It’s time—the day before the opener of Texas’ General White-tailed Deer Hunting Season! That means the trucks are packed, the trailers are loaded, the guns have been sighted-in (hopefully), the knives are sharpened, the corn used to “chick-chick” the roads is waiting at a gas station to be purchased along the way, and guys and gals and boys and girls all across the great state of Texas will be making tracks today on the way to their deer leases, public hunting lands or personal properties. It’s amazing at just how fast a year goes by now days, but another deer hunting season is upon us.

Like many hunters, I grew up with a father that hunted. He introduced me to the outdoors and taught me how to spot the dove flyways on the property where we ran cows,  how to hunt squirrels, rabbits, deer and how to skin them all, including coons and nutria that we trapped, as well as anything else you could skin. Actually, furbearers brought a good price back then, and I think that really help control a lot of those mid-sized predator populations. Now that I think about it, we did see more quail and even some pheasants around still at that time. Hunting allowed me to experience nature up close, as well as spend time with family and friends.

When I was barely a teenager my dad and some other relatives and his long-time friends found us a deer lease in Mason County. Talk about excited. I recall making the first of many five hour treks out there. It was the Hill Country, after all, and the lease and our camp house were located right on the beautiful Llano River. With what seemed like a whitetail deer under every tree and hungry channel cats waiting in the clear waters of the Llano to bite even a crank bait, I thought we had found heaven. I think we drove up there every weekend in November and December of that year.

I recall one weekend in December in particular. Everyone on the lease had decided the time had come to start filling doe tags. Even then we had some ideas about deer management, but looking back that property was severely over-populated with whitetail. I even remember hearing radio adds while driving through the Hill Country about Llano County being the Deer Capitol of the World, having a deer density of 1 deer per acre. I still think that river lease in Mason County had an equivalent deer density.

One evening was particularly memorable with seven does and a spike buck having been shot between four or five hunters. I remember taking a picture of eight deer hanging from the live oak trees. At that point in my hunting life I had never skinned a deer without some type of assistance and/or instruction and I thought my dad was pretty good at it. He instructed everyone to work on dinner while we worked on the deer. As my dad cut around the first hock, I started the stopwatch feature on my wristwatch, which was pretty high tech for back then, as I held the flashlight. All eight were skinned and gutted within 40 minutes. My dad was strong as an ox back then and popped off deer hides like they were bed sheets.

We had a lot of good times out there. The bucks were not big, especially by today’s standards, but they were all trophies. I still have the horns and can tell you where I was sitting when they were shot, as well as the direction they came from. I would live off of Shasta soda and eat ravioli and chili straight from the can for lunch. We had a lot of good meals, too. I remember the barbecues, the long drives to Mason County at 55 miles per hour and waking up freezing in my sleeping bag because no one woke up to stoke the wood-burning stove. That was 25 years ago. Things sure do change, but the one thing that does not is a hunter’s desire to head out to deer camp for camaraderie, good food and even some deer hunting. I will see my dad this evening, and I’ll have dinner waiting for him.

I think the opening weekend of the General Deer Hunting Season is going to play out fairly well. The weather is not going to be ideal, but it rarely is. Hey, at least no shorts and t-shirts for opening morning. Native food sources are looking good for deer right now because of the recent green-up and most oaks have dropped their acorns. That does not help the hunters though. I’ve heard quite a few instances recently of corn piling up at feeders and game cameras with few deer pictures. The good news is that bucks are on the move with the cooler weather and decreasing day length. Some parts of Texas (middle coast and post oak region) are seeing heavy rutting activity while many are still in the pre-rut stage. But we’ve got all season. Make the most of it. Best of luck to you, your friends and family!

Hunters are a lot like the white-tailed deer that they hunt, with each one being different from the rest of the herd. Some hunters like bucks with big, wide spreads while others want long tine lengths or bucks with mega-mass. Fortunately, not all bucks are cut from the same template. Late summer is the time of the year when whitetail bucks begin shedding antler velvet. While this is true for most bucks, what about the very small percentage of bucks that do not shed their velvet? How can this happen?

Hunter’s Story: “I heard from my taxidermist about the largest 6 point whitetail buck he had ever seen. Apparently, he was an 8 year old deer, harvested in December while still in full velvet, and the deer had been castrated, most likely by jumping a fence. The explanation goes something like this: The deer was likely injured/castrated in the summer of his 3rd or 4th year. Because the velvet dies off in the fall due to increased testosterone levels, and this bucks levels obviously did not increase, his velvet lived and the antlers continued to grow.

And because the shedding of a buck’s antlers is triggered by a decrease in testosterone levels after the rut, he never shed his antlers. The buck basically maintained the same testosterone level his entire life, none. And so supposedly he kept the 6 point frame he had developed as a 3 year old, when the injury occurred. However, the points and main beams continued to grow for a number of years, creating a truly one of a kind buck. I’m a pretty experienced deer hunter and even I’m a little skeptical of this story, but I guess it sort of makes sense.”

This can happen. Antler growth, development, loss of velvet and antler shedding are all dependent upon hormone levels. The hormone that impacts this annual antler cycle is in fact testosterone. Antler development during a single year, as well as the absence of a normal antler cycle throughout a number of years, can occur because of inadequate testosterone levels in bucks. Typically, as testosterone levels increase bucks will rub off their velvet. When testosterone levels decrease, usually in late winter, their antlers fall off.

The buck referenced in the story above has antlers covered in velvet, so the testosterone levels are low and have remained low over several years. These deer are referred to as stag bucks. Whitetail stags are bucks that lack functioning testes. Though some stag bucks become so after injuring the “family jewels” most stags are born without them. These bucks do not breed or participate in the rut and are basically social outcasts. Their antlers never lose their velvet and the antlers themselves never are shed.

From a deer management perspective, stag bucks do not contribute anything do a deer herd. Antler growth will be limited and in most cases the stag condition is genetically based or at least influenced by injury during early physical development. These animals, like any whitetail deer, do use the available habitat and will readily consume feed. The harvest of whitetail bucks that do not lose their velvet-covered antlers is recommended.

Most hunters know that a successful white-tailed deer management program is a multifaceted endeavor. For noticeable changes to be observed in a deer population, the age, genetics and nutrition of the herd must be controlled at some level. Because age is important, aging deer on the hoof and then re-evaluating that assessment after “ground checking” based on the deer’s tooth wear is a common practice on many ranches. After cutting a deer’s check most hunters expect to see teeth with some amount of wear, but most never expect to see a deer with fangs in its upper mouth.

These “fangs” are actually canine teeth. All whitetail have lower canines, but few deer have upper canines. The harvested deer that do have them often go undetected because hunters focus on the teeth located in the bottom jaw when aging, not those positioned on top. The upper canine teeth that are seen are usually discovered by taxidermist preparing buck deer for European (skull) mounts, not by curious hunters probing around inside an animals mouth. Common sense would make one believe that most ungulates such as white-tailed deer do not have canine teeth, but a small number in fact do.

Although most whitetail do not have fangs, there are some ungulates that posses the more appropriately termed canine teeth. But why do these teeth occur at all in deer? Genetics. We have to go back many, many years to understand the relationship between the whitetail and its prehistoric ancestors. Research suggests that the white-tailed deer evolved from deer that originated in Asia tens of millions of years ago. Several of the deer found on that continent back then had canine teeth. Some, like the Chinese Water Deer and Muntjac (oldest known deer), still do.

Adult Muntjac males have tiny antlers, but have well-pronounced canine teeth that can grow up to three inches in length. In the same manner that whitetail bucks use their antlers to intimidate and fight other bucks during the rut, the canine teeth of Asian deer have similar functions in buck competition during the breeding season. While the whitetail deer’s genetic link to its Asian ancestors has weakened over time, the gene for these vestigial canine teeth still remains.

Like the Asian deer mentioned above, only whitetail bucks typically possess these small, upper canine deer fangs. It’s been reported that whitetail does never grow canines, but there have been documented cases of does having upper canines. And even when not present, they can the canine gene to their offspring. Additionally, whitetail deer are not the only North American hoofed animal with canine teeth. Elk, both male and female, posses canine teeth. In fact, you can age them based on their canine tooth wear.

Hundreds of thousands of white-tailed deer are killed in Texas each fall and winter, but typically by deer hunters in search of big bucks and those looking to fill their freezers. Automobiles even get a few, but it seems the deer and hunters in Eastland County have something else to look out for now—poison. The Texas Agriculture Extension is advising all area health care providers of a poisoning in Eastland County that occurred approximately two weeks ago.

It seems a ranch south of Carbon, Texas, tried to kill feral hogs by mixing deer corn with a pesticide called Temik, which is a neurotoxin. Apparently, the rancher spread a very large amount of mixed, poisoned corn over their 2,000 acre peanut crop to kill feral hogs, but it turns out that white-tailed deer where also feeding on the same ranch.

BN: “With the opening of deer season this weekend, authorities are asking hunters not to eat ANY venison meat harvested in south Eastland County until further notice. Any deer appearing sick or stumbling should be avoided. Though ingested levels of poisoned corn would have to be high in a deer, waterfowl, and hogs to seriously affect humans, authorities note it is very toxic and possibly fatal.

State and federal investigations are in progress. Further questions and concerns can be directed to Michael Hare with the Texas Agricultural Extension office at 512-475-3305.”

This situation is unfortunate for Eastland County hunters for several reasons. Not only are they just days from the opener of Texas’ General Deer Season, but many non-target animals, including deer, will continue to be exposed to contaminated bait. Not only are hunters warned to not consume venison of harvested animals in the area, but their hunting license fees directly manage for each of the wildlife species impacted by this ignorant action.

It’s unknown how many animals are being directly impacted by the poisoned corn, but it’s even more disturbing to think what some individuals will do without considering the consequences of their actions.

Update: Corn poisoned with Temix and Aldicarb was found in 2 peanut fields and is suspected in 4 more. The location of the 2 confirmed poisoned fields is 9 miles South of Cisco, just West of SH 183, between CR173 on the North and CR170 on the South. The location of the 4 suspected poisoned fields is West of the 2 confirmed poison fields. These 4 fields are near the intersection of SH 206 and CR 218. The poisoned corn is still on the ground in the 2 confirmed poison locations. It is in piles throughout the field.

The dead animals found so far are 3 deer, 6 hogs, 1 red-tailed hawk, and 2 vultures. The poisoned corn was originally found October 7. The investigation has moved slowly because the people responsible have not been cooperative and have withheld information. Investigators are on site today. Several government agencies are involved in this “fluid, on going investigation.” The recommendation is to not eat deer killed in a 5 mile radius of these locations.

Hunters that have been out in the woods early this fall have undoubtedly bumped into some fresh rubs created by white-tailed bucks. Often times, discovering a new buck rub is enough to get my mind thinking about the deer that left the sign. How big is this whitetail? When was the animal here? Does he prefer the habitat found on this part of the property more? Where is the buck now? And, of course, will he return?

The general thinking on deer rubs is that big bucks rub actual trees and small bucks rub on saplings. This line of thinking suggests that the bigger the tree rubbed the bigger the whitetail buck doing the rubbing. Is this true? I would have to say yes, at least most of the time. The majority of bucks rubbing on larger trees are in fact larger antlered bucks. Bucks with large antlers tend to be larger bodied, mature, stronger, and as a result of all these attributes, dominant animals. 

But that does not mean that large bucks will not rub on saplings, or that smaller bucks will not rub on decent-sized trees. In nature anything can happen, but the general rule of thumb is that larger white-tailed bucks will create larger rubs. If you find a rub on a tree greater than 10 inches in diameter, chances are you have a very big buck in the area.   

Although many deer hunters have never really though about it, a buck rub is an interesting sign left by a deer for one of many reasons. As a matter of fact, buck rubs have different meanings at different times of the year, and hormones always play a role. Rubs created in very late summer and early fall are made in order to remove the decaying velvet from their hardened antlers after the completion of antler growth.

In early fall, bucks will continue to rub primarily on saplings and smaller trees  due to increasing levels of testosterone. Elevated levels of this hormore will increase aggression in white-tailed bucks, so the act of antler rubbing not only relieves this stress build up, but prepares the deer for battle by strengthening neck muscles.  

As fall progresses and the whitetail rut nears, bucks will take their workout to the next level by seeking out larger trees for larger, more dominant looking rubs. A large rub then serves as a visual and olfactory (smell) sign to other bucks in the area. In short, if you can’t make a rub as big as the one you see here, then hit the road unless you’re ready to throw down. 

Some bucks make only a few rubs within their home range, while others make numerous rubs within a very small area. It is difficult to estimate the number of bucks using an area by the number of rubs, but rubs are a sure sign that at least one buck is in the area. Additionally, if given the choice between hunting a buck rub or a buck scrape, choose the scrape every time. And remember, healthy deer with big bodies grow larger antlers, not the other way around!