No, we are not talking about a poorly placed shot here, but rather literally feeding to every buck’s primary need — food. Summer is a serious stress period for white-tailed deer. With that said, quality food is hard to find in many parts of the country right now, unless your area has been blessed with summer and late summer rainfall.

So, what do deer eat and how can you capitalize on hungry deer? Yes, yes, you know the answer is providing food, but you have two choices at this point. Do you wish to bait or actually provide supplemental feed the deer in your area? There is a difference and I’ve talked about baiting versus supplementing before. For those that are ate up with keeping deer in prime condition, most provide supplemental food year round through either food plots or free-choice protein.

Both of these options are fine, most deer managers even use them in combination, and they are ideal ways to promote the highest deer body conditions and support maximum antler growth, but what about some of the lease hunters or individuals that can not afford to provide supplementation throughout the year? (more…)

Now that you have decided on the best locations to monitor with your game camera, you will need to know a few tips to help make sure that you get quality deer photos. With that goal in mind, when at all possible point the camera toward the north. Not on will placing the game camera in this position greatly reduce the chance of the camera getting triggered by the sun, but it will reduce back-lighting on your subject and give you much better deer photos.

Likewise, placing the game camera in areas of heavy tree cover will also help prevent the mid-day sun from accidentally triggering the sensor. So, if you want to take better photos in a relatively open area, face the camera north. If you are trying to pattern deer using a game camera in a heavily wooded area, any direction will work.

Next, it’s important that you accurately measure the distance from the trail camera to where you expect deer to travel. If the camera is set back too far, then the sensor might not trigger and the camera will miss the shot. Of course, having a deer cross too closely is equally bad since the camera will only capture part of the deer as it passes by – or totally miss the deer all together! (more…)

The digital game camera really has given hunters one of the best scouting tools available for white-tailed deer and other game, but most users fall short of using their camera to its potential. The game camera can be a great tool for seeing what’s out there, but like any tool, it must be used properly for the user to get the full benefit of using the “hunter that never sleeps.”

First and foremost, a digital game camera will let you see many of the bucks you have available for harvest in the area where you hunt. Most of the bucks you probably would have never seen otherwise. The most common practice employed by game camera users is to set a camera adjacent to their feeder or food plot. Although this usually gets hunters lots of pictures, all it really tells you what deer are present.

You’re probably thinking, “Well, if I know a certain buck is coming to my feeder, then I will just sit there and wait for him.” But, if you really intend for the camera to help you not only get a look at your deer, but also want it to help you bag “your” buck, then you will have to get a bit more creative, so pay attention. (more…)

Many landowners and hunters consider supplemental feeding an important factor in deer management and a source of nutrition when native forage is inadequate either in quantity or quality. Under certain conditions a supplemental feeding program can help. However, most deer feeding programs which provide sufficient additional nutrients to be of value are quite expensive.

There is a distinct difference between feeding and baiting white-tailed deer. Maintaining deer feeders from October through December is a common practice on many ranches to attract deer to hunting blinds during the hunting season. Unfortunately most of these baiting efforts cease just before additional feed is really needed by the deer — in late winter. Supplemental feeding is most-beneficial during stress periods. Stress periods for deer are usually encountered when the protein content of the forage is at a low level during severe winters, dry springs and dry summers. (more…)

Every hunter would love to pattern a big ole monster buck prior to hunting season. Knowing when and where to be set up come hunting season would be worth a mint! But what about those areas where you put up your game camera and don’t see any bucks? Is there any value in that information? Yes.

Believe it or not, many areas are rarely or never visited by white-tailed bucks. Eliminating areas where you should not be is hunting is of great importance and actually increases your chances of taking a buck on any given day — assuming you aren’t hunting “dead space.” (more…)

Deer hunters spend a lot of time and resources scouting and hunting white-tailed deer, but if you’re like a lot of folks in the woods, there is a lot you may not know about your quarry. As such, everyone once in a while I’m going help hunters get a better handle on deer and their habits by publishing some simple deer facts. Here’s the first installment:

White-tailed Deer Facts:

-White-tailed bucks most often bed by laying on their right side and facing downwind, which allows them to use their eyes, ears, and excellent sense of smell to detect danger approaching from any direction.

-Research studies have shown that whitetail deer can smell human scent on underbrush for days after we leave the woods! Wary, mature bucks react very negatively when they run across human scent, often becoming leery of the area for weeks afterwards.

-A whitetail’s hair color appears almost bluish-grey in winter. New hair that grows during autumn provides whitetails with added insulation against cold, winter temperatures. The tips on these new hairs are dark, giving the winter hide its richer hue.

-When running from danger, a deer takes very long strides with its tracks sometimes spaced as much as 25-feet apart! That’s what I call getting away!

White-tailed deer populations span from from the Atlantic to the pacific, north into Canada, and as far south as Peru. In every area white-tailed deer live, something is out to get them. Hunters will hunt and predators must eat, but deer have adapted to the endless pursuit of predators, including humans, and here is how.

Whitetail deer are mostly active at dusk and dawn (crepuscular) and will often feed at night, becoming totally nocturanal. This may be an adaptation to the habits of man because humans, of all animals, rely most heavily on sight to find deer. Deer, especially mature bucks, go nocturnal counter our limitations.

Sight, however, is not the whitetail’s keenest sense. Deer often can not distinguish between a motionless object and its background, but deer are quick to respond at the slightest movement. Just a twitch is enough to warn a deer that something is not quite right and set the animal on high alert. Deer hunters know this well.

If a deer is suspicious, but there is no movement, the deer will approach and stomp with its front leg in an attempt to make the out-of-place “thing” move. Without a reaction, a curious and smart white-tailed deer may also call into duty their sharpest sense - smell. A deer may circle downwind and analyze the wind with its nose in an attempt to detect danger. If things don’t smell right… goodbye!

As good as their senses are to sight and sound, there is no denying that a deer’s keen sense of hearing is their most effective weapon to ward off would-be predators and hopeful hunters. This is why hunting buck scrapes and using doe urine can be highly effective when used properly. Their ears are designed to collect sound waves, the eyes to collect colors, and their nose to smell danger. They all add up to one heck of a crafty white-tailed deer!

You had planned on bagging your buck early in the deer hunting season, but that time has come and gone. An unsuccessful early season strategy, a lack of hunting time, or just plain bad luck has left your freezer empty. So now what? Although early season hunting brings its own set of challenges, such as hot weather, chiggers, ticks, dense foliage, and abundant food resources, the late season can be that much tougher times 10!

Why? For one, there are less deer in the woods. Depending on the area you hunt, the number of bucks already harvested this season could comprise from 20 to 50% of the buck population! In additon, the bucks that remain are well-educated and know the game. And to make matters worse, the rut is pretty much over. Bummer.

By now, you are probably wondering where you can possibly go from here to find a nice buck. Well, here are a few late season hunting tips that may help you score big before time runs out.

1. Look for Quiet - Most hunters will hunt the first few days or weekends of the season and then bag their deer, simply give up, or run out of time. The places they hunted have been undisturbed for a while and the local deer know this. Look for areas that have received little disturbance since mid-season and secluded feeding areas such isolated food plots or feeders that receive little attention. Areas that have had little to no hunting pressure are prime late season hunting hot spots.

2. Hunt the Moon - You’ve heard this one before, but late season can be more important than ever for timing the moon phases. Deer naturally become more nocturnal during the winter in part because of the energy benefits they receive by resting during the day when it’s a bit warmer and moving around to feed at night when it’s colder. However, during the dark of the moon or several nights with heavy cloud cover, deer will much more active in the mornings.

3. Hunt the Weather - Time your hunting with not only the moon, but with cold weather and cold fronts. In the southern U.S., this can be the most important thing a hunter can do in late season. Although winter temperatures can be relatively mild by northern standards, a good cold front can drop the nightly low temperatures into the teens and keep the daily high temperatures below freezing for several days. This cold weather requires high energy consumption by smaller-bodied southern deer — and they get hungry! Time your cold weather with the moon, and the chances of catching that hungry mature buck moving around, especially during the morning, increase significantly.

4. Go Untraditional - If you have set blinds, stands, or areas that you or others typically hunt in your area, get away from them! Deer pattern people as much or more than people pattern deer. Going untraditional may mean hunting between hunting blinds or areas where hunters are normally set up. Find un-hunted upland travel corridors as well as wooded creeks and bottomlands deer love. Mature whitetail bucks know the weak spots in your “normal” game plan. They can walk across a property without being spotted, even if it means going across a wide open field where he knows you are not. Also, consider hunting untraditional areas at untraditional times, especially during a full moon. During a full moon, deer move more during mid-day, and if you are in the “wrong” place at the “wrong” time, you might just surprise ole big boy!

So there you have it. These four late season hunting tips have worked for me in the past over and over again. I’ve bagged many whitetail deer in places that no one ever thought to hunt at times when others were back at camp eating lunch. Of course, these hunting tips aren’t going to work every time, but I wouldn’t bet against them during a few days of late season hunting.