilizing this first approach. That is simply hunting high odds locations of running into any buck. In that case, one is merely setting up on concentrations of deer. That includes the most…

The biological manifestation of Bergmann’s Rule (North = bigger and South = smaller) has special survival value for deer in that it permits whitetails to better cope with extreme, unfavorable temperatures. Since a large body has less surface area in relation to total body mass, a large-bodied deer retains body heat more efficiently than does a smallbodied deer. Such an energy-conserving advantage could mean the difference between life and death for northern whitetails faced with prolonged exposure to periods of sub-zero temperatures, periods often accompanied by limited supplies of food of low nutritive value. Conversely, small-bodied deer living in areas of hot weather are better able to dissipate surplus heat and maintain body temperature equilibrium. Although genetic factors largely account for the body size differences articulated in Bergmann’s Rule, prevailing…

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TO WATCH THESE POPULAR D&DH VIDEOS, SCAN THE QR CODES ON THIS PAGE WITH YOUR SMARTPHONE. Spot & Stalk Hunt with Mark Kayser @Loyal-uu1pu 10 days ago That’s how you hunt, my guy, no stands in New Mexico. Respect! @SteelCityAmn7 12 days ago It’s funny how this would be poaching on Ohio lol @JosephNelson-us1he 7 days ago Beautiful buck and awesome video footage of this hunt. Drought Resistant Food Plots @troybrake5686 4 days ago Deer still haven’t hit my turnips and radishes and it’s November 14th! We have only had two light frosts and one was just a couple nights ago! Looks like we’re getting the cold next weekend. Hopefully they start eating them then. Was hoping to hunt them during the rut but there just hitting my rye grain…

This is an inexpensive, homemade, deer hunting blind, and it has several good things going for it, all of which should appeal to people who don’t like to climb into trees, are too old to feel secure doing so, or don’t want to spend a lot of money. • Put together right, it will be rugged enough to last a full season, or maybe more. The corn will no longer be growing, but when you’re ready to assemble the blind, first break the ear from each stalk – deer munching on them might be too close to shoot or may be alarmed if you move. This is a bit of a joke, but not completely so. • It is inexpensive to buy sweet corn stalks (preferred) or field corn stalks,…

Some misinformed people believe that all apple trees require very demanding maintenance practices to grow successfully. This misconception is based upon a partial truth that is mostly false. Apple trees do face a host of potential diseases and pests. Apple varieties grown for the commercial market do require a demanding spraying program to ward off diseases and produce the flawless fruit the market requires. Too many assume that all apple trees are similarly susceptible to disease. There are some varieties of apple trees that are resistant to disease. That fact is not widely understood or appreciated. Those who eschew planting apple trees for deer believing it to be impractically difficult, are terribly and tragically mistaken. Even “wild apple trees” that have never received any care can and do survive to…

With the ample deer hunting seasons afforded us throughout North America, there’s no shortage of interest in cooking, recipes and creating delicious meals. Whether you’re new to hunting or an old hand, celebrating the success with great dishes, appetizers, snacks or other treats is one of the joys of the experience. From the earliest days when man thrust a stick impaled with a hunk of whitetail venison near a fire to roast it to today’s outstanding tools for smoking, making sausages or other prep, the opportunities are almost limitless. Deer hunters know there’s a lot of work involved from well before setting foot in the woods, from scouting and stand placement to studying maps and practicing at the shooting range. But when the hunt is finished and you have venison…

BUCK SCORE: 185 6/8 INCHES DATE HARVESTED: NOVEMBER 22, 2023 LOCATION: KANSAS WEAPON: BOW Phillip Vanderpool is no stranger to big whitetails. He’s stacked more deer than most, and a big percentage of those are monster bucks. Last season, he added another big Kansas deer to that list. He hunts a 40-acre tract of land. He runs 22 trail cameras on it, and knows what’s in the area. Every trail has a trail camera. He has one trail camera video from November 29, 2021, of this deer. “No question, it’s him,” Vanderpool said. “He was probably at least a 4 ½-year-old deer.” In 2023, he was 6 ½, maybe 7 ½ years old. On November 7, 2023, he returned. From that day until November 22, he was all over the…

This is something I’d like to share to all of the dads and future dads out there. Arguably, parts of it can be applied to most people but for my purposes I’m speaking to the dads. We live in an era where almost any disease or ailment can be treated and handled in the short term. Almost. Dads need to stop being the tough guy all the time. This isn’t an attack on manhood either. Far from it. This is an attack on misplaced pride and bravado. I’m as much of a “manly-man” as anybody. I like fried foods, sausage gravy and biscuits, fish-fry Friday, breaded backstraps, and I’m the hunting and fishing-ist guy you’re gonna find. I like to camp, hike, work with my hands, and take care of…