Bow hunting for whitetail deer is both a challenge and a passionate sport for me. One challenge comes when you want to hunt whitetails and cannot find a place to hunt. Every hunter has been in this position at one time or another, for whatever reason. The good news is there are places to hunt locally, if you have the patience and knowledge to do so. The areas that I want to talk about are state-owned game areas. These public hunting areas can be crowded, over hunted, and in effect can produce some pretty smart whitetails. Bow hunting on state land can be frustrating, or rewarding if some simple tactics are followed.
If you are going to hunt on public land, then the first rule one has to follow is to get off the beaten paths. Most hunters will not choose a hunting location more than ½ miles from their vehicle (Blake, Bucks in the Public Domain, 2009). If you’re willing to go the extra ½ mile, then you will likely have the woods to yourself. In contrast deer movement might be less in that area since there are fewer hunters as well. We will counter that fact in the later sections of this paper.
You will need to fully scout your chosen area, looking for water and food sources near signs of the presence (or activity) of deer. Deer signs can consist of droppings, trails, buck rubs and buck scrapes. Rubs early in the season (inactive rubs) mostly are from bucks shedding their velvet and are still good deer signs. Active rubs and scrapes will be found in late October and early November when bucks are on the move early in the pre-rut phase. Old rubs and scrapes from the previous year are good indicators. On most state game areas there are food plots planted either by local farmers, or wild life biologists. These areas s...
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... hunt for leisure or for sport, there are many possible locations where one can hunt. Private owned land is not the only place where big bucks are found. If you are up for a good challenge, then why not give public hunting land a try - you might be surprised with your results.
Works Cited
Blake, J. (2009, July). Bucks in the Public Domain. Buckmasters Whitetail Magazine , pp. 56-59.
Blake, J. (2009, September). Hunting Pressured Whitetails. Buckmasters Whitetail Magazine , pp. 70-75.
Club, N. A. (2009). Whitetail Wisdom. Minnetonka: North American Hunting Club.
DNR, M. (n.d.). Forest Foods Deer Eat. Retrieved August 11, 2010, from Michigan Deptartment of Natural Resources and Environment: http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12148-61306--,00.html
Humphrey, B. (2008, July). Scents and Scents-ibility. Buckmasters Whitetail Magazine , pp. 12-18.
There are too many deer in the Wesselman Woods. The deer have eaten all the flowers and other flora. There have also been 8 car crashes involving deer, this imposes a dangerous threat to the civilians of Evansville. The deer have been invading people’s yards and eating their gardens. The deer are causing many problems that can’t be solved until the deer population is reduced.
“ Between each hanging garden and the creekside is a moss-paved deer trail, handy for the hunter to follow, and for the flushed grouse to cross-in a split second. The question is whether the bird and the gun agree on how a second should be split. If they do not, the next deer that passes finds a pair of empty shells to sniff at, but no feathers.” (Leopold 104)
A point has to be made about hunting and outdoor life in Illinois, which is a common interest throughout Illinois. Though it may not interest everyone, the livelihood and a portion of income is g...
Krause Publications, Inc. QDM: Can Your State Make It Happen? Deer and Deer Hunting November 1999 Krause Publications, Inc.
In many areas, the deer have adapted to eat primarily agricultural crops (crops grown by humans). In many parts of the country, a deer’s diet may consist of up to 50% farm grown corn. Obviously the deer eat some native foods, such as some trees and bushes, particularly buck brush and rose, but along with small amounts of dogwood, chokecherry, plum, red cedar, pine, and many other species of plants. Forbs, particularly sunflowers, are important, however grasses and sedges are used only briefly in spring and fall.
Ness, Erik, and Geoff Kern. Oh, the Deer. Discover Magazine Mar. 2003: n. pag. ii. p. ii
If bow hunting for deer is something that appeals to you, then the best advice I can give you is to seek out a veteran bow hunter that’s been doing it for years or pay a visit to your local bow shop. These shops are an invaluable resource for the aspiring hunter, you will get way better information from a local hunting shop than you can get from the big retailers
Since the beginning of time man has been hunting animals for food. Even before fire, man needed to hunt, because hunting was the only way to eat. At first man used things such as spears and rocks to kill its prey. As man evolved, they started using bows and arrows. Next came an early model of what we use today, the firearm. It is powerful yet easy to carry around. It puts the animal through less suffering and is a lot more efficient than previous techniques. Hunting was once a necessity, but now it is a tradition, passed on from father to son as a way to spend time together, enjoy the outdoors, and experience what our ancestors went through in hunting their dinner. Since it is considered a sport some think we are killing off the deer population, when in actuality, “While most other big-game species have declined with the spread of urbanization, the whitetail has been able to adapt to its ever-changing environment. Through the efforts of state agencies and conservation groups like Whitetails Unlimited, wildlife officials estimate today’s whitetail population to exceed 30 million” (www.whitetailsunlimited.org).
Coyotes and bears are a common sight in the woods. These animals, along with others, are predators that help to control deer population but also decrease the amount of land allowed to the deer. In Western NC, deer rates have fallen and bag limits have been reduced. In Pennsylvania, biologists have conducted a lengthy study to determine fawn mortality and predation. Predators killed 46% of fawns, (Hart). A study about coyotes in Ohio found that even though they kill numerous fawns, the population of deer continues to grow, (Hart). It would be critical to maintain...
In the last decade, from the Rockies to New England and the Deep South, rural and suburban areas have been beset by white-tailed deer gnawing shrubbery and crops, spreading disease and causing hundreds of thousands of auto wrecks. But the deer problem has proved even more profound, biologists say. Fast-multiplying herds are altering the ecology of forests, stripping them of native vegetation and eliminating niches for other wildlife. ' 'I don 't want to paint deer as Eastern devils, ' ' said Dr. McShea, a wildlife biologist associated with the National Zoo in Washington, ' 'but this is indicative of what happens when an ecosystem is out of whack. ' ' The damage is worse than anyone expected, he and other scientists say. Higher deer densities have affected growth, survival, and reproduction of many plant species which have aesthetic, economic or ecological value. In some cases, many species of trees have also been shown to have reduced growth as a result of high deer density (Environmental Benefits of Hunting, 1). Deer prefer certain plant species over others and frequently feed on economically valuable tree species. For example, they prefer oak and sugar maple seedlings, as well as acorns, over less palatable species like American Beech and striped maple. Thus, less marketable species are more likely to survive to maturity,
“The animals are reducing the number of trees and seedlings and affecting which species will survive, forestry experts say” (NBC news). A wildlife professor estimated that deer cause at least $750 million in damage to the timber industry. This becomes a big impact on the economy. “We view it as problem of our own making,” said Laura Simon, field director of urban wildlife and sanctuaries program for the Humane Society of the United States. “We have created an ideal landscape for deer.” (NBC news). Deer are said to eat anything and everything, this is especially proven when farms have their crops
The author provides information describing the deer population in parts of New Jersey; yet, he does not include any data regarding the population in the rest of the United States, nor does he include any sources of where this information was obtained. A reader may be more
Many people have misconceptions about hunting. One such misconception is that hunting is easy and any person can go sit in the woods and wait for an animal to cross the hunter’s path. However, people who believe this are sorely mistaken. Hunting is not just sitting in the woods with a rifle; there are many other aspects that must be considered. An individual must have all preparations complete, purchase or gather the equipment needed, and know what to listen for while in the woods.
Lebel, François, et al. "Influence Of Habitat Features And Hunter Behavior On White-Tailed Deer Harvest." Journal Of Wildlife Management 76.7 (2012): 1431-1440. Environment Complete. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
This specific deer is an herbivore or plant eater. It feeds in the early morning hours and in the late afternoon. This deer's diet changes depending on its habitat and the season. It eats green plants in the spring and summer. In the fall, it eats corn, acorns and ot...