More hunters pursue whitetails than any other species, and whitetail hunters contribute more financially than any other hunter segment. Ask QDMA: What’s the Best Doe:Buck Ratio? Includes internships, graduate fellowships, faculty positions and scholarships. Of course, the main reason we go is to bring home nourishing food for our families. This is a smart move that will quickly reveal missing nutrients, but other factors like soil type, drainage and depth can also substantially influence the productivity …, If you hunt whitetails, you’ve probably already heard of chronic wasting disease (CWD). Keeping Trail-Cameras Safe on Public Land. New Research is Out, College Football Playoffs of Deer Science. Deer Hunters Made History in the 2017-18 Season. What do they have in common? Clover Species …, Missy Runyan, a wildlife rehabilitator in Hunter, New York, responded to a call about a fawn in distress on May 24 of this year and found an almost completely white, piebald fawn with severe birth defects. Animals usually die from a variety of indirect causes …, Each fall, deer hunters see or harvest albino or piebald whitetails and discuss what a rare occurrence that is. Flush toilets, showers, laundry facilities, and potable water fill and dump station No deer, turkeys, or even squirrels had been spotted. Usually, hunting is illegal or severely restricted in the country where they were raised. We’re still talking about deer hunting, so don’t leave this page yet. Quickly …, Faster than a speeding bullet? deer, that’s 9 to 12 pounds. It’s not a rehash of old, accepted wisdom. I sometimes look back and cringe at all the rookie mistakes I made along the way and my painfully slow evolution as a hunter. New science from the University of Nebraska at …, Forest researchers in New York may have found a way to restore the once-dominant American chestnut that doesn’t involve non-native chestnut genes. White-tailed deer antlers are amazing appendages, aren’t they? The National Deer Association — United for Deer, Learn more about our mission Subscribe to our newsletter. We have various types of Maryland White Tail Deer Hunting, Maryland Goose Hunting, Maryland Sporting Clays, and Maryland Sporting Clay Tournaments making it possible for you to enjoy yourself. Deer gun, bighorn sheep and tundra swan licenses are issued by lottery and require special application procedures. Postal Service ® offers services at locations other than a Post Office ™.Clicking a location will show you what time it opens, when it closes, and which services it offers. Here, he teaches you how to imitate this call and explains when and why to use it in a hunting scenario. Since I …, Let’s face it. That likely stems from the struggles I endured as a young, aspiring hunter without a mentor. “I just put down a big non-typical on Christmas Eve, under instruction …, Most of the places I hunt are either public land or small, heavily pressured pockets of private land. Some of us turn to waterfowl hunting in January, and some enjoy an occasional rabbit or quail hunt …, ATHENS, GA (January 23, 2017) – U.S. whitetail hunters took more mature bucks than 1½-year-old or “yearling” bucks for the second consecutive year – and the second year ever in modern history – according to data compiled by the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) for its 2017 Whitetail Report, now available online. Not only do we always have a calculator in our pocket these days, but we have much more than that at our fingertips in this technologically driven …, I had the pleasure of giving one of the educational seminars at NDA’s Whitetail Weekend this spring, right before all heck broke loose with COVID-19. This is an exciting time of year for avid shed hunters but an equally frustrating time if you aren’t looking for sheds in the right spot. With regard to deer preference, oats consistently rank higher than the other cereal grains …, I know I’m not the only one who has been guilty of assuming that any deer management I tried to accomplish would be negated when a deer crossed the fence onto the neighbor’s land. Around mid- to late October every year, my phone starts ringing constantly from concerned food plotters frantically explaining that they planted their food plots in early September but then watched them wither and disappear. The …, My wife Tes and I began our Quality Deer Management journey over 15 years ago with the purchase of a small farm in east-central Alabama. …, If you send off samples of your food plot soil for lab testing, you already know the benefits. But over time, new themes emerge among the questions, and for the last couple of years, one new theme has dominated: growing low-impact food plots. Introduced to the United States for use along roadsides, hedgerows and, yes, in “habitat improvement projects,” common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) has grown out of control. It had been in her family for over 20 years, and much had been done to improve it for native wildlife. One of the challenges these new recruits will face is finding a good place to hunt. Bobcats. Many rubs are never visited again by the bucks that made them or by other deer. So the most …, When it comes to planting food plots for white-tailed deer, it’s hard to beat clover for several reasons. Where Do Northern Deer Find Water in Winter? Stop Making Excuses. Maybe Cut Some Down. As we reflect back on 2020, we …, New research shared at the 2020 Southeast Deer Study Group meeting held a lot of interesting new knowledge for deer hunters, and especially for deer habitat managers. Yes, CWD Kills Deer. These Trees Can Be Dangerous. Ips Beetles Attacking Drought-Stressed Trees Across the South, New Deer Knowledge from the 2017 Southeast Deer Study Group Meeting, 5 Clues You Might Be Hinge-Cutting Too Much. Fast forward to 2019, and many of us …, Looking back over themes from 42 annual meetings of the Southeast Deer Study Group reveals the evolving concerns of professional whitetail researchers over the last four decades of North American deer hunting. We reserved a booth at the Athens, Georgia farmer’s market and set up an impressive spread of …, Many deer hunters must now consider potential impacts of coyote predation on local deer herds. Sure, most hunters …, Follow Kip on Instagram. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,487. And while I always enjoyed the chance to shoot my bow, as well as the camaraderie of competitive archery, for whatever reason I never got serious about it. To help ensure this important conference doesn’t skip a year, we volunteered to host it virtually in February 2021. Their use can assist with creating and maintaining viable food plots, help control non-native, invasive species, and even control less-desirable brush and trees in your woodlands. Hunting may also replace other sources of deer mortality. Shed Hunting Tips by Region, Part 1: Deep South. For centuries the leaves have been used as food and the roots used as a coffee substitute and additive. How Long is Venison Safe in Warm Weather? In Law360's latest roundup of new actions at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, German liquor brand Jägermeister is accusing bubble tea franchise The Alley of using a "deceptive" deer … I contacted a forester who looked at the property and gave some advice, but I don’t think he understands what I’m looking for. 3 Boomerang Bucks That Went Non-Typical and Back Again, The Dangers of Blending Politics and Deer Management, 5 Herbicides Every Deer Steward Should Know, 5 Ways to Fight Back Against Hemlock Woolly Adelgids, Boost Your Food Plots With a Simple Soil Test, Three Questions Every Deer Forage Expert Asks, The 3 Biggest Obstacles to Creating Young Forest Cover. Not everyone practicing Quality Deer Management needs to take does. So today we wanted to address five of the most prevalent fawn myths. [1] Its county seat is Jay. Rub and Repeat: Bucks Return to A Few Rubs, Not All, The 3 Biggest Obstacles to Early-Season Deer Hunting, 3 Big CWD Facts From the International Deer Biology Congress, Don’t Make These Rookie Deer Hunting Mistakes, Green Fields: 10 Ways to Grow Low-Impact Food Plots, 10 New Findings of Deer Science to Make You a Smarter Hunter, Try Bow-Range Burning for Archery Attraction, Living to Tell of a Treestand Fall: “It Happened in a Split Second”, Locate Your Best Food Plot Soil With This Free Online Data, Melanistic Whitetails: Here’s What We Know, Deer Hunting is Essential to My Happiness, Michigan Study Shows APRs Can Provide Deer Management Benefits, This Map Spells Trouble for the Future of Deer Hunting. Posted by The Quality Deer …, Unless you hunt in portions of the Deep South, deer season is over. Postal Service ® offers services at locations other than a Post Office ™.Clicking a location will show you what time it opens, when it closes, and which services it offers. However, “frosty” is a somewhat new …, The year was 1999. I wish I was fortunate enough to scour every square inch of the properties I hunt in search of them, but time just doesn’t allow that, and sometimes those pesky rodents beat me …, Like many NDA members and deer habitat managers, I have been targeting ash trees for removal by cutting, girdling, and hack-and-squirt to free up space around mast-bearing oaks and to increase sunlight reaching the ground for forage and cover production. “There was a …, It’s no secret that cereal grains – wheat, oats, cereal rye, triticale – are popular choices for planting in food plots managed for whitetails. Hang trail-cameras — check. Living in South Carolina his entire life, hunting came as naturally to him as eating grits with shrimp. Each day we learn more about this fatal disease, and this knowledge will ultimately help us find solutions that …, Have you ever placed your trail-camera to monitor a rub without success? But I’ve come to realize that great deer …, As deer hunting seasons close around the nation each year, some wildlife agencies in states that are fighting outbreaks of chronic wasting disease (CWD) gear up for an effort to fight the disease through a technique known as post-season “targeted removal” or “targeted culling.” There is much misinformation about this approach, and deer hunters need …, On December 30, NDA member Jay Thompson got a chance to pull memory cards from his trail-cameras in South Carolina, and the photo you see above stood out for obvious reasons. Stay out of your favorite stand until November (or whenever the rut happens to peak where …, Each fall, many yearling bucks will strike out from the range where they were born, mostly in a straight line, onto ground they have never seen before. Property has been managed to attract wildlife and pasture has been improved for better grazing opportunities for the next owner. And while there is no doubt it …, 7 antlered bucks at one time. Deer Eat a Lot of Groceries. That’s why each year QDMA gathers data from state and provincial wildlife agencies, the …, One of the most interesting things about whitetails is the great variety in their appearance. They …, As fall winds down, I’m sure you’ve seen many pics of happy hunters with their trophies. It has happened before in deer management, and this time it has even become a point of tension in the wildlife management …, When spring rolls around, hunters everywhere gear up to begin establishing or “recharging” the mineral sites on their hunting properties. Isn’t it amazing that a single serving of “wow” can have 26 grams of protein but only 2.7 grams of fat in one 3-ounce serving? But …, In mid-to-late winter and early spring on the 38 acres Elaine and I live on, I perform many of the typical tasks QDMA members do: look for sheds of the never-seen buck that made all those huge rubs, conduct various timber stand improvement (TSI) tasks, cut firewood, and do something atypical – gather two wild …, There are few, if any, wild game animals we know so much about as the white-tailed deer – that’s what makes it surprising when new information comes to light about this species with which we are fascinated. At one point the buck even approached our friend, Neal, before dashing off into a nearby thicket (see the video below). You’d be hard pressed to find a deer hunter who hasn’t heard of it, and surveys show the majority of hunters practice some form of it. Some of these are secondary events that occur after a collision with a run-off-road crash or a collision with another vehicle. Plant Summer food plots — check. He reviewed four studies involving GPS tracking collars placed on bucks, and all four had similar …, I settled into my stand with favorable weather conditions and plenty of optimism for an early season September bowhunt in the rolling hills of Eastern Ohio. The Yankees won the World Series for the 25th time. As a result, many deer hunters are turning …, As fellow QDMA member Bryce Clingenpeel and I are driving down a rural road in Botetourt County, Virginia on a late July day, he suddenly slams on the brakes, quickly parks his truck on the roadside, disembarks, leaps across a ditch, and shouts “Yes!” Over 20 years ago, I taught English to Bryce at Lord …, Over my 20-year career as a wildlife biologist, I have run across my share of odd and puzzling things in the woods. I just picked up a super tip from a QDMA member that will help me …, I can’t speak for you, but buck fever is one of the reasons I go deer hunting. The samples stuck with toothpicks looked delicious, and having just recently decided this was the year that I was going to finally learn to hunt deer to get back …, No you didn’t click on the wrong website – this is the Quality Deer Management Association! Age and nutrition are mostly responsible for the size of free-ranging bucks’ antlers, with a side of genetics thrown in, but what about their color? Read a Day One message from Nick Pinizzotto, President and CEO of the National Deer Association, Check out our Frequently Asked Questions page about the all new National Deer Association, 2021 Southeast Deer Study Group Meeting (Virtual), An Evening of Fun and Entertainment with Two Certified Wildlife Biologists, Shed Hunting Tips by Region, Part 2: Midwest. As a hunter myself, I hate to see this, because in many cases an ounce of pre-season prevention can help …, I recently moved to Illinois where feeding or baiting deer is illegal at all times of the year, and getting pictures of bucks suddenly became much more difficult. As communications manager for the Quality Deer Management Association, I spend my fair share of time on social media. You may be trying to beat the buzzer and shoot that big buck you’ve been after all year, or you might just be trying to put meat in the freezer. That’s what I was watching on the afternoon of November 17, 2018. …, Follow Matt on Instagram. To Entice New Hunters, Don’t Overlook This Motivation. How Many Does Should You Harvest? My deer stepped out third: a …, Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer is a serious matter. Through the centuries, they’ve adorned walls of caves, huts, barns, camps and literally millions of homes across North America. Moose, elk, deer, steelhead salmon, trout, and other wildlife visit the ranch often. No, it’s not mass. These …, Grotesque facial swelling on a deer, known as a food impaction and sometimes also called “lumpy jaw,” is one of the weirdest sights a deer hunter can encounter on their trail-camera images or in person while hunting. My uncles hunted. “Great Food!!! Is it too late to replant? I poured my heart into it, diving deep into the deer research …, Many deer hunters are familiar with a deer’s tarsal glands and the role it plays in communication during the rut. That’s a lot of groceries, but getting a good visual grasp of this statistic is tough, unless you want me …, Follow Matt on Instagram. Instead of deer dying from deer-vehicle collisions, diseases, predation, or natural causes, they can be harvested by a hunter. Does it change depending on where you are in the whitetail’s range? Why 3D Archery Will Make You a Better Bowhunter. Interruptions in the food-supply chain are shifting lots of work to local processors, which is good for them, but it might mean they don’t have …, I bring good news to all deer hunters who think they made some “mistake” last season or feel like “disaster” struck: The arrival of fawns each spring is the annual correction that makes it difficult for us to do long-term damage to deer populations. Which is …, As deer hunters, we put ourselves at risk every time we hit the woods. Historically, its primary use has been as a cover crop in the agricultural community, but it has many unique qualities that can make it an excellent choice as a deer forage depending on your food plot objectives and property features. Even in well managed herds with balanced …, On October 11, 2017, after a long day in the office, I left work in a rush to the treestand hoping to get set up as early as possible. Achieving this is as simple as a soil test. Or, instead of walking, it may have wheels under it. We need all three to ensure happiness, but what really keeps me going is something to hope …, Prescribed fire brings a bonus to hunters in the South, where dense forest cover dominates most landscapes: Fire helps us find sheds. Half the study animals were pronghorn, half mule deer. No, it comes from science. Depending on your location, much of this acreage will have already provided food for one to …, Have you ever gone to great lengths to plant your food plots correctly, but they didn’t turn out as you had hoped? Tagged Out Early On Bucks, His Hunt Got Even Better. The tick can be found along deer trails in grassy coastal regions, dense woodlands, amongst fallen leaves or fir needles, and on fallen logs or branches. “And you have to try the beer cheese dip with Rye croutons... YUM! This leads to a discussion of how many does to shoot, since “adequate” could mean a lot, a few, or no does at all, depending on the situation. As a member, you’ll attract, hold and effectively hunt mature bucks with the latest information on forage and cover, deer senses and behaviors, expert hunting approaches, and more. Your Trail-Cameras Can Tell You. Deer season is that wonderful time of year when you get together with family and friends at camp or wherever …, Last year was a good hunting season at Grace Acres, my family’s farm in Southeast Georgia where we have practiced Quality Deer Management (QDM) for many years. Compare that to 41 percent of duck hunters and …, Do you believe the list of attributes a buck must possess to be a successful breeder is long or short? Apple. The mid-January afternoon was hot, and mosquitos buzzed by my head as I leaned against …, Few discussions engage as many hunters as which rifle is the best – Remington or Winchester, .243 or .270, wood or laminate stock? Hopefully your bow has been getting a regular workout …, Science-based wildlife management gave us the abundant natural resources we enjoy as hunters today, and it can help ensure we keep them for tomorrow. …, It never fails. Melanistic whitetails are a true gem of whitetail color morphs. Learn to play the acorn pattern all season long. When a tissue sample from the carcass was tested, it delivered the state’s first-ever confirmed case of CWD, making Mississippi the 25th state to find the disease and the first …, Time is not kind to deer habitat. Historically confined to the western United States, coyotes have expanded throughout the eastern states and are now common across most landscapes we manage for deer. Luckily, the image …, Have you heard of tree saddles? Can You Estimate a Buck’s Age From His Shed Antler? Sadly, however, neither is the focus …, The other day, I took a tour through our freezer and discovered a quartered gray squirrel from February, turkey wing meat from the fall of 2018 (yikes), and just two packages of roasts among our venison stash. They know that deer typically begin using supplemental minerals around spring green-up and continue until early fall. Feral hogs. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound? Once an appropriate doe-harvest goal …, I hate clickbait headlines as much as you do, but I’m not above using them to get you to read this blog. Posted by The Quality Deer Management Association on Tuesday, November 8, 2016 QDMA is …, When I ask people why they choose to pursue deer each fall, there are always a variety of replies. You took these adults on their first deer hunt. Here’s a by-the-numbers look at some of the research I found most interesting and useful at the annual conference. In general, antlers begin growing in spring, grow through late summer, shed velvet around early September, fall off in winter, and start growing again a couple of months later. The venison was cooked rare, the way we liked it. We are on a peninsula in a large tidal stretch of the James River, and the deer population grew …, Follow Matt on Instagram. They also have a well-deserved reputation for rebounding from seemingly life-threatening injuries. As great as it is to have that freedom to roam, approaching …, As a young hunter, I often puzzled over the depictions of the chest cavity in diagrams for hunters and on targets that displayed organs, because they were often at odds with my understanding of deer anatomy. Tom Mitchell, a QDMA member from Missouri, …, When you harvest a doe late in a hunting season, you can measure any fetuses the doe is carrying using a special scale and determine when they were conceived. One discussion that can rival it is crossbow use. According to noted deer researchers Drs. Great...”, Hotels near Delaware County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Hotels near Delaware County Cultural Arts Center, Italian Restaurants for Families in Delaware, Mexican Restaurants for Lunch in Delaware, Restaurants near Baymont by Wyndham Delaware, Restaurants near Stratford Ecological Center. It turned out, however, that after meeting my neighbor and sharing my passion for deer hunting, we actually had similar interests …, Editor’s Note: Eight years ago this week, NDA member Phil Bancroft of Florida nearly died while preparing food plots for hunting season. That’s exciting and, at least for me, the volume button that controls my eagerness …, We are often told to get out of our “comfort zone” to make progress in life, but there are also times when we really need to stay in it. Whether that entails hunting a new location or completely different species, learning …, You’ve probably heard all the talk recently about the decline in hunter numbers, with the U.S. What I’m talking about is knowing your limits, and your equipment’s limits, and not shooting at deer beyond them. When we took the reins we decided to implement …, Over the past few years, we have noticed that Field to Fork participants who were not born in the United States always have a similar curiosity about hunting, aside from their food interest. Oh Snap! It’s a map of one of the ways we will lose the war against CWD unless we take action, and I hope it shocks us awake. In hunting, much like other things in life, sometimes having a fresh perspective is beneficial. The feeling you get as you reach for your weapon and ready for the shot; your target unaware of the ambush waiting from above. When Joerg Mayer, an associate professor of zoological …, If you’re a deer hunter who is active on social media, particularly if you consume hunting content on YouTube, you’ve likely noticed the increasing popularity in public land hunting and the sharing of public land hunting videos. Most sheds in my personal collection are blackened by fire, and it was in a newly burned area that I enjoyed a successful morning of shed hunting a couple of years ago, finding …, QDM is a household name in the deer hunting world today. 8 Winter Projects for Better Fall Deer Hunting, U.S. Hunters Take More Mature Bucks Than Yearlings for Second Year in a Row, Someone Tossed a Bottle in the Woods and Killed a Nice Buck, Kansas Deer Facing a Potential Outbreak of Footrot Disease. I’ve learned that your shed-hunting strategy …, “What is the best thing to plant in my food plot?” Have you ever asked this question? Given this, is it safe to assume our wildlife professionals have the final say …, Let’s face it, food plots are a lot of work. Desirable newer home heated by natural hot water, 185 irrigated acres. Reservations are required and may be made up to six months in advance online or by calling (866) 644-6727. This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The stand had been hanging in the tree for nearly four years, and David had not even hunted it the previous season, so on June 30 he …, In a previous post, we featured berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum) as a potential food plot species.