Knowing what triggers estrus and how deer breeding phases are dictated by fawn survival rates is helpful in nailing when to be in trees.
Tag: whitetails
Whitetail Home Ranges | Understanding Mature Bucks
When and why do deer leave their home ranges as both yearlings and mature bucks? Steve Bartylla explains buck dispersal.
If You Shoot a Compound Bow, Thank This Man
The buck flicks his tail and takes two steps. Here we go. He’s perfectly quartering away. Clench that release and bring the bowstring back. When that cam turns over, it’s downhill from there. The draw’s back wall is rock solid. It’s time to bare down and relax your grip hand. Wiggle those grip fingers just […]
This Whitetail Behavior is Most Puzzling | Whitetail Wisdom Blog
If you have ever seen a deer engage in this behavior, you would correctly assume that it is most often conducted during the rut. However, this isn’t the only time of year deer do it, and — even more bizarre — bucks aren’t the only ones that engage in the scent-making and marking exercise. Yes, […]
Land of Whitetail: Whitetails and Wind
A common myth about big bucks is that they always head for the thickest, nastiest cover when wind speeds exceed seasonal norms. That’s not always true.
What is a Management Buck?
A lot of hunters use the term “management buck” as an excuse to shoot a deer from their property. Some do it simply because they want to have fun and tag a deer, while others do it thinking
Deer Hunting Tip: Call Your Way Out of the Lock-Down Phase
The lock-down phase is something bowhunters likely experience every season. It coincides with the peak of breeding, when the greatest number of bucks and does are paired up. Most pairs spend much of the day in their beds, so this is one of the most challenging times to kill a good buck during the rut […]
Follow This Checklist to Beat Buck Fever
Most hunters have experienced buck fever. If you ever watch deer hunters on television, you have seen them breathless, shaking and almost out of control. When you have to thread an arrow through a tight spot or put a bullet in a small opening a long way off, buck fever is the last thing you […]
Fence ‘Em In: How to Guide Deer into Bow Range
By Bob Robb For a long time, I looked at fences on hunting land as a real pain. All they seemed to do was hold up gates I had to keep opening and closing, or rip my pants and shirts when I tried to go over them. Then I began talking with landowners about fences, […]
Become a Creature of Habit
By Steve Bartylla We’ve been trained to avoid falling into ruts. After all, if we take the same route into the woods every time or hunt our favorite stands too often, we risk having deer pattern us. Still, some habits are good. One is making a last check of the hourly weather before hitting the woods. […]