Let’s take a closer look at what factors cause older, mature bucks — those giant deer we all dream about — to become truly belligerent. By Charles J. Alsheimer In my mind, there are two kinds of white-tailed bucks. Those less than 2½ years old are youngsters and teen-agers, who are trying to find...
As with most mammals, white-tailed deer tend to produce more young than can be expected to survive. Although the reasons vary regionally, a high proportion of fawns born each year fail to survive to weaning age. In some cases, formerly overabundant deer populations have stabilized, if not declined, principally because of recent increases in...
Is moonlight dangerous? It depends on what you are, according to a study published online recently in the Journal of Animal Ecology. “Ecologists have long viewed the darkness of a moonless night as a protective blanket for nocturnal prey species,” said Laura Prugh, a wildlife biologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. In the...
A friend who is completely new to deer hunting and is eagerly reading, learning and asking questions of hunters he knows asked me a few weeks ago about mock scrapes. Specifically, he wanted to know what they are and how they work. I had to think of a good, clear and concise explanation. Sometimes...
Spooking a buck in his core area doesn’t mean the game is finished. In some cases, it has really just begun. By Bill Vaznis The buck exploded from underfoot like a firecracker and zigzagged across the creek and up the wooded hillside before disappearing into a thick stand of hemlocks. The unmistakable noise of...
We get to see some cool and sometimes crazy things in the woods while deer hunting, but it’s not too often that a hunter sees what J.B. Mobley watched a few years ago. Mobley was hunting and saw a buck following a doe. She finally stopped and allowed the giant buck to breed her....
Those aggravating mosquitoes biting in the evening when you’re relaxing in the yard or trying to fish a few hours or the ticks and chiggers that await on the work days at the deer lease are minor aggravations compared to what deer go through. Deer are bugged, quite literally, by critters from spring through...
The thousands of Pennsylvania hunters who soon will be heading off to hunt big game in other states can do their share to slow the spread of chronic wasting disease in the Commonwealth. Those who hunt out-of-state are reminded that Pennsylvania prohibits importing specific carcass parts from members of the deer family — including...
Since the show’s premiere in July of 2005, Deer & Deer Hunting TV has established itself as an authority on everything the modern deer hunter could possibly want or need to know to be smarter and more successful. This year, the program will air its 100th episode — the benchmark of true excellence within...
Have you started any summer scouting for deer hunting season yet? If not, now’s a good time to begin so you can get a handle on what’s happening with your bucks and does, and even check out fawns or little ones that are hanging around with the does. Does are dropping fawns throughout the...
