Buck Manager | Buck Manager

The Key to Late Season Hunting Success

If you’ve noticed the deer hunting season is nearly over and there are license tags left in your pocket, don’t panic just yet. There is still time to fill those tags, as well as the freezer. Many hunters find themselves behind the proverbial eight ball as the season winds down each year. Whether it’s because we’ve run short on hunting time because of other commitments, spent too much time waiting on that big buck that seemed to show up on game camera from time to time but never while we were actually on stand, or if it’s just because we’ve suffered from plain ole procrastination. It happens. The pressure may be on, but the late season is one of the very best times to put deer on the ground.

There are numerous farms and ranches looking to achieve deer management objectives, namely keeping the whitetail population within the carrying capacity of the available habitat. Other hunters are just looking to put something next to the potatoes. No matter which camp applies to you, hunting the late season all comes down to a single four letter word, food. The breeding season takes an awful lot out of deer, especially bucks since they burn a lot of calories fighting one another, searching for and pursuing does, so they are always looking to strap on the post-rut feed bag. Combine that with the fact that the fall and winter (to date) has been colder than normal and deer are forced to forage. Continue reading “The Key to Late Season Hunting Success”

Deer Management & Hunting: Big Buck Down in Bowie County

There are many aspects to white-tailed deer hunting and management. The most exciting part is, of course, the hunting season itself. Every hunter dreams of a big whitetail buck stepping out in front of them, emerging from the wood line from seemingly out of thin air. It can happen to any hunter at any time, but to significantly up the odds of your dreams coming true you’ve got to do the work, put in the time and answer the bell when deer season rolls around. This is when having a combination of strong will, patience and the ability to age deer on the hoof becomes a very real part of harvest management.

Whitetail Deer Hunting: Big Buck Shot in Bowie County, Texas

One Northeast Texas hunter had all of these characteristics in spades — and that allowed him to place his tag on a big Bowie County buck. Over the past weekend, Texas hunter Ricky Hunt bagged a whitetail buck that instantly became his personal best. Despite deploying a number of game cameras before and during the hunting season, Ricky had only managed to capture a single photo of the remarkable buck. That one photo proved to be motivation enough to keep Ricky in the woods. Ricky knew this buck was out there, somewhere.

Ricky Hunt: “I took this buck this past Sunday evening (December 8). We acquired a new lease about a mile from where we had been deer hunting the past few years. It is a area that is known for some good deer. My personal best buck was taken in this area a couple years back. He scored 137 4/8, a archery kill. We are about a mile from the Red River. A lot of farming, so the deer have good body size to them and good antlers.

Our place is all planted pine trees. A real challenge to hunt and to figure out any patterns to the deer. Most (99%) of our visibility is limited to about 40 yards. Deer sightings have been low because of this. If it wasn’t for game cameras it would have been hard to stick with it. I didn’t see a deer on stand during the month of October and well into November. The camera showed us some amazing bucks and one stood out above the rest.

The only lane we have on the place is a road they made to load logs. It is about 100 yards long and very close to a county road. I was reluctant to put a bowhunting blind on this lane because I was concerned when the leaves begin to fall that someone would see the blind from the road and it possibly get stolen. Putting that aside, I decided to put the blind on the lane in hopes of being able to see more deer. I haven’t used a rifle in years, but I decided I would take my rifle in case I saw a bruiser on the end of the lane.

Fast forward to Sunday evening. At dark thirty, a big bodied buck stepped out in front of me at 25 yards. The buck was so close and it happened so fast that I had a hard time getting the crosshairs on the buck. I shot him at 35 yards. I did not realize just how big this buck was until 30 minutes later when me and my son walked into the pines to find him. When we saw him we knew he was the big buck that we had on camera. To say the least, we were both ecstatic. This Bowie County buck is 20 4/8 inches wide, has 15 points and scores 165 1/8 B&C!”

It seems that no two properties are ever the same when it comes to the management of whitetail deer. Although the fundamentals of management remain the same, some will focus more on habitat management and others more on harvest management. It should be noted that every place that aims to grow healthier, bigger deer is involved in both aspects to some degree. Bucks can not reach their genetic potential if they do not have adequate nutrition. On the other side of the coin, bucks can not reach their genetic potential if they are shot when young. This can be tough for many hunters since good bucks are big even when they are young.

It takes trigger restraint to produce mature bucks and good groceries for them to grow big, but like most people deer get substantially wiser as they age. This makes hunting well-seasoned bucks much more difficult than the 2 and 3 year old deer that readily run into the middle of a fall food plot or to a timed feeder, especially in areas where deer receive substantial pressure during the hunting season. When asked about hunting deer in Bowie County, Ricky Hunt said there were several things that help them keep and hunt big deer on their property:

“1.We do not use spin cast feeders. In this part of the country deer won’t tolerate feeders, especially mature bucks. We will pour out corn on the ground. My biggest archery buck 137 4/8 P&Y was harvested this way.

2.We do not use four wheelers to go to our stands. We use them only to retrieve a buck or putting up a stand. We walk straight to our stand and straight out. Excessive walking or four wheeling will cause deer movement to shut down. We don’t want them to know we have been there.

3. If I look out and see my neighbors smoke from their chimney early in the morning go up and then start to settle closer to the ground, I don’t dare climb into a tree stand. The same will happen to your scent. My two biggest bucks to date have been killed using bow blinds. I have only one window open. This keeps it dark inside, but it also helps to contain scent. I have had many bucks and does walk within feet from me and never know I was there.

4. We use game cameras pre-season to survey what we have as for as bucks. We try and age them as close as we can. Last year, I passed on a wide 10 point. I did not take a buck last year, but I did not regret passing on that 10 point. He was young. Having game cameras out is a real motivator to sticking it out and putting as much time in the woods as possible. I had numerous pictures of my 137 4/8 archery buck and had only one of my 165 1/8 buck. Game cameras may not get pics of all your bucks, but you can get a good idea of what you have.

5. After deer season is over we do what I coined as ‘A Roll Call.’ We will put out as many game cameras as we have throughout our lease for at least a month. By doing this it gives us an idea of what bucks made it through the deer hunting season. This gives us a good idea of which bucks we can hope to see next season.”

Cold Weather Means Deer are Moving!

The life of a white-tailed deer is highly impacted by the weather. Hunters know that high rainfall years are better than dry ones when it comes to antler growth and the number of fawns produced. Mild weather during the spring and fall is also conducive for plant growth, which in turn is good for deer growth. Everything struggles when it gets really hot or really cold. However, if you’re looking to harvest a deer this season then colder temperatures are exactly what you need. And that’s because whitetail deer move around a heck of a lot more when temperatures drop.

I know what you’re thinking. The rut, right? Cooler temperatures must mean that bucks will be chasing does with reckless abandon. Well, that could be one exciting scenario, but I’m targeting the fact that when the temperatures outside get really, really cold, deer get extremely hungry. This means that they have got to eat something, and soon. It takes a lot of energy to maintain a 104 degree (F) internal body temperature when the mercury starts to plummet. Deer will be looking for fuel, but will you be there?

Deer Hunting Good on Cold, Wet Days

Cold weather is good for getting whitetail deer up and moving. Cold, wet weather is even better! Think of it in terms of a hypothetical “deer misery index.” The more miserable it is out there on the landscape then the tougher it is for deer. It makes it very hard for whitetail (and other animals) to bed up and hold tight all day when their energy needs are spiking through the roof. If your heater is running all day at home then you can bet the caloric needs of a whitetail deer are humming right along.

The one caveat to hunting cold, wet and just plain ole nasty weather is that it’s also going to be tough on the hunter, too. These are the days that separate the men from the boys, those that talk the talk from those that walk the walk. If you want to fill the freezer and the wall then it’s going to take more than a big buck sticker on the back glass of your truck.

Deer Movement and Energy Requirements

The movement of whitetail deer increases as food sources decrease, energy demands increase. Deer hunting extreme cold often means that food sources are limited AND whitetail deer have elevated energy requirements. This puts a lot in favor of the hunter. Find the right place, hold tight and you’re in business. Will it be a well-established winter food plot, a feeder or a travel corridor of woods that connects a bedding area to a feeding area?

It’s important to realize that the term “cold” is relative to the area that you are hunting. There are a variety of subspecies (20+) of whitetail deer in the US. Some can attain the body mass required to endure snow-covered hills and bone-chilling temperatures for weeks. Smaller-bodied whitetail at southern latitudes get hit hard if temperatures simply stay in the 20’s and 30’s for a couple of days. What is considered a cold winter day in one area may just be an average fall day in another place. Hunt when deer are moving, when temps are well below average for your area.

Dark of the Moon Deer Hunts

When colder than normal weather settles into an area for a few days to a week or more, expect the morning and evening movement of deer to increase substantially. And in my experience, the quantity of movement during the morning will be even greater if there is a new moon (i.e. dark of the moon/no moon). Morning hunts are great because dark skies keep deer bedded up all night so that they are more than ready to go chow down when the sun finally breaks the horizon.

With a need for feed, you can also expect the mid-day movement of deer to increase when temperatures plummet, regardless of moon phase. In fact, I’ve seen extended cold weather keep deer out on food plots all day long. On those clear and cold days, exposed feeding areas such as food plots allow deer exposure to the sun as well as an abundance of forage. Feeding areas that allow protection from the wind get another thumbs up as well.

Hunt Hard or Stay Home

There is no doubt that extreme cold gets deer up and moving. It’s especially hard on animals when temps are just above freezing and precipitation is involved or there are periods of prolonged periods of frigid weather, particularly later in the season in areas where the deer are accustomed to mild falls and winters. One of my favorite times to be out deer hunting is when it’s been much, much colder than average for several days running. It all but guarantees that animals will be up and at ’em.

A successful hunt is a big part of whitetail deer management because the end result is always a reduced population. Harsh environmental conditions means that the limited, available foods must be divided up among all of the deer that live in a given area. Less over-wintering deer means more food for the remainder of the herd and better nutrition for each individual animal. This is paramount for growing and producing big, healthy deer. There has been volumes written about hunting the rut to take advantage of increased deer movement, but a strong cold spell that last for several days or more should never be overlooked.

Deer Hunting: Big Nontypical Buck, State Record Tagged in Madison County

Not many hunters are fortunate enough to get a photo of a big, free-ranging white-tailed buck taken in close proximity to their deer lease just days before the hunting season. But if you were that fortunate, can you imagine the excitement leading up to opening day? Now, imagine if that big buck photo was published in the local paper. Buzzkill. That would ensure that LOTS of hunters would be taking to the field for a once-in-a-lifetime kind of buck. That kind of competition did not deter 15-year old deer hunter Makayla Hay.

She had her eye on the deer leading up to the gun season, like every other deer hunter in Madison County, Texas. In October, a photo in the local newspaper (above) featured the nontypical buck swimming across the Trinity River. Makayla and her father, Jim, knew the photograph was taken near their 1,600 acre deer lease, and they joked about the possibility of seeing the buck. Little did they know that opening day of the 2013 gun season would be one for the books, literally! Continue reading “Deer Hunting: Big Nontypical Buck, State Record Tagged in Madison County”

Spike on One Side, Now What? Injury or Deformity?

There are many factors to consider when it comes to management of white-tailed bucks during the deer hunting season. Some of the more popular campfire discussions usually involve talking about antlers, which bucks to shoot or not shoot, and whether or not odd antler configurations on specific deer were caused by poor genetics or by an injury during antler development. Whether you are actively managing the white-tailed deer living on your own property or considering culling some select deer off your hunting lease, it pays to know a little bit about deer antlers and their growth before you pull the trigger.

For whatever reason, this year I have seen more bucks with asymmetrical antlers than ever before. Most of these deer have been bucks with a normal antler on one side and then an unbranched antler (spike) on the other. And I’m not just talking about 1 1/2 year old (yearling) bucks. Of course, some yearling bucks will have unbranched antlers (one side or both), but only very rarely do spike bucks actually remain spikes after their first set of antlers. The bucks I’m talking about are middle-aged deer; 3 and 4 year old bucks with lots of promise on one side and nothing but disappointment on the other.

Whitetail Deer Hunting and Management - Spike on One Side

Broken Bones and Antler Development

The antlers found on the top of a buck’s head are true bone. These bones/antlers are grown every year and like other bones are comprised primarily of minerals. The minerals necessary for a buck’s antler growth are extracted from mineral reserves stored in other parts of the deer’s skeletal system. As a result, any broken bones can potentially disrupt the ability for the body to transfer those minerals from one part of the body to where they are needed, on top of the buck’s head.

Larger (long) bones are more important to antler development because of the amount (percent) of minerals they contribute to a buck’s antler growth. A deer’s leg bones are huge sources of minerals and the hind legs even more so than than the front legs. A fractured leg will often lead to deformed, non-typical antlers, and maybe even result in a buck with a spike on one side. However, a buck’s antlers will often normalize in subsequent years as the fracture heals and the minerals are more effectively mobilized.

Front leg fractures will effect antler development on the same side as the break, whereas hind leg fractures will impact antler growth on the opposite side. Again, an injury to the back legs will be more detrimental to a buck’s antlers in the near term, and depending on how well it heals, could impact antler growth for the remainder of the buck’s life.

Pedicle, Skull Injury and Spike on One Side

A pedicle is the location on top of a buck’s head from which the antlers grow. All normal bucks have two of them, one for each antler. When a buck sheds his antlers in the late winter or early spring the attachment point between the pedicle and the antler is where they detach. This is usually a clean separation, but sometimes it’s not. This “dirty” departure could be the result of either a pedicle injury or perhaps even a skull (cap) injury at some point in the past. Either injury could result from a self-inflicted mishap or from a brawl with another buck prior to or during the breeding season.

Regardless, these injuries may cause permanent antler damage (antler material remains attached to pedicle) for the duration of the buck’s life. So although not a genetic cull buck, a buck with an injured pedicle or injured skull cap may be sentenced to a future of disappointing antler growth, at least on one side if a shed does not drop cleanly.

Recent Antler Research and Deer Management

The social, economic and recreational importance of white-tailed deer hunting over the past few decades has substantially increased deer management programs across the US, particularly with regards to the harvest and management of bucks. The selective harvest of bucks comes in many different flavors with age-based restrictions and/or antler-based restrictions being the most common. Before removing a buck from the herd that has a deformed antler or that is a spike on one side, keep the points listed above in mind and check out what a recent antler research study concluded:

Source: Besides the underlying principle that spike on one side (SOOS) antlers are caused by physical injuries and not genetics, the take home messages of this research are three-fold.

First, the underlying cause (skeletal versus pedicle/skull injury) of SOOS antlers determines whether or not a buck has a decent chance of developing normal antlers in the future.

Second, yearling SOOS bucks stand a chance of developing normal antlers in the future and should be protected from harvest like normal yearlings.

Lastly, adult bucks will probably continue to carry SOOS antler characteristics throughout their lifetime, making them a candidate for harvest if they meet the normal age-based harvest criteria, like any other buck.

Let’s be clear about one thing: Harvesting SOOS bucks does nothing to improve the genetic quality of a deer population. Hopefully, this research will hammer another nail in the coffin of the mythical “genetic cull buck.”

To the third point, I would not necessarily agree with letting a 2 or 3 year old buck that is a spike on one side remain on a property until he is 5 or 6 years old unless the buck has tremendous antler growth on his one good side. Awesome mass, super long main beams or 5+ points on one side would be indicative of a buck with good genetic potential for antler growth, especially since antler characteristics are highly heritable. You would want to leave this guy hanging around if there were a shortage of these types of animals on a property.

On the other hand, if the buck’s “good side” had only 3 to 4 points at 4+ years old then I would not recommend sitting around to take pictures of him, regardless of whether the spike on one side was the result of a dirty pedicle, skull cap injury or a fractured leg (even though he would recover from this in a couple of years). That said, every manager/landowner has different objectives and must consider the harvest of deer accordingly.

Deformed Antlers: Nutrition, Pathogens & Speculation

The number of 3 and 4 year old whitetail bucks that I observed this year with a deformed antler on one side could have just been by chance. Maybe I was just fortunate enough to bump into a number of deer that had a run of bad luck. The majority of these deer where seen from farm to market and county roads spanning hundreds of square miles during the antler growing season and were not concentrated in any particular area. However, I was also contacted by several hunters and managers, most with a single, similarly deformed-antlered buck on their property, so maybe there is something to it.

Nutrition is critically important with regards to antler growth in bucks, but I’m not sure the density of deer in a given area or food availability would be to blame for malformed antlers. Sure, maybe the drought of 2010-2011 caused bucks to grow thinner, weaker antlers and the effect was bucks with below average racks, but I would not expect that to lead to an increase in the incidence of the number of bucks with a spike antler on one side. Nutrition will impact antler size, but frailty, probably not.

A more probable theory would be an impact to antlers from parasites, maybe even from those transmitting a virus. Deer with inadequate nutrition often experience a buildup of parasite levels and tend to show significant signs of poor antler development. This would be likely during a drought, but dry, hot weather also cranks up the potential for EHD in whitetail deer (including bluetongue). EHD can kill off a number of whitetail, but typically less than 20% of a population in a given area. Some deer are completely resistant and others are believed to suffer some consequences, but manage to survive through it. The latter may be bucks that end up with deformed or spike on one side antlers.

EHD causes a whitetail’s head to swell. Deer that contract EHD will often stumble, fall, and will often run into things. This could definitely cause physical injury to the pedicle or skull cap. In addition, older bucks are more susceptible to EHD, which is spread by midges (also referred to as gnats or no-see-ums), because of the quantity of blood-rich velvet. These vascular structures may sustain bites from midges either while growing normally or from a wound during antler development. Could virus-induced trauma lead to enough physical injury to cause subsequent antler growth or could that type of injury only be sustained from running into something or fighting other bucks?

It would seem plausible that the EHD virus could be directly injected into the antler by an insect while it is growing and this, possibly, may impact the pedicle. This could contribute to a dirty shed by directly or indirectly weakening the pedicle. The only way hunters can link EHD to harvested bucks of this type would be to identify other symptoms of the virus, namely badly cracked or peeling hooves.

Deer Management Using Antlers

In closing, an odd-antlered buck should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis considering both the objectives and goals of the deer management program for a property. A buck that is 2 1/2+ years of age that develops a seriously malformed or spike antler on just one side has most likely suffered physical injury to the pedicle and/or skull cap and is unlikely to recover. Bucks that have fractured bones can also develop an odd antler or spike on one side as well, but will typically “grow out of it” within a couple of years.

I also suspect that drought-related pathogens may contribute to the prevalence of bucks that are spikes on one side, but this has yet to be determined. In all cases of abnormal antlers, careful monitoring of bucks is necessary to diagnose the cause and determine the proper course of management. Please send photos if you shoot an odd-antlered buck and have evidence that suggest it survived a bout with EHD.